More work in the back yard

As you may know from previous blog posts we started a major landscape project months ago. We started planning in the early spring, took a ton of trees and scrubs out in early June (http://clemonswilliams.blogspot.com/2011/06/yard-work-and-deck-progress.html), and have made some major updates to the deck since April (http://clemonswilliams.blogspot.com/2011/04/spring-is-here-well-maybe.html) . Now as Labor Day draws near we are making more progress. I would say the end is in sight but honestly it will probably be October before we get grass started and spring before we do any other planting or mulching. Over the weekend Joe, Ellen, and Stuart completed the addition to the creek-stone wall under the deck. They extended the wall out and away from the house. The plan is to fill dirt in behind the wall to direct water away. We have also decided on a concrete company and they are going to be able to come in and pour our below deck patio and sidewalk in a couple of weeks. We are so EXCITED that our plans are finally becoming a reality! After the concrete is poured we will bring in dirt to create high areas so that we can direct water where we want it to go.

View from under the deck near the house. Soon this will be a nice concrete patio and the mound of deck from where we removed the coy pond will be a nice grassy yard.

Close up of the extension of the creek stone wall, concrete will come out 5 feet from the post.

A before concrete picture of the area where the sidewalk will be. Looks so much different with all the bushes gone from around the house, door, and stairwell!

Backside of the wall. We plan to fill dirt in here to keep water away.

View from the front corner, I still have to decide what plants or scrubs to put here. Any suggestions?