While my dad was visiting we did a lot of work in the yard. He’s a retired landscape contractor. His work was mainly commercial, but he started his business in residential. Anyhow, every time he comes to visit he likes to help me with yard projects; and I’m not crazy so I never refuse his help.
This visit I had some issues that I wanted his help solving. You see we have these two dogs…..
Prince and……..
Jake.
We love them, but they can cause trouble in the backyard. You see that gravel bed right next to the patio in the above picture? (The patio is one of the very first projects we tackled in this home, and you can find out more about it in this old post here.) Well, I’m not naming any names, cough…..Prince…..cough, but one of these cute fur people likes to dig and kick this gravel all over the patio. Basically, it looked like this and many times worse than this on a daily basis.
Sorry for the bad iPhone pics, but you get the picture right? So the mission was to find a way to keep the dogs out of this gravel bed in a budget friendly way. My original thought was to build a retaining wall using the same stones we used to make the fire pit.
My dad pointed out that we would need quite a few stones to do this and while a retaining wall would look great on the patio it would probably look bad on my wallet. So he came up with the genius idea to build a little fence using treated wood to match the existing deck. I already had some leftover stain so all we needed was some wood. I picked up four 12 ft 1 x 4’s and stained them.
Then my dad cut them down to size and screwed them to the deck posts. This is what we ended up with and it is totally working! No more digging and gravel kicking!
The upside down v helps to keep it very strong and secure in the middle. I like the way it all blends in with the deck as if it had always been that way. This was so much more economical too. I spent around $20 (bought the wood at Home Depot) which is far less than what a retaining wall would have cost.
We also replaced the edging (the old edging was moved to another section of the yard) with these pieces that look like individual stones but are really one piece about 12 inches long (they’re about $2 a piece at Lowes).
My dad also used them to create these planters for some gardenias.
We only needed 6 pieces to make each planter which means each one only cost about $12. You can’t even buy a large terra cotta pot for that price! Plus I think these will do better over the winter being in the ground rather than a pot. I’ve always loved the fragrance of gardenias and being that they’re heat-loving evergreens they are perfect for the Southeast.
All that being said, I’m not going to lie, what I love most about these is that they take up so much room in this gravel bed it’s almost impossible for the dogs to have any room to move around in here which was the main goal.
I love working on projects with my dad. It’s not just because he does all the heavy lifting either. 😉 It’s because we work so well as a team. Being that we live so far away from each other it’s nice to come outside, see his handiwork, and feel close to him. I appreciate him so much!
While he was cutting the wood and screwing in the pieces, I worked even harder to screw in these plant hooks and hang some lanterns (Pier 1). I used some manila rope to make them appear longer, and I love the added texture.
It’s a rough diy life I tell ya. My daddy …….my hero……..the good ones never stop helping you solve life’s problems. 😉
So, have you had to solve any pet related house problems? I think I jump through more hoops because of my fur babies than I do for my human babies! Am I the only one that makes my relatives earn their keep when they come to visit?
Looks fabulous! I have a dog that will literally pick up the huge stones surrounding my landscaping and carry them to the yard. He is only 11 months old and the size of a horse! Love the lanterns!
Jessica @ Mom 4 Real