Remodeling the back yard

When I moved in 8 years ago I vowed to do something with the back yard. The space under the deck had a small fence around it to keep in the previous owners dog. I soon tore-out that fence and with the help of a buddy put a 4-ft fence wooden fence around the entire yard. Since then the space under the deck has done nothing but grow weeds and collect junk.

A few weeks ago my neighbors marked their yard for a concrete slab near the back. I decided to have a concrete patio poured under my deck at the same time. I originally wanted a brick patio installed but it was difficult to find someone to do it without tearing up the grass. Besides, the concrete was about half price of bricks.

They did a good job, though the grass is about 3-5 inches below the top of the patio. So now I am going to do some landscaping and put some timbers about one-foot from the edge and fill it with topsoil and some flowers and stepping stones. It will be something that will need weeding in the future but it will look really nice. I'd like to put in a small pond off to the side with maybe some small goldfish. Stay tuned ....

P.S. if you know anyone looking for a free wooden dog house send them my way. That too was left over from the previous owners and Buster has no interest in it.