I have been attempting to dream up plans for our backyard space for the past couple of years to no avail. For some reason, I just could not figure out how to configure the space in a way that would give us everything we wanted and needed that would still be aesthetically pleasing. We worked on about a third of the yard last Spring for the One Room Challenge. During that challenge we built a greenhouse, garden area with a fence, and painted the boys play set. The rest of the yard was pretty much ignored. Thankfully we were able to work with Yardzen to address the other parts of our yard and let me tell you… these plans are beautiful!!! 

So before I show you the gorgeous plans, let’s take a look at where we started. When we first moved in our yard in the front and back was covered in trees and weeds. One of the first things we did was have the trees cut down and the stumps ground up. What we did not realize at that time is that it would cause depressions in our yard where the trees used to be, particularly the larger trees. So one obstacle we had to overcome deals with water and the unevenness of our yard. 

Another obstacle that we have back here is our septic tank. Initially, our septic tank and the field lines were all in our backyard. Well, because of the trees those lines were ruined and we had to have them all redone and routed through our front yard instead, however, the tank still resides in our backyard. So anything that we do has to work around the tank so that it can easily be serviced. 

In anticipation of this plan we got our yard fenced in. Let me tell you… that is one of the best t things we did in 2020. I LOVE having a fenced in backyard! I mean, we had a fence before but it was a chain link fence that was kind of falling apart. This fence was definitely an upgrade and very much appreciated by the entire family. 

The Yardzen process was pretty straightforward. I sent over several pictures and videos of our yard, answered a few questionnaires about our style, preferences, and must-haves and sat back and waited for them to create our plan. They used satellite technology along with the pictures and videos we sent and seriously created a masterpiece for us. 

We were given several mock ups of the space from different angles along with the layout, planting guide, and shopping list. Literally everything we need to carry the plan out was provided to us. 

A few of our must haves were an outdoor kitchen, deck, fire pit, and she shed. They delivered on all of that and more. I am so excited about the she shed. I have wanted one since I did the Mom Cave for the first One Room Challenge I participated in. I settled for the mom cave in the garage at that time but for many reasons that space just did not work out.

Now this is a lot… and it would be very expensive to create a backyard that looks like this overnight. We have decided to break it down and complete it in phases. Hopefully, this will allow us to not feel so rushed to get everything done at once. We also want to still enjoy our yard even though it may not be completely done. 

So for Phase 1 we plan to stain the fence (that is partially completed now… waiting on more stain), build the deck, pergola, and get the she shed. We will also start doing some of the planting and other small projects here and there. We will be doing this without debt so it may take us some time to make it all happen… the good news is that it is happening! If you find yourself in a similar dilemma I would definitely check Yardzen out. We are so impressed with what they created and could not recommend them enough.