Deb was shopping at Costco today and called me about some Queen Palms they had for $24. We went over there tonight so I could take a look at them and I ended up buying 6. They are all about 8' to 10' tall and I picked up a couple of nice looking pygmy dates too. So it looks like phase 1 of the unplanned front yard re-landscaping project will get started this weekend.

Nice! That sounds like an excellent price! Pictures????

Do you want pictures of trees in buckets or next week after they have been planted? :o)

Ummm, after planting, please!

OK...I'll probably do before and after pic's.. Maybe one or two inprogress pic's too.

Perfect!

I just went out and took this "After/Before" pic. That's after the old trees blew down and were removed and before the new ones are put in. I took out a couple of shrubs that I didn't like. Eventually all of the ones left in this pic will go away too.

The house is looking very "naked" right now.

There are a couple of vacant lots in our neighborhood and one of them is right across the street from me. Several times a year they scrape the lot for weed control and today was one of those days.

I planted all 6 of the Queen Palms, and both Pygmy Dates today. Also removed the rest of the shrubs I didn't want to save and dug a couple of extra holes for some more plants I want to put in tomorrow. Then I went and bought 2 more Pygmy Dates, 3 gardenias, 4 foxtail ferns, another sago and 40 Stella Del Oro bulbs.

It started to rain so while we are waiting to see if it slows down enough to continue I thought I'd take an in progress pic. This project is coming together nicely at this point. I decided to remove the old granite so that I can redo the irrigation system. Then I'll replace the stone with the same dark brown stone thats in the backyard. Eventually I think I'll do a series of free form stepping pods leading from the street curb up to the existing sidewalk.


Since I started writing this post an hour ago, the rain has gotten a lot heavier and I decided to call it a day.

Love the look of it Dan. That will come together nicely.

Thanks Mary!

Excellent Dan - that looks really nice! Nice price on those palms too!

What a difference already Dan! I love where you are going with this and will sit back and watch!

Looking really nice, Dan!

Thank you ladies!

So far it's been fun and Deb and I are happy with the results.

Very refreshing and inviting. Looks so nice, Deb and Dan (and crew).
I love the sound of wind/breeze rustling through Queen Palms.
I have two. My only problem is when those flower pods pop and the bees come. My gosh, So Many Bees.... Now I have them cut off before they flower. Just can't take a chance as I'm allergic to bee's stings.
This pic shows the flower. It's covered in bees though maybe not visible.

I stopped by a landscape materials place on the way home from work today to check on gravel prices for the front yard. While I was there I decided to look at some accent boulders and found a great one. I took a picture of it but I have a new phone and can't seem to figure out how to get it to my computer! I love technology but sometimes it frustrates the @#$% out of me!

This weekend the plan is to complete the irrigation system and set the boulder in place (their estimated weight is 1000/1200 pounds). New gravel the following weekend. That should have the place looking good until I can get back to it for finishing details after I complete the BBQ.

Looking forward to pictures of your progress!

I stopped on the way home from work this afternoon to pick up the boulder and ended up getting another one. Then when I got home I decided to prep the spot where I want to place it. I was going to wait until I had help tomorrow but went ahead and set it in place by myself. It looks great! I'll take a few pic's tomorrow and post after I get the 2nd one in place.

I think I might move the sago from my backyard to a spot behind the boulder in the front yard now too. I think it will be a great location where the sago and the boulder will compliment each other.

hmmm Dan. You man handled a 1200# boulder by yourself. Yikes! That sounds tricky. I was thinking a crane would be needed. Interesting.