Project Update: Courtyard Hardscape Before and During

The retaining wall and stair project in the courtyard has been expanding in scope, as often happens to my projects. A few days of good weather has allowed me to make some progress. The "before" photos are a bit painful to look at since I like the overgrown, jungle-like before shots. Most of the plants have been moved or trimmed back, but it leaves the "during" shots looking sort of barren.

Before: retaining wall with laurels, bamboo (Hibanobambusa tranquilans 'Shiroshima'), redwood, and groundcovers all but hiding the shoddy retaining wall:

During: The same section of retaining wall from a slight angle with a new, tidier retaining wall under construction with an integrated bench for more seating (or, more likely, pots full of plants) and a staircase leading to a path to another garden expansion. The variegated bamboo from the previous shot is visible in the upper left:

Before: Northeast corner of the courtyard and southeast corner of the small shade garden. The large leaves of Rhododendron praestans are on the far left and the upper central part of the frame features Akebia ternata:

During: Raw materials are piled in the background. Most of the shade plans and the Akebia have been removed, and the laurels have been heavily pruned back. The new retaining wall will be a bit higher than the previous one:

Hopefully construction will be done in time for spring planting.

New Project: Turning Broken Concrete into Walls, Stairs, & Benches

I must always have at least one landscaping project in process at any given time. This time the plan is to rebuild retaining walls along the far side of the courtyard to make them tidier, and to incorporate both stairs and benches, in order to connect with other parts of the yard and add some much-needed seating. This fall I assembled a few tons of broken concrete, also called urbanite, from demolition projects advertised on Craigslist, which took several trips in the trusty station wagon. Over the next few months, weather permitting, the stairs, retaining walls, and built-in benches will take shape, hopefully in time for spring planting.





The courtyard filled with a few tons of urbanite gleaned from local demolition sites (lighter pieces) and pulled from the previous crooked retaining walls (darker pieces).