Levi's Old House

We liked to entertain and BBQ. Here is our garden level patio surrounded by another perennial garden. The Emerald Queen Maple will provide the shade in a year or two.

More Lawn pics

We planted a perimeter of evergreens around the NW and N sides to shield from the winter wind. It also would provide privacy and screening if needed, however are old neighbors were awesome and will be missed.

Looking west from the Patio. The large tree is a Nor’Easter Cottonless Cottonwood. This tree was only 2.5″ caliper and about 15′ tall when I planted it. When we left in 2010 it was easily 12″ caliper and every bit of 25-30′ tall. Loved this tree

My wife built this garden. Aside from the Tree and wall she did it all! She was pregnant and it was Mothers Day to boot. Thanks Heather (and family). The fence prevented our youngest Golden Retriever from un-planting the garden. Turned out great. Was new in 2010.

Heather potted over 15 annual pots this year. They added some great color and focal points for our landscaping. The new house has over 25 so she has her work cut out for her. We are considering selling annuals, and can sure special order them. I bet Heather could be coaxed into designing pots if you asked her!

Planted the Ponderosa, White Fir, and Blue Spuce two weeks after we moved in. Yard was totally bare when we moved in.

Just after move in. Fall of 2004.

Our oldest dog Bailey, helping me work in the yard in 2007.

This is a small, P shaped garden. All hand watered.

The Patmore Ash is an anchor in the front yard. Also one of my favorite trees period. My brother and I built the dry, stacked retaining walls from rip-rap. Thanks A-Better-Edge for the great concrete edging.

A good mix of Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials. I finally felt like the front was close to done when we moved. I will miss this yard. Since water was expensive we xeriscaped the entire 1/2 acre.

More Trees and Shrubs

The Aristocrat Pear and large boulders are the anchors. This was my Lilly Patch. We planted over 30 Lillies with 100% success rate. Oh, and that rock was HEAVY!

Another shot of the Lillies. Unlike many of the lots in Woodmen Hills (Falcon) we used a lot of mulch. Mulch is better for the soil, is cooler, and better for the plants compared to rock. This was fine tree mulch died dark brown from Rocky Top Resc. It took 32 cuyds to mulch the entire yard. I top dressed about every 3-5 years. The soil became noticeably better over a few years. More earthworms, better moisture, and easier to cultivate.

From left to right. Bakeri Spruce, Royalty Crab, 2 Blue Totem Spruce, Cimmaron Ash

We used more rock along the street. We weren’t allowed to plant on the easement so rock made a bit more sense. I wanted to line the street with large shade trees, but for some reason metro dist wouldn’t allow???. Mainly the rock looked better than the weeds that are so common in the neighborhood.

Imperial Honeylocust in a small perennial/shrub bed.

This is the backyard looking South West/West. Even with a xeric yard we needed some grass. 1500sqft of Kentucky Blue Grass from Greenbelt Turf Farm (the best in town).

This path connects the front to the back. We used red breeze and had Chad with A-Better-Edge do the edging. Path is 4′ wide to allow for access. This is one area I would have filled in with perennial had we stayed. Now I have a whole acre to fill in!

Deborah Norway Maple on east side of lawn.

This was my favorite Tree in the entire landscape. The Deborah Maple performed well, grew fast, and looked amazing. Great shot of the lawn too! On average we watered twice a week, during the hottest driest months. August of 2009 we didn’t water one time with the rain that we had. The lawn was so thick it had to be mowed at least three times a week. AMEND your soil, it makes a difference.

I built this bed for my wife, and she did a great job of planting the perennials. We added some Cosmos in 2010 and they looked great. We called this the Triangle. It filled a funny corner in our yard.

Another shot of the lawn and Deborah Maple. We had a perennial bed surrounding the lawn. A-Better-Edging did the concrete edging.

This was new in 2010. We added some Feather Reed Grass, Dwarf Globe Spruce, and perennials to finish the beds around the grass.

Ponderosa Pine were my tree of choice. They grow fast, take little water, screen the wind and give privacy. The one in the middle might be the prettiest one I have ever seen. You can see how they will vary in appearance from tree to tree. These are planted on 15′ center to center.