It's official: I'm a hero!

A James River Hero Homeowner that is! And you can be one too!

When my husband and I purchased our first home last year, we had great plans for a great yard. We were fortunate that the former owners kept up with their yard, unlike many of the other urban backyard jungles we witnessed while house hunting. However, the backyard wasn’t quite our style: Lots of brick paths, neat rows of boring bushes, and even a side yard filled with pea gravel. Since we moved in, in mid spring of 2012, we had to be content with planting our vegetables in the small square beds in the back, and adding a few pops of color here and there.



This was taken a few days after we moved in. The juniper was removed ASAP as we discovered it was a hideout for rats!  None have been seen since.

During the winter months, we made plans and sketches for our future oasis. In the early stages of planning, we both agreed that we wanted the yard to be pretty, but also functional for us and for wildlife. I came across the James River Hero Homes program from the James River Association (JRA), and we decided that this was something we needed to be a part of. After a bit of research, it turned out to be the easiest part of our backyard makeover! The purpose of the program is to encourage residents in the James River Watershed to reduce the amount of storm water and pollution leaving their property, and ultimately entering the local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. All we do to our yards, from fertilizer to pet waste, can impact the health of the waterways, making it unsafe for wildlife and for humans.

The application process is easy. Simply indicate on the application the river friendly practice(s) you currently have in place with photo documentation. We had recently purchased 2 rain barrels from JRA at Hardywood Brewery, so we chose that for our photo documentation. Then we completed the checklist of smart yard practices that we currently had in place or planned to implement. Just a few that we were able to check included composting, mowing the grass at a high level, reduced use of herbicides & pesticides, and including native plants to our gardens. After that, all we had to do was click submit and wait! A week or so later, we received our welcome packet from JRA that included a garden flag and a discount card to use at local nurseries and other yard related retailers. Having the discount card saved us a few hundred dollars in plants, mulch and gravel!

 

Rain barrels made from bourbon barrels.

Another bonus of our makeover is that we can be qualified to earn “credit” (really a discount!) in our storm water fees from the City of Richmond. We have yet to apply for this, but since we’ve added rain barrels and reduced the amount of impervious surfaces, I’m sure we’ll qualify!

Since we wanted to use a lot of native plants, we had a home consultation from Garden Gate Nursery. Although we had access to lists of native plants, it was very helpful for someone to give us options that would work best for our yard. I highly recommend doing this, as it took the guess work out of shade vs. sun, heights, and what grows well together! 

So instead of me writing about what we did to the yard, I thought I’d just show you! I unfortunately lost some photos from early this year, but have some from last year to serve as my “before” photos to my “after.” Happy viewing!

A few months after moving in, taken early summer. Not a bad yard, just not quite ours.

Using the existing beds, this was our garden mid-summer 2012.

Fast forward to Spring 2013:

The rows of bushes were removed and raised gardens for herbs and veggies were built. The Carolina jasmine on the fence was put up by the previous owner.

We created a winding path though the back.

I planted flowers as soon as I could!

 

It started to take shape really quickly!

At the end of our new pathway, tickseed on the right, bee balm, goldenrod and sedum on the left.

We chose a chipped slate for our pathways- less weeds to pull yet still will drain water well. On the right you can see elderberry, butterfly bushes, itea (with the white flowers in the back), service berry (back corner), baptisa (front left), yellow yarrow and tall phlox.

We filled the slate between the garden beds as well for easy maintenance.

Most of the plants are in and the path is complete! We even extended the fire pit area.

 

The cherry tree was removed, and more native plants were planted.

The beds on the side yard were planted with oak leaf hydrangea, a native variety. And not to state the obvious, but how awesome is our lounge area! Perfect for an evening cocktail!

The veggie garden started taking off!!

Most of the plants are thriving, aside from the ones eaten by bunnies. Here are some purple coneflowers, tickseed (with the red flowers), and yarrow (the coral).

Our (mostly) thriving veggie garden!

Over all we are thrilled with the results. It took us several weekends and lots of sweat, but we have the yard we wanted! We hope to finish a few more projects once the weather begins to cool, such as replacing the fire pit, removing the brick around the fire pit, and adding additional rain barrels to the back gutters and shed. We hope we can inspire you to create a backyard oasis that will not only be a place for you to enjoy, but one that will have a positive impact to our environment!

Cheers!

Kate