06 Summer - Hot Tub Fence

We built the hot tub fence in the summer, 2006. The fence posts were sunk in three feet of cement, while the fence itself is louvered vertically to allow in as much light as possible.

One of the first things we did when we moved into this house was build the hot tub's foundation. Its perimeter is cinder blocks held in place by rebar. Twenty-six bags of gravel were used to create the level surface it sits on.

I took this photograph at the top of the stairs, which led to nowhere until we finished the terraces that winter.

The sweet peas and larkspur were incredible. You can see the larkspur closest to the hot tub fence hadn't yet bloomed. When they did, they cut off access to the staircase, and we had to walk through the gardens to climb the hillside. I overplanted.

07 Late Winter - Gardens

So, here is the same section of the backyard about 13 months later in January or February, 2007.

It took a lot of man hours, dirt, boards, fence posts and rebar to terrace the hillside.

The steps are pavers set on cinder blocks kept in place by rebar drilled deep into the clay hillside.

You can see next to the steps the waterfall Phil was starting alongside the steps.

The lemon tree at the base of the stairs thrived with just a little attention.