Top Soil for the West Side

Earthworks is a type of art form that I felt engaged in today. "This isn't art. It's a craft," My wife corrected. Well... I guess I'm not sure what the difference is. I hauled 40 40 pound bags of top soil from the garden shop over to the west side of our house. First we spread 6 mil plastic (which we quadruple folded) and create a slope of dirt on top flowing away from the house. Then I scattered grass seed and fertilizer. So today's project had two goals: help the basement stay dry and lay the ground work for the west side face lift we have planned for the spring. We dream of hostas and lemon grass. Mums and grass.

the Front Porch

This is where the neighbors in South City hang out-- no, I mean live. On my way to run errands, I've often marveled at this phenomena while waving to a neighbor playing with her grandchildren. Or the two ladies across the street joining each other to watch cars and gossip. Party animals thrive in the night here facing front. In a way, I guess this is a lot like living on Sesame Street! Then I wondered no more as I found myself sitting on a lawn chair that I had plucked from the burning hot backyard to find reprieve under the shade of my front porch.

And that's exactly the reason.

The overhang to the front porch seemed to come standard with every home on this block in the late 1920's. It provides relief from the sun and a shield from the rain. Homeowners-- rather than create shade for their backyards-- just end up on the front porch by default. After all, it is less expensive to sit where there is already shade than to create shade where there is none.

So what's wrong with it? My front porch is crumbling. The paint is starting to peal away as the result of a quick rehab by the previous owner. Plus, I hate the battleship grey. It would be nice to add a pebble stone overlay with epoxy (that's my unlimited budget dream). More furniture would be nice too. My neighbors have made their porch look like the side of a cruise ship with decking furniture and nick nacks galore, but that's not me. I would like to consider a few more items for the front porch: A reading table, a bench, a large wooden wind chime that makes subtle small expressions, citronella candles. But these are all dreams for a place that is already magical. Birds have nested in the flowers here. Obviously this is a safe place to be.

My wife and I have added flower pots and baskets all around the rot iron railing plus two that hang from above. Every year we plant various annuals in these places. This year, I've dared to plant some plants that I will have to shelter inside for the winter. I've seen hummingbirds paying quick visits in the mornings while I have my coffee and croissant. This is the most serene part of my outdoor experience on my property. Can I give each area of my yard this kind of magic? My intention is not to dwell in each area like I would on the front porch. What I do want is to make each section of my yard a place I'm happy to find myself in for the reason that I've found myself there.

These locations of my yard that I'm describing are like countries on a map! I might like to draw one and post it at some point.

the West Side

Here is the most troublesome side of the house: the West Side. Shared with our neighbor to the west, our home experiences water intake at the basement level whenever it rains. Our home is downhill from our western neighbors, and water runs this direction.

Here's the history: My first attempt to solve the problem was in 2008, I installed a French drain backfilled with Missouri River Rock. This had no effect. In 2012, we installed a second drain along side the french drain with a few drain ports to capture water. This was also ineffective and appeared to make the problem worse. A third and final attempt occurred in early 2013. The regular drain was replaced with a new French drain back-filled with chat (instead of larger river rock). To our chagrin, this seemed to make things worse. The real issue was the fact that we disturbed the ground so much around this area that it was as if we were welcoming water to run down the side of our home. So this summer, I began packing more dirt on the West Side to create a slope away from the foundation and to give the weakened ground back its density. Then also near the Northwest corner where the ground was the weakest, I re-routed the downspouts to the new drain system and covered up the old clay pipes.

And here I took a break until last week. The Northwest corner was full of exposed pipes, and the ground still sloped inward to the house. Using my last pile of dirt from the backyard, I killed two birds with one stone: the backyard is now free of dirt piles. The Northwest corner is hopefully better off with the earth moved to this spot. I first covered the ground and the drainage pipes with 6ml plastic doubled over, and then I added dirt to the area. I added grass seed and a bit of top soil to protect it.

More improvements to the West Side are still needed. I want to grow grass all along the side where I have yet to plan any. The windows need to be caulked and re-painted. The fence in the back needs to be weeded. The Northwest Corner also has more potential, I believe, to be a beautiful place.

the Alley

Every mundane space has the potential for beauty locked within it. I'm going to feature a post each week on a different space and the challenges it poses. This week is the Alley space.

Here between my house and my neighbor's house to the east is a mostly paved walkway. My half of this alley leads to a gate in the backyard, but my neighbor's side just ends at a closed fence. She hardly ever ventures here presumably because she lacks entry to her backyard. Weeds frequently sprout up between the cracks of the pavement (sometimes even taking root somewhere along her foundation). My side is coated with a line of pigeon poop. A flight of Pigeons roost on our roof every night. This space could easily gain the nickname "community toilet", but I don't want it to gain this reputation! I want to make this a beautiful place too. Along the pavement on my side is the basement stone wall with 2 windows. The hose is hooked up to the front of the space and is wrapped around a coil that rests next to the porch at the very front of the Alley. This used to be where coal was shoveled through a small metal door (now sealed shut) into the "coal room" below.

Obviously the worst offense about this space is the pigeon poop, and a health risk, quite frankly. The weeds are second, and the cracks in the cement are third. The hose coil is broken and difficult to work with as well. The basement windows are not pretty.

Positive things this space has going for it? Well, it is shaded all day long by the brick houses flankng its east and west sides. This could be the coolest part of the yard on a hot day. The source for water outdoors is a feature that I can celebrate. The downspout for the storm drains is a clay pipe that seems to be functioning well.

I don't yet have a vision for this space other than mitigation. But what of beautification? I will have to think on it.

Outdoor Space from 1926

There is little time for art these days, or is there? I begin to look around at all of my responsibilities and wonder: are these mere chores to deal with or is there something more? Something like mowing the lawn... can I change my way of thinking to make it an artistic endeavor?

My home was built in 1926, and the yard that it sits on is a typical backyard. Nothing special, and not very big. Including the garage, it is about 3000 square feet of outside earth space.

What I realize now is that nothing much has been done with outside yard space. It has been managed, and beautification has been limited to a few flowers here and there.

But what if...

If this was an art project, my goal would be to make this south city yard a place of serenity that I would want to live in whenever I can. Homebuyers over the years have thought little of this space. Its a place to barbecue, a place that requires upkeep, and perhaps a place to hang out on the front porch or back deck. But not much else. Perhaps this is because the home itself is a starter home. With its one bath 1.5 story assessment, who wants to mess with the yard all that much? Myself included, I envision myself moving on some day. No one wants to spend a lot of money renovating this space. I only cut the tree (pictured above) down in the backyard when it became a danger to myself and the neighbor. Otherwise, I would have left that dying silver maple to the next owner to deal with.

But what about the present? This is my life... why am I living like I'm waiting for something else? If this is the space that I live in now, and I am hanging out on the back deck, shouldn't I want to make it a place of beauty to enjoy? This could be the last view I ever get (there are no guarantees), so why not make it a good one?

Practically however, I don't have the cash to spend on it. So now the creative side has a MISSION: to make the yard an enjoyable and lovely experience on a dime.