The Grass is Green

The upside of the rainy weather here in New England..., the grass is green! Our lawn went from shabby to chic in no time...

... and it looks like a carpet...

... we also planted a little garden in the corner...

... it's blooming...

... the hedges toward Main road are doing well too...

... just as I said..., like a carpet!

Sweeping and more

The usual Spring cleaning...

... sweeping off the sand left from the winter...

... then a future repair awaits..., the cracks in the road along the driveway (to the left)..., but first we'll get a dumpster in and clean out the basement.

Lawn Care -The Big Reveal

Remember this, the Mud Slide Prevention cloth?

Some landscaping or rather Mud Slide Prevention

Since we had run off problems causing mud slides after the Driveway Construction we decided to put down some gardening cloth...

... the cloth allows the grass to grow through it and over time the sun will break it down and the cloth will disappear on its own...

... but what about all the metal pins that we used to hold the cloth down to the ground, can we leave those too, I wonder...

... for now, we just wait and see.

Todays Project -Snow Shoveling

More snow kept falling..., so today lots of time was spent shoveling...

...meaning Peter was shoveling (I took the pictures)

...more shoveling...

...the entire town is a winter wonderland..., an empty Main road...

...a very quiet town park...

...and no one lounging in this wood chair at our local coffee shop Coastal Roasters.

Our Dutch Colonial Home in the Snow

It began to snow yesterday afternoon...

Permeable Pavers Driveway Problems

Since the installation of our permeable pavers driveway we had some heavy rains and they have created several run offs along the sides of the driveway. There is no grass so the soil is washing away..., not good...

...and the permeable pavers seem to be wandering from the center to the left, leaving large gaps...

...so we called All Island Landscaping last Friday and today they came by and added soil. To prevent future washout we thought the soil should also be stabilized in some form, covered with cloth, hey or something until we have grass..., but maybe not. Regarding the increased gaps between some of the permeable pavers..., they might or might not crack, we'll see. But we should be in good hands since we've got a one year warranty.

Permeable Pavers Driveway Installation Finished!

The permeable pavers driveway installation project was finished last week. The grass around the construction area won't grow in now, but the seeds are there "sleeping" till next spring. So it doesn't quite have that finished look yet.

This is how it looked before the driveway installation. Something was missing!

We drove up for the first time a couple of weeks ago..., just couldn't wait to see and feel how steep the hill was. It was no problem at all.

This and the next shot I took today. I love that I can now drive up to the house and don't have to haul groceries up the hill anymore. Peter then drives down backwards..., eventually I will try that too (and get used to it). Turning the car around is also an option but it takes a few turns. The permeable pavers start/stop right at the edge by the stairs leading up to the large front porch.

This is the compacted gravel parking area which is very solid. You don't even see a trace of the car on it. Even though the permeable pavers driveway installation (with the stone wall and hedges) went way over budget because we wanted/needed more pavers we're very happy with it.

Permeable Pavers Driveway Installation Last Stretch

The last pile of permeable pavers has arrived and is ready to be installed this week. The hole driveway installation is coming together nicely and we love it. It feels like walking up a paved driveway, only in heels I imagine (which I hardly ever wear) it would be a bit of a bouncing act.

Planting Privet Hedges

In coastal New England when planting privet hedges you might want to tie them down. Winds can be strong and gusty and we learned the hard way -scroll down to the last image here: Crushed Gravel Driveway and Paking

I am so glad we chose planting privet hedges over installing a wood fence. We're now solidly sheltered from the road and the landscaping bolders I think add a lot of character to the property and this "farmer wall" will only look better as the privet hedges grow -I understand privets can grow a foot a year or more.

Crushed Gravel Driveway and Parking

River rocks were delivered and spread early in the morning last week, and we had a little problem, actually two. One: wrong rocks. We had specified crushed gravel and these round rocks were uncomfortable to walk on as compared to the 3/4" crushed gravel rocks that interlock and pretty much give you an even and flat surface. Two: while hauling the load of rocks up the driveway with heavy machinery over a dozen pavers were destroyed, cracked under the weight.

