Side yard reclamation

[Jay4200]

Kinda small project, but lots of fun with my tractor:

My side yard was unusable - wooded and sloped. I decided that I wanted to turn it into usable yard (wife wanted a pool and that's the only place I would put it - took a year, but I managed to talk her out of it).

Attached are "before" shots (I wish I knew how to stick photos directly into the text - it would make this much easier):

Above the lowest rock wall (w/ flowers) is the area I wanted to reclaim and turn into yard. It's hard to tell, but the ground above the lowest wall is about 8' to the above wall, and pitched to that wall (making it unusable too).

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

The 5' high stump in the first picture (I left it to make a future chainsaw sculpture) is a good reference - everything to the right of it in that picture was steeply sloped woods. I dug the high ground out (closest to the house) and filled the lower spots to make a new usable flat area (~20'x50'). I came across a boulder that was too big to move, which became the top corner of the excavated area.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

The previous work was done last fall - the big boulder at the top of the excavated area is shown as it looked this spring in the first picture. My tractor is in the background, wishing for a nicer home.

I cleared the area behind the shed and put down some driveway base gravel to make a parking spot for my tractor. I put up one of those cheapy tent-garage things and my tractor is now much happier.

I continued the project a couple of weeks ago - I dug out the area behind the big boulder, and built a retaining wall. I cleaned up the ground above the new wall and shed. The retaining wall is coped into the big boulder, and I installed a boulder on the other end to merge the new wall into an existing natural rock wall.

The retaining wall wasn't really a tractor-specific project, although I used my tractor extensively digging and hauling rock and blocks. BUT I'm proud of it, so here it is.

Before and after pictures of the new wall and wall-end coping details are attached.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

I still have to bring in and spread some loam (more tractor fun) then get grass and a few shubberies growing, but here's the whole schmere as it sits right now.

You'll also note that I built a deck while all of this was going on too.

JayC

 

[Knight9]

Jay,

Love the coping on the retaining wall around the boulders! Very nice touch. Once you have some loam and grass in there, that's going to be a very nice space. Nice job!

Looks like the moss only likes 1/2 of your shed roof too! Nice effect

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Jay,
Beautiful job, your wall and rock work are great ! Thanks for all the pics !

 

[Jay4200]

Looks like the moss only likes 1/2 of your shed roof too! Nice effect

The moss area was completely shaded up until this fall. There used to be a tree branch stuck to the roof there too . The moss is the last remaining evidence of the treed area that I hogged out to make my tractor parking space behind the shed.

Thanks for the complements.

JayC

 

[Egon]

Very impressive work.

 

[Iowachild]

Fantastic looking project! As mentioned earlier, great coping work around the rocks!!

 

[VABlue]

Excellent work! The wall and boulders look very good and complement the yard and deck. Nice choice of materials and colors, too!