John Stone's Picture Gallery and Video Archive - Page 142

Reeze · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 03:02 PM

I just need to quickly hijack this thread to compliment 1FastGTX. You look incredible in your latest avatar. With that shirt and build you remind me of a caveman. You look like you could take on T-Rex!

***John Stone*** · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nico

The fact that you take pleasure out of having to do brute manual labor just to be able to get your car out of the garage is an indication that you have a 'different' mentality than most.

I think they call that "lack of common sense." Nothing to brag about!

***John Stone*** · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devery

Be sure to post some after pics.

Posting them now!

***John Stone*** · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 07:52 PM

OK, today was UNREAL. What a workout. I'll save all the gory details for tomorrow morning's update.

Short version: Lisa and I worked from dawn to dusk, and I'd say we are 75% done. I think I'm going to have some extra mulch, which I will share with my neighbors.

The front is totally done, and I'm very happy with how it looks. I'm going to try and post some backyard photos tomorrow, and will probably make an album of them.

I'm so beat. I'm having a cheat meal tonight - I've earned it.

Here are some pictures of the finished front yard. The first picture is the mulch we had to start the day, the second one is the mulch we had left at the end of the day. We made a nice dent in the back yard, and will finish it tomorrow.

Brad_Ny · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 08:37 PM

Looks NICE!!! GOOD WORK. I was shocked you had ordered so much mulch because judging by the pictures I have much more area to mulch at my crib and I only get about 16 yards... haha "only." I normally spread about 2/3 of it in a day, which it looks like you did but out of 20 yards... that is big time. My back is ruined for days after that. Your house and gardens look amazing. Just wanted to say great work.

Devery · Sat, March 18th, 2006, 09:20 PM

Looks great! Wow, that's a load of mulch! Now who is the green thumb in the family...you or Lisa? Isn't it amazing how you can transform just about anything with a vision and determination....in this case a strong back too ;-)

gborn · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 09:35 AM

JS, you've inspired me to get fit AND get my yard in shape.

***John Stone*** · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_Ny

Looks NICE!!! GOOD WORK. I was shocked you had ordered so much mulch because judging by the pictures I have much more area to mulch at my crib and I only get about 16 yards... haha "only." I normally spread about 2/3 of it in a day, which it looks like you did but out of 20 yards... that is big time. My back is ruined for days after that. Your house and gardens look amazing. Just wanted to say great work.

Thanks, Brad!

Yeah, 20 yards of mulch may have been a bit too much!

When we re-did all the landscaping last year we used a total of 10 yards, but I didn't feel that it was anywhere near thick enough. This year I wanted to go 3-4 inches deep, so I figured I'd double the amount we used last year. Many of our beds are irregularly shaped, so trying to work it out mathematically would have been very difficult (for me, at least

).

I'm a little sun-drenched this morning and a little achy, but I had an amazing, deep 8 hours of sleep and I feel pretty good this morning. I'm ready to get out there and get this project done!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devery

Looks great! Wow, that's a load of mulch! Now who is the green thumb in the family...you or Lisa? Isn't it amazing how you can transform just about anything with a vision and determination....in this case a strong back too ;-)

Thanks, Devery!

Really neither Lisa or I have a "green thumb". I have a love-hate relationship with our yard and garden: I love to keep it looking good, but I hate how difficult it is for someone like me. It's a constant struggle to know what to do and when to do it, particularly in the late summer when insects, mold & disease are huge problems here in Florida.

As for the layout and plant selection, we're useless in that department, too. Last year when Lisa and I were renovating our home, we paid a very well-known landscape architect to design what you see today. It was not cheap, but it was well worth it.

Well, that's enough procrastination. Time to get out there and get it done.

***John Stone*** · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gborn

JS, you've inspired me to get fit AND get my yard in shape.

Have fun!

StoneCold · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 12:06 PM

Hey John, just curious... I saw your transformation pictures of your house/yard/lawn etc... My grass looks like yours right now -- how'd you get it to be soooo green and then later winning the Yard of the Month award? Fill me in with your secrets

***John Stone*** · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 01:27 PM

I just came in for a meal break. Today is going much smoother. I've got some much better gloves that keep mulch from getting into the fingers, and better shoes. It's also a little overcast and breezy, so the sun is not so oppressive (yesterday there was not a cloud in the sky--beautiful, but very hot).

The lady across the street is older and very nice. I offered her some mulch, and she said she'd love some. She left a little while ago to run to errands. Lisa and I are going to sneak over there when we're done and mulch her front gardens for her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneCold

Hey John, just curious... I saw your transformation pictures of your house/yard/lawn etc... My grass looks like yours right now -- how'd you get it to be soooo green and then later winning the Yard of the Month award? Fill me in with your secrets

The lawn was completely replaced, that's how!

I talked about it on this page: http://www.twowiresthin.com/r2005/front.html

Time to get back out there!