The next day all the rocks were scooped up and removed and the new crushed gravel was delivered promptly, this time from the top. New pavers were ordered and should be arriving later this week from Canada. And if you look closely you see that in the meantime the hedges were planted too.

And here they are. Beautiful privets, 40 to be exact, lining our property toward Main Road, and of course the finished crushed gravel parking area that we love.

Then Saturday night the wind came, strong winds I have to say which are not that unusual here near the water and some of the privets fell over. Something needs to be done about that.

Permeable Pavers Driveway Installation

The driveway installation can begin and the slope is ready for the permeable pavers to be put in place.

Some heavy lifting is involved as each interlocking paver unit is unloaded from the truck and placed onto the prepared soil. The good thing about permeable pavers for our hillside is that they absorb water rundown, so no need for a drainage system.

The driveway installation is progressing and the permeable pavers are creeping up the hill. Once one stretch is completed pavers are being cut to fit and complete the edge.

A good part of the driveway installation is finished, just a few more rows to go. The top which is the parking space will be gravel only. And of course the openings of the permeable pavers will be filled with gravel too.

Build Retaining Wall

Build retaining wall? There are many ways to do it and stacking up large natural boulders is what we chose to do...

To build the retaining wall was the first step in our driveway/parking project. It took three truck loads of large natural rocks from the local stoneyard to cover the length of our property line toward Main Road.

We chose to build a retaining wall with boulders because we wanted something stronger and more durable than a fence and we were looking to blend in with the surrounding area as well as keep within a certain budget. There are lush hedges and trees along the roadside of other people's properties and only ours stood exposed with nothing green.

To the road the boulders are between 2.5 and 3 feet above the boardwalk. The space in the middle is approx. 2.5 feet wide and 40 hedges will be planted there. And I'm sure there will be plenty of space in the bed to add color with smaller plants and flowers next Spring. I also intend to soften up the stone look with creepers and ground coverings.

Related Articles:
"The great virtue of stone retaining walls that are mortar-less is that your “drainage system” comes built-in: water will usually seep through the cracks between the stones..." by About.com/Landscaping

Build Retaining Wall with concrete bags? "Whats awesome is it is so cheap and easy to build.. anyone could truly do it." Read it at eHow

Building a Driveway -First Pictures

The landscaping crew has arrived and started with building the driveway this morning, beginning from the top with the parking area. This is so exciting. No more walking up and down the sometimes wet and slippery grass hill. I'll probably still walk up and park on the bottom of the hill but it will be on nicely packed gravel and permeable pavers.

The old cesspool is being filled in the process...

and off to lunch...

then back with the first load of boulders to build and retain the mound. Come back next week and see the progress!

Also check this out on my other blog: A Real Estate Flip gone bad

Foundation Repair Finished

The wet weather was perfect for finishing up the foundation repair. So Peter went for it. And Sunday when the sun was back it was time to mow the lawn again!

A Lot of Garden Work

Our Sunday brunch on the porch got interrupted yesterday morning by powered hedge trimmers. Our neighbor tamed his hedge and later on Peter chimed in with the lawn mower and weed wacker, spending several hours with garden work while I was preparing the papers for obtaining the driveway permit. After that we called it a day.
I didn't know but there seems to be A Science of Lawn Mowing.

Foundation Repair and Drainage Trench

What a beautiful weekend it was. Breezy with lots of cloud action. This is the weather that I'd like to have around forever. Peter tackled the last drainage trench and started to repair that one corner of the foundation wall with gaps between the stones. Other than that the two of us celebrated our 12th anniversary with 2 pounds of halibut and a bottle of wine.

Septic Hill is off to a New Start

Septic installer Clement Rose came back...The hippie rye grass is gone, new soil was added, seeds were spread. It's all looking good now.