When I shared on Tuesday that we tore down the brick fireplace and planters in the backyard (which you can read about here), someone pointed out the poor health of the tree that sits just behind the patio in our backyard. It is a very tall live oak (I think) and it has been a problem for the past few years. This thing drops limbs pretty regularly, especially when it’s raining heavily or windy. It’s definitely a cause for concern and it’s obviously not in good health. Last year we had a woodpecker that spent a lot of time every day pecking at this tree, which to me was another indication that this tree may need to go sooner rather than later.
But that’s far from the only “problem tree” we have in our backyard, and one reason I’ve put off doing anything in our backyard for so long is the sheer amount of money it would take to get rid of all the problem trees, overgrown shrubs, and vines. I’m sure I could cut down most of it myself, but I would still need to hire someone with a wood chipper to clear it all away.
Just behind that dying oak tree is a dying pecan tree. At least I think it’s a pecan tree. (Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about plants and trees, so I have to rely on what others tell me.) This thing has been in bad shape since we got here, but over the years it has gotten worse.
Here’s a look at this sad looking tree from the other side.
But the real problem is this row of trees, vines, and other mysterious plants that divides our backyard into two sections.
When guests of our home look out our back windows and doors, they always think that the line of trees is the back of our property line. But as you can see, behind this line of trees there is a whole lot of land that remains hidden and completely unused to this day.
If I stand right next to this line of trees, here is the part of our backyard that is beyond this line of trees and divides our backyard in half.
Our entire property is one acre, which is almost unusual for properties within city limits. To own an acre or more, you generally have to be outside the city. But on our street there are about five or six houses in a row that have acres of land.
I seriously doubt I’ll get to any of this with the outdoor projects I’m currently on. For now I want to focus on simpler, smaller and fun projects. But this is definitely on my radar. Damn, it’s been on my radar since we bought the house. So far we have only cut down trees that had to be removed for safety reasons or for projects that were about to start.
We used to have a huge oak tree in this area between the carport and the patio…
I was sad to see it disappear, but finally I had enough of the tree when it dropped a huge branch and made a large hole in the roof of the carport. That’s why the shingles on the carport roof don’t look like a uniform color. When I had the hole repaired, they used shingles the same color as before, but they didn’t quite match.
And then of course we had to have a whole lot of trees cut down when we finally got our driveway watered. This side of our house, behind my workshop, was once an overgrown mess of trees (probably junk trees) and vines and other mysterious plants, to the point that the neighbor’s fence on this side of our yard was all but invisible.
And although we only cut down the trees that were necessary for the driveway, most of them are now gone.
I’d love to do all of this, but there’s still one small problem: money. When you want to do sooooo many projects and don’t have an unlimited budget, so many things get put on the back burner. And this is one of the things I’ve wanted to do for many years, but it never felt like a priority.
Now that I’m focused on the outside of our house, and especially now that I’ve already started tearing down the chimney and imagining what that might look like and what the view from the back patio will look like, I might at least start doing that and get my arborist to give me a price for removing all of that. Once I have at least a price in mind, we can start planning.
I feel a bit guilty because all we’ve done so far is cut down trees. I haven’t made any attempt to replace them yet, but that’s in the plans too. I looked at the landscape plan to see what the landscape architect suggested for the area between the carport and the back patio, namely the purple tree at the bottom of this section, and he suggested an eastern “woodland pansy” redbud.
I had to look it up to see what it looks like and it is very pretty. According to Fast Growing Trees, it has deep purple leaves year-round. And a 5- to 6-foot tree costs about $165.
So we have big plans and I am aware of the dead and dying trees and the tree debris that needs to be removed. If only I had a money tree, then all of our obstacles that stand in our way to achieve these things would be removed!
By the way: Tomorrow I finally have the last post about the studio bathroom for you. I’m so sorry for the delay! There are some things going on behind the scenes that have nothing to do with the house that have caused delays. Speaking of which, there’s a very good chance I’ll be out of pocket for most of next week. So if I don’t post anything from Monday to Thursday of next week, you can just rest assured that everything will be fine. Matt is fine. I have an urgent personal situation right now that will take up most of my time and attention next week, and I doubt I’ll be able to devote much, if any, time to home-related projects during the week. But I’ll definitely show you the finished bathroom tomorrow!
