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