When we moved into our house 35 years ago, the patio was surrounded by an evergreen hedge. It provided some privacy, but more importantly it protected folks from falling off the edge of the patio. That might not seem particularly important except our house is built on a hill and our lower yard is a long stairway away. Children and unsteady adults might step off the edge and then tumble some distance before stopping,
This year the hedge finally had seen the end of its time. The last several years it's been less and less attractive, and this year it had become an eyesore. Matt, our landscape artist son, could not come up with any plantings he thought would provide the needed protection and thrive in our very shady back yard. So we took some of our travel money that had been saved for the two big (aborted) trips this year, and had a wrought iron railing installed. Truthfully, I wasn't sure what I'd think of it, but I love it. Here's a photo (not part of the 5 photos in 5 minutes for Sandie's monthly meme) taken after the bushes were removed.
This fall the area you see to the left of the first steps will need to be landscaped, We're planning to move a large group of peonies to a sunnier spot in the yard and redo this area. Following are the five photos taken early in the morning showing the new railing,
Here you can see our lower yard. The little shed is ours and our property line goes back to the tree on the far left.
Moving to the right from the previous photo, you see one of two gates installed. This one takes you to a series of stone steps down to the lower yard. Our next major expense is to have the stairs and the stone walls on both sides rebuilt. We had
hoped to have that done last year, but we are still looking for a qualified mason to do the work.
To the left of the first photo is the second gate which leads to the lower patio which Tracy completed two years ago.
You can see the fire pit covered up in front of our two red Adirondack chairs.
Another view of the shade gardens and the second gate.
And finally, the view toward our neighbor's home, and a peek at the fence Tracy is building along the property line. It replaces six or seven straggly arborvitae that had foliage only on the top. We have a lot more light on the east side of the house since they've been removed. The other advantage (we hope) is that it will keep the deer from crossing through the backyards. It's a work in progress. Eventually all the posts will be evened out and we'll add solar lights to the tops of them. We've just added several lovely solar lights in the shade garden and on the patio and they add a lot of ambiance at night.
I was afraid that the railing would make us feel closed in, but it actually has had the reverse effect. It feels more open--we can see through the railings, but couldn't see through the bushes! In addition the furniture can be set against the railing so there's actually more room on the patio.
Joining in with Sandie for her monthly meme, 5 in 5.
