Side yard remodel

We built the house in 2018, and just threw down some sod on the north side of our house because we had some leftover sod from doing the backyard; can’t let that go to waste, right? That side wasn’t setup for irrigation, and wasn’t prepped, yet somehow, the grass stayed alive.

Fast forward to this year and we finally got around to revamping the side yard. It was a little bit of an awkward side hill; and about 10’ wide from the house to the fence, and about 40’ from the gate to the back of the house.

Various pics from the last couple weekends, but this was an oddly satisfying project to complete, especially since I have no experience with laying flagstone.

Cutting out what sod was left


Initial grade, hand leveled


4x6 landscaping timbers, spiked with 2’ rebar




First section laid out. I just pulled it off the pallet and laid it out without any plan; it worked fairly well, mostly because I didn’t want super tight gaps.


Finished path on this end, work in progress on the far end.


(Almost) final product, with the 2dozen plants in place, with irrigation. Just need a few final touches, and it’s as good as it’s gonna be this year. I’ll worry about planting stuff next to the house next spring. I’m also planning on building some kind of partial AC enclosure to hide the AC units.

That looks great. I need to do something on the side of my house, at least my wife tells me we do.

That does look great! I have a bunch of places in my yard that could use some attention. I need to get @johngottfredson up here and get my project some vision.

Stopped to pick up a couple bags of mulch yesterday after work to help protect the freshly planted stuff, and the girl at the check out goes, “just so you know, everything is 50% off the tag, and then another 90% off that.”

So I picked up 11 more plants for less than I would have paid for a single one last week.

My wife said I have a problem; I can’t really argue with her 🤷🏼‍♂️

Johnny Quest said:

Stopped to pick up a couple bags of mulch yesterday after work to help protect the freshly planted stuff, and the girl at the check out goes, “just so you know, everything is 50% off the tag, and then another 90% off that.”

So I picked up 11 more plants for less than I would have paid for a single one last week.

My wife said I have a problem; I can’t really argue with her 🤷🏼‍♂️

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I would have a hard time not just cleaning out whatever I could get my hands on, at that price. And I don't even want any plants.

I Lean said:

I would have a hard time not just cleaning out whatever I could get my hands on, at that price. And I don't even want any plants.

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There was a guy there that had 3 flatbed carts absolutely full, and was trying to rent their rental flatbed truck to get them all home. I’m pretty stoked with what I got; it’ll fill in a few gaps in the yard that need something.

And if they don’t survive, I’m only out a couple bucks each. I NEED to get them in the ground today though.

It looks like where the plants are at are still a lower level than the path. Are you concerned about your new path being retained? I know you retained the upper section. Just curious on the lower.

kmboren said:

It looks like where the plants are at are still a lower level than the path. Are you concerned about your new path being retained? I know you retained the upper section. Just curious on the lower.

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Yes they are, and yea I’m definitely going to keep an eye on it, but it’s such hard ground that I dont think it will shift much; I had to break it up with a pick ax.

Very nice!

Johnny Quest said:

Yes they are, and yea I’m definitely going to keep an eye on it, but it’s such hard ground that I dont think it will shift much; I had to break it up with a pick ax.

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You can always do the metal edge stuff. It’s not too pricy and while it’s not designed to retain, it’ll at least keep the rock from rolling down into the bottom area.