The backyard is officially cleaned up and looking fantastic! The guys did an amazing job—it’s truly a blank slate now. I can’t stop thinking about all the possibilities, and I’m so excited!
As you can see in the above after photograph, there’s still one pallet along the West fence and a couple of garden boxes left. I plan to remove them since they weren’t included in the cleanup. When my dad visits, we’ll take care of it. The boxes would have been great, but they were made from treated wood, and I don’t want those chemicals leaching into my veggies!
So far, I’ve purchased two 6-foot, above-ground garden boxes, and I plan to buy one more this year—maybe two more next year (I don’t want to overdo it in my first season). The plan is to place them perpendicular along the back fence, which is the north side of the yard—the best spot for growing. I also want to install a hog panel trellis between two of the boxes for climbing plants.
After some intensive research, I picked up a four-zone timer to set up the sprinklers and irrigation system. If managing both areas in all four zones is too much, I can use a splitter at the main valve, but I’m hoping that won’t be necessary. I still need to figure out the sprinkler setup, but for now, I’m focusing on designing the overall layout. I also want to create a play area for my kid, but I haven’t decided on the surface material or size yet.
No matter what, I’m thrilled with how the backyard turned out! I can’t wait to document the progress over the next few weeks. Wish me luck! This feels like the beginning of a new adventure!
Ash Thoreau 
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