Tour De Backyard

What a difference a couple of years can make.

2012

We purchased our newly built home in 

2010

 This is what we had.

This is what we did.

James (with help) put in the sprinkler system and sod (about $600 all together).

We hired a company to put in the spit rail fence (about $1,500)

We laid a rubber mulch path from the driveway to the back yard with the spare (tires) from the play area and plan on adding trees and bushes to the front of the fence.

The is our side yard.

This is what we had.

This is what we did.

We had a professional landscaper come to our home and draw out a plan for the yard.
He priced it out at $20,000 for the finished backyard.
His plan did not include the retaining wall, brick garden box, or rubber mulch.

Then we hired him to pour our GIANT patio ($4,000).

 James built the retaining wall ($700 including dirt and mulch).

We laid and filled the retaining wall with planters dirt, flowering bushes (they will grow), and some wood mulch and spaced out a couple of spots for seeded flowers to grow (they will grow…hopefully).

This is what we had.

This is what we did.

We got a steal for this playset at a garage sale for $55.

James laid the rock path to my garden box..it's so pretty up close!

We laid rubber mulch down around the play area.

Now….about that…

It is EXPENSIVE. I won't sugar coat it.

We could have probably filled this for about $90 worth of wood mulch, but this cost us about $300.

Why would anybody do that?

Rubber mulch is soft on feet, doesn't deteriorate, and keeps it's color!

It's made of old recycled tires and is then painted.

It cost $550 for a ton. 

We purchased a ton of it and have been using it in the front yard as well. 

We had a lot extra.

We totally think this is worth the investment, and should make us our money back within 5 years (seeing as we never have to buy mulch again).

James built the garden box (about $300 including dirt and plants). 

There is nothing better than fresh tomato and basil!

James laid the rock path to my garden box..it's so pretty up close!

We're not finished yet. In the fall we'll plant lots of trees and bushes to give us that privacy we're missing now.
But like I said earlier, we were quoted $20,000 from the landscaper.

Here's what we spent(ish) and the breakdown:

Patio- $4,000
Fence- $1,500
Rock- $575
Sprinklers and Lawn- $600
Brick Retaining Wall- $700
Garden Box- $300
Rubber Mulch- $550 (whew!)
Misc tools (edging, drip line etc)- $300
*Trees and Bushes- $1,500

Total: $9,725

*We still plan on spending close to $1500 on trees and bushes this fall so we'll add that now!*


When the landscaper drew out a very basic plan.
It didn't include the retaining wall, the mulch, the brick garden box, or the pathways.
So we saved over $10,000 by DIY.
And were able to give it a completely custom look.

So I think that's a pretty good savings.
Whew….I'm tired…like…really, really tired.
So grateful to have a DIY hubby!