I am a novice when it comes to this gardening thing, but I know enough to realize I needed  a plan. Like so many of you out there, though, I am a DYI’er. My vision was  pretty simple:  remove the 32 or so 12 x 12 paver blocks that posed as a patio and replace them with either a deck or a patio and to landscape around said patio. Turns out I like researching and reading about all things gardens. So I decided I should develop a 3 to 5 year plan.

Four years later, I am making good progress.

The stamped concrete patio is the centerpiece of my backyard and I have surrounded it with sun loving plants. But my work is far from done. The patio bed needs more plants. A raised bed garden along the fence begs to be renovated and has served as an experimental garden as I learn about which plants work well in my clay soil.

The railroad ties that form the raised bed along one fence wall are rotting and I am debating on which materials to use to replace it. Like the patio, I want a more permanent material such as those interlocking stones or maybe even using field stone to match what is already in the yard.  Decisions, decisions.  I overlay these considerations with the costs for such a project. I will hire this out and I know it will be expensive. (Did I mention, I am paying college tuition?)

And on the opposite side of the yard from the raised bed, a shade garden along the fence would be lovely to look at from the patio. It would also provide interest to the nondescript, 6 foot wooden fence. I will start on this bed this spring taking into consideration lessons I have learned from installing my first garden bed from scratch.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to sharing more of the journey and learning from you.