Throwback Thursday - Paved Paradise!

I thought that each Thursday I could share a project with you that I've already completed.

Today's project is all about our back garden. Which is totally not ours, and which we technically share with the two floors above us, and that I've totally over taken. Last year, we attempted to grow grass, and it was a complete fail (as you can see below). So this year, I decided to take a slightly different approach, pave it! 

As you can see in the image below, the garden already had a small patio section. I think 10 pavers worth, and I thought I could use those pavers, some of the bricks that were marking off the back garden area, and then some inexpensive stones from Loews (like $1.50 each). 

Before I got to breaking the ground up, I drew out a basic pattern, which you can kind of see in the image below. This gave me an idea of how many pavers to buy. Henry of course was just concerned with when the digging was going to start, because that's what he came for. Which is why we wanted to cover the yard up in the first place.

Once home with the pavers, which I should say, my dear friend Lis, hauled around with me, I laid them out in the pattern I wanted. Which again Henry helped with, but obviously not enough, because I totally broke two corners off two different stones. However, I was determined to continue. 

Then, in probably the most tedious way possible, I cut out the dirt for each block, and laid it into the ground. By no means was this a scientific or well researched plan. But that's how I did it. My goal was to disturb as little soil as possible. Eventually, I got it all done, which probably took about 2 solid days, but I did it over evenings and weekends. I added the plants as I went, and did my best to level each stone. I also didn't create a chalk line on one side to keep things lined up, I just eyeballed it. 

Like I said before, the main motivation for this project was to have less dirt for the spaniel to play in, but as per usual, he turned that on it's head, and decided to break into a planting bed. Jeepers Creepers! (which is actually the name of one of the plant brands I used). 

Now, the garden's had about a month of growth and several other projects, 

but here's what it looks like now. 

I can't believe how fast the plants are growing, and it's amazing to watch the patio grow in. I've always been into grass, so I'm surprised how much I love it.  Are you a grass or patio person? What about that new fake grass! We totally considered it! Would you?