Picket Fence Love...

I just love the look of picket fences, any design or color. They're so quaint. With dad being sick last year, I never did get around to sharing a couple of very small fence projects we completed in the yard last summer.

#1 - The Ivy Project

 

I absolutely LOVE the ivy that climbs the chimney and covers the ground leading into our backyard. But as anyone who has ivy knows, it is very aggressive. Last summer we decided to rip out the ivy that was growing up and around this window before it started growing through the window! (That's Baby just after we adopted her at 6 months old in August of 2010)

And here we are a year later, Summer 2011. We ripped out the ivy, put down some gravel in front of the window and put a small white picket fence between the ivy and the gravel to define it.

 (Summer 2011)

It's definitely an improvement.

Clearly we need to keep up with the ivy every year at this window. It's not like this little picket fence is going to keep it from growing through to the window (wouldn't that be nice if it did!!)

And most important, the little picket fence doesn't obstruct Baby's view of the garden Sammy Squirrels, Chip(munk)s and birds who come to visit her!

#2 - The Dog Pen Project

After creating our new swingset deck / garden sitting area in Summer 2010, we realized we needed to do more work to this immediate area. In this case, the small dog pen off the deck, overgrown with weeds and fenced in with wire fencing and metal posts.

No matter which way you looked at it, it was not a pretty sight (and let's not even discuss the lack of grass in the yard. That's a future project). We decided the dog pen definitely needed a makeover.

 Any project in our yard that requires digging always results in a variety of rocks. These were unearthed where the new posts went in.

Looking at the bright side, however, we now have a lovely, meandering stone wall separating the trees from the yard due to our many projects over the years!

 First the weeds were pulled and then the entire area was covered with landscape fabric so drainage wouldn't be an issue (after all, it is a doggy bathroom). That was then topped with gravel which can be easily hosed down without resulting in a muddy mess.

Cement blocks were lined on the inside to keep the gravel inside the pen area.

Now that's MUCH better!

(This photo is out of sequence, taken before the fabric & gravel were put down)

Hopefully the next step will be some landscaping; maybe grass seed in the yard this fall and perhaps some hostas or day lilies along the side of the fence. The small back section of the pen is actually a removable gate to get into the pen for ease of cleaning. Mr. J much prefers to do his business on a walk, and other than that he's totally an indoor dog. But it's really nice to be able to let him out onto the deck in inclement weather and have him trot down the steps to his pen (and by inclement weather I mean rainy days and almost the entire winter!).

Here's Mr. J, telling us how much he LOVES his new 'bathroom.'

Quite a difference when you look at side-by-sides...

 ...especially from the same angles.

I think picket fences were the perfect finishing touch for our backyard projects!

P.S. When I talk about "our" backyard projects, it should be noted that my part of "our projects" is coming up with all the ideas whereas hubby's part of "our projects" is doing the bulk of the work  
(for which I am eternally grateful even though I don't say it often enough :)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Donna