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Saturday, June 14, 2014

Changes at the Modernist Nest

For those of you new to Mid2Mod, I built a small house behind my main house a little over a year ago. My daughter and her family moved into the larger house, and I moved into what one longtime reader lovingly called "the modernist nest." One reader after another started calling it that, so the name stuck. (If you want to read my chronicle of the build process, Google "mid2mod construction saga" for the whole story.)

The little "yard" behind the Modernist Nest just underwent a redo. I put down black mulch last year after the construction was complete, primarily because it was a cheap, quick fix. I didn't put in grass, because the entire area is in almost constant deep shade from 60-year-old pecan trees.

The pecan trees turned out to be the culprits that made Plan B necessary, because mulch didn't hold up well to the constant blowing and raking of leaves and those pesky male pecan flowers called catkins...nasty little caterpillary-looking things that make a horrible mess. (If you have pecan trees, you know exactly what I'm talking about!) By the end of a year, most of the mulch was gone, swept away with pecan debris. On the other hand, we were able to use the leaf blower on the rocks in front of the house and keep them clean very easily.

As a result, I decided to replace the mulch in back with rocks, and the job was finished today. Here's a before and after of the yard.


Before: Loved the contrast in colors, hated the mess

After: Rocks!

After: Edging around my flowerbed
and vintage Russell Woodard outdoor furniture that may be going for a powdercoat soon

19 comments:

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    1. And so much less messy after watering or rain!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks! So does yours. I love your combination of rocks and decking.

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  3. Gorgeous Dana! Funny, we have one of those old Pecan trees that covered our patio and furniture with those things. Never had as many as this year. Anyway, we also have rock that looks jjust like yours. :) Bring on the leaf blower!

    Your garden is so pretty, love how you've hung the ferns.

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    1. Thanks! I was thinking that we've had more pecan tree droppings this year too than I remember. As much as I love my asparagus ferns, I'm always picking catkins out of them.

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks! I think I'm really going to like it better.

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  5. The rocks rock! I also noticed that the wood fence got weathered quite beautifully.

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    1. Thanks! The fence is cedar, so it should stay pretty for a long time.

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  6. Love the rocks! Some days I'd like to cover our entire yard with them. :P

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    1. Thanks! I definitely shouldn't have much maintenance, should I? A power wash every once in a while, and I'm done. :)

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  7. Replies
    1. Thanks! I pulled back the curtains on the sliding doors as soon as I got up this morning, just so I could see my rocks. :)

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  8. It looks lovely Dana - much better
    What colour are you going to powdercoat your out door setting? Orange, yellow, white? None of the above? x

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    1. I'm just going with plain ol' black. I think they'll show up better against the fence. My SIL usually has the ones for the store done in orange (a post about the latest onest this week), and they look fantastic, but I think they'd fade into the orangey color of the cedar.

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  9. Nice I'm constantly brushing my mulch back into the beds after the birds and squirrels fling it around. Call your place modernest.

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    1. Yes, I have lots of birds and squirrels too, so I know what you mean. "Modernest" is a great word!

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  10. It looks so nice with the white rock! If I didn't hold on to the foolish hope that it will one day rain, and then i'll have a yard again, I would lay down gravel all around the house.

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