Sometimes you get an idea that you dream, plan, and Pinterest for months. This was not one of those times. One day I decided to buy a simple tomato plant and before the day was over we were tearing down fences, moving around pavers, and clearing the land for our do-it-yourself back yard garden.
We have this little area in our side yard that for the past seven years has been used as a “dog pen.” It was the area where we put the dogs when we had friends and family come over, respecting the fact that not all our guest like dogs. We also put the dogs in there when Charlie was a puppy because he had a knack for digging massive holes right outside the back door. But now Charlie is older and as you may recall we had to put our sweet Legolas to rest at the end of April. So this patch of land in our yard sat like this:
On a whim we decided to build a garden. And I must say, after nearly three months of being quarantined at home, if felt very freeing to rip down the tall privacy fence, open up our yard, and have something new to work on.
in progress 
after
our budget:
We had a budget of $0. No seriously, we did not save up for this project and we wanted to do as much as we could without breaking the bank. Here is the breakdown of what we spent.
- $12 wood to repair the fence
- $30 plants tomato, cucumbers, herbs
- $36 wood for the raised bed
- $25 landscape edging
- $8 mulch
- $10 grass seed
- $40 star jasmine plants
total spent: around $160
tips for building your own
- Take down or lower your fence! I couldn’t believe how much this improved the overall look to the garden and the front of the house. We still needed a fence since we put the dog outside daily, so we removed the 6 foot privacy fence that was attached to the front of the house and kept only a lower 4 foot white fence that was set further back.
- Level the ground before you add your plants/beds. This will help with drainage when it rains. You want to make sure the rain flows away from the house and from the back to the front.
- Add details to your fence/gate area. We created this by painting it white, attaching our old wedding arbor over the gate, and planting jasmine that will hopefully grow along the fence. We already have one that is growing tall and winding its way up the arbor!
4. If you can, save money by transplanting plants you already have around your property. I know not everyone has this as an option but if you ask nicely, friends, neighbors, or family may have shrub, fern, or a clipping they can spare and you can build your landscaping from there. In Charleston I have had great success with transplanting hydrangeas clippings. I also transplanted iron weed along the house that I pulled from other areas in the back yard.
before 
after
5. Use stones or pavers to make a walkway. We had a bunch of old pavers from Lowes that used to be outside of the back door so we were able to repurpose them. Although it’s not a large area, its been fun to go for a walk in the garden each morning with the boys and “pick ‘matoes.” I think Bear eats about twenty cherry tomatoes each morning!
All that is left for now is to replace the fence that is to the far right between the garden and the neighbors house. Hopefully that will happen this summer. And I would also like to throw down a little more grass seed to fill in the areas that don’t have so much grass.
As for the raised beds, they will never be over! Always changing, always something new growing, and forever evolving. Kind of like all of us, I suppose.
Let me know if you ever have any specific questions about our garden and I can try my best to answer. xx
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