The number of questions we received about the backyard from our Instagram post made it clear we hadn’t shared enough updates. We’ve made some big changes — including hiring professional landscapers — and that decision turned out to be the best warranty we ever bought. After more changes planned for the yard and so many of you asking “When did that happen? How do you like it? How did you do that?” we figured it was time to bring everyone up to date.
Update 1: Removing the Deck
If your last memory of our backyard included a large deck along the back of the house, you’re not alone. We slowly fell out of love with it — the wood was deteriorating, nails were popping, and boards warped. We had previously stripped and stained it after moving in, but that only delayed the inevitable. The deck continued to fail and felt more like a fenced-in cage that kept us from enjoying the grassy yard where the kids now run freely.
Last fall we hired a local handyman to remove the deck. The teardown created several follow-up tasks: moving the air conditioning unit closer to the house, tidying electrical wiring, grinding a large stump hidden under the deck, and power-washing brick to remove the green residue left behind by the degrading wood. By late October we had a clean slate to rebuild from (the early photo here shows the yard before we power-washed away the deck scum).
Update 2: Hiring Professional Landscaping
After several unsuccessful attempts to establish reliable screening plants on our own, we decided to hire professionals. A local nursery offered a free landscape plan with plant purchases and — crucially — professional installation plus a two-year warranty. If a plant dies, they replace it at no charge and without us having to return anything. That warranty was the deciding factor.
Shortly after we moved in, the yard was mostly grass we planted ourselves, but it lacked privacy and mature screening. Last November the landscaping crew planted a perimeter of screening plants — mainly hollies and privet — plus a few ornamental trees and shrubs like a weeping cherry, a ginkgo, and two Japanese maples to add seasonal interest and color.
Bringing in professionals was worth it. They completed a job that would have taken us about a week in a day and a half, and the warranty has already paid off: seven bushes were replaced after a harsh winter — including one of the large hollies — and the replacements have thrived. The crew has also offered helpful advice about local pests and deer pressure. The warranty restarts for any replacement plants, so the seven new shrubs are guaranteed for two years from their planting date. We still have work ahead to achieve full coverage and privacy, but things are looking promising.
Update 3: The Gravel Patio
The pea gravel patio drew a lot of questions. It was a pragmatic, temporary choice rather than a final design decision. We plan to install a permanent stone patio someday—either pavers or bluestone to match the darker tile in our raised sunroom—but we wanted the ground to settle first. When tree roots decay, the soil can sink, so we didn’t want a hard patio that could become uneven.
After removing the deck, the space was dirt and mulch and quickly turned into a mud pit during rain. While the landscapers were onsite, we asked them to haul in pea gravel to stabilize the area. The cost for the gravel and labor was very low, and it can later act as a base if we install pavers. Before spreading the gravel, they dug shallow containment trenches along the edges that meet the lawn; that detail keeps the rock from migrating into the grass.
There’s no weed barrier below the gravel, but weeds have been minimal and are easy to pull by hand. The main minor annoyance is that chair legs can stick a little when moving furniture over loose gravel — likely because the gravel was raked and not fully compacted. A thinner layer or tamping could help, and the gravel visually ties in with an old aggregate path that leads to the area, so the overall look feels cohesive for now.
Will the pea gravel stay forever? No — we still want a hardscaped patio — but it’s an affordable, functional temporary solution, especially for areas where the furniture won’t be moved often (for example, a fire pit, picnic table, or a stationary outdoor couch).
Update 4: Hanging Garden Lights
Even though the patio isn’t finished, we couldn’t resist adding string lights. The space has limited anchor points, but we discovered that a single 48-foot strand provides good coverage when configured thoughtfully. After experimenting with two strands, we settled on two lines that converge at one anchor point on the sunroom so the lights look balanced.
We screwed white cup hooks into the wood siding and looped the light cords over them. The hooks aren’t rated specifically for outdoor use, so we’ll keep an eye on weathering, but they blend in and the vinyl cord coating should help reduce rust. Right now the lights are plugged into an extension cord that runs to an outlet in the sunroom; we plan to tidy the wiring and may add a smart switch so they can stay plugged in and be scheduled or controlled remotely.
Hopefully this covers the most common backyard questions. For now, we’re shifting most of our attention to a beach house yard project for the summer while keeping these plants healthy and deer-free. Stay tuned for more updates!
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