1FastGTX · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Stone

The lady across the street is older and very nice. I offered her some mulch, and she said she'd love some. She left a little while ago to run to errands. Lisa and I are going to sneak over there when we're done and mulch her front gardens for her.

Wow! Lisa and you are both just so cool!

Yard looks great, John.

bkaraff · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 03:31 PM

looks like youre gonna need a new domain: johnstonelandscaping.com

its a balmy 44 degrees here in Iowa.
my yard resembles a muddy sponge right now as its still thawing out.

Omaha · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 03:38 PM

I looked at the thread you linked to...looks like you could have bought another Titan with all the renovations.

Looks amazing. A friend down the street is a landscape architect, and his yard doesn't look as nice as your's.

TonioK · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Stone

The lawn was completely replaced, that's how!

I talked about it on this page: http://www.twowiresthin.com/r2005/front.html

Time to get back out there!

The house looks great John! It's like one of those extreme makeovers. A question about your lawn and plants. How often do you fertilize the lawn? How much "maintenance" is required on the plants? While I love how they look, I admit I'm not a big fan of spending the day under the Florida sun. I built my house 5 years ago and sprung for the floritam and well it basically looks like shit! It's thin & has patches. I may just have to break down and replace it :-( Anyway, again it looks great!!

Devery · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 07:15 PM

I love the way a little landscaping can add color and personality. I'm already looking forward to our next home. Definitely worth the effort for that curbside appeal IMO.

***John Stone*** · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1FastGTX

Wow! Lisa and you are both just so cool!

Yard looks great, John.

Thanks, Chris! We're so happy to finally be done with the worst of it.

The older lady across the street is always so nice to us. We couldn't bear the thought of her having to come get all that mulch and spread it around herself. It only took us about an hour. She was so happy. It made our day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkaraff

its a balmy 44 degrees here in Iowa.
my yard resembles a muddy sponge right now as its still thawing out.

Man, I don't know how you guys up there do it. I would hate that. I've lived everywhere from Baltimore to Houston to Orlando and I'm not going ANYWHERE now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

I looked at the thread you linked to...looks like you could have bought another Titan with all the renovations.

I wish, that was not a cheap project. I could have bought five Titans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

Looks amazing. A friend down the street is a landscape architect, and his yard doesn't look as nice as your's.

I have to give all the credit for the design to our landscape architect. That guy is amazing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonioK

The house looks great John! It's like one of those extreme makeovers. A question about your lawn and plants. How often do you fertilize the lawn?

Thanks!

The lawn used to get fertilized every 3 months. I'd usually use a mixture of Milorganite, Epsom salts and Ironite. I'd also occasionally use Miracle Gro Lawn Food with my hose-end sprayer to really green it up (although the Ironite does a great job of greening).

This year I'm trying something new: I've hired Scotts Lawncare service to handle all the feeding, weeds, insect control and disease control of my plants and lawn. They come out 10 times per year to handle the lawn, and 8 times per year to take care of the plants. There are no contracts, so I'm going to see how they do. If they can effectively control the millions of insects, grubs, molds, diseases and other things that wreak havoc on Florida landscapes (especially late summer), then they have a customer for life!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonioK

How much "maintenance" is required on the plants? While I love how they look, I admit I'm not a big fan of spending the day under the Florida sun.

Not a lot. Now that Scotts is handling the feedings and insect control, all I have to do is trim them and water them (I have an automatic irrigation system to handle that, too!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devery

I love the way a little landscaping can add color and personality. I'm already looking forward to our next home. Definitely worth the effort for that curbside appeal IMO.

I totally agree. The landscaping has increased the value of our home considerably. Not only that, we enjoy it so much more now.

***John Stone*** · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 07:49 PM

WE FINSHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man, what a weekend this has been.

I created a photo album with all the photos (I took a few of the back yard as well). I've added descriptions for each photo with plant IDs and stuff.

Unfortunately the backyard has many plants, flowers and trees that bloom later in the season. Right now the backyard looks kind of plain. In a few months the backyard will have massive amounts of color! I'll take more pictures then.

I hope you enjoy the pictures! http://www.twowiresthin.com/g2006/

Coachese · Sun, March 19th, 2006, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Stone

WE FINSHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man, what a weekend this has been.

Great job John. Funny how you don't realize how much 20 "yards" of mulch is until it is sitting in your driveway liike a dead seal!

***John Stone*** · Mon, March 20th, 2006, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coachese

Great job John. Funny how you don't realize how much 20 "yards" of mulch is until it is sitting in your driveway liike a dead seal!

No kidding, but it's more like a dead elephant! I didn't realize what I was getting myself into when I ordered all that mulch. The guy who delivered it looked at me funny when I told him it was just me and my wife who would be moving it, and that we'd have it done before the end of the weekend. Now I know why he looked at me like I had two heads, he probably thought I was crazy.

I'm not crazy, just dumb.