Pool Progress: Landscaping Part 1

There’s a lot that goes into a pool even after the pool is built. I thought I’d share some more pool progress now that we’re onto landscaping the yard.

We still have so much work to do out here, but now that the pool is done and the water is in we can start getting on with the other jobs. Luke actually took last week off so we could start crossing some stuff off the “Honey Do List”. Before I tell you guys any more about what’s in store I need to thank, our friend, Greg. That is Greg on the tractor. We’ve been friends for god knows how long. Greg also had last week off and on one of his days off he came over with his tractor and helped us level the yard. He spread over 40 yards of soil and WE STILL NEED MORE.

This is how the yard was looking when Greg arrived:

We had a dirt pile that was sprouting weeds and more loam in the front yard.

Greg first moved some of the rocks to make it level over by our plants and then he spread all the loam.

Conor helped by brushing the soil off the deck.

Greg spent more than a few hours going back and forth spreading it all out and getting it nice and even.

Leveling the ground and making sure it slopes away from the pool is just as important as the pool construction. If the ground doesn’t slope away from the pool, once we get cold weather, it could make the pool, or deck, crack.

I’m not sure if you can tell by these photos but it was a pretty hot day to be doing this job. Greg’s girls and our boys swam while Luke and Greg worked on the grading.

I made a little video of the whole process below:

It really was amazing to watch.

Our yard no longer looks like the moon but a level yard.

We are hugely grateful to Greg for his friendship. He really helped us so much and went above and beyond for us.

Since taking these photos we’ve planted grass seed and scattered hay to keep the soil moist. It does look a bit like we have a farm by the pool BUT the grass is starting to grow. Yay!

Last week we also built a retaining wall on the other side of the pool and picked out some plants. I’m excited to share all that with you soon but we’re waiting for more soil to arrive to go behind the retaining wall. After that we’ll do some planting and I want to add some crushed shells to the beds.

Once the landscaping is done we’ll move onto the she shed. After 4 years it’s time for a little change out there, especially now that we have the pool. I have some fun ideas for the space and can’t wait to share them with you guys.