Backyard Makeover: Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, we started making over our backyard that looked like this when we moved in (minus the fence posts!):

and this

and this

and finally this.

We did get the fence completed which made a huge difference in our yard. We chose 6 foot privacy in the back and I think 4 foot non-privacy on the sides.

The houses in our neighborhood are way close together, so we wanted to create our own little spot, but not shut the neighbors out.

Something else we decided to do is move our playset. The new placement really opened up the backyard.

If you saw Part One of the makeover, you know we built a pergola.

We are loving how it turned out. So the next thing to do was to add in shrubbery and trees.

You saw the before, here's the after! These are river birch trees lining the back of the fence.

We love the playset in it's new spot!

Here's looking the opposite direction to other side of the yard. The river birches again which run in to a bubble of mulch in the corner. There are small holly bushes, monkey grass and my favorite, hydrangeas. There's a cherry tree in the middle of all of that.

I know, our grass looks like it has the mange. We didn't overseed last fall, but we will be doing that this year. I almost put these in photoshop and greened the lawn up a bit, but I had laundry to do.

The trampoline area.

I LOVE the stained fence but I NEVER. WANT. TO. DO. THAT. AGAIN! I won't have to either. It won't need a touch up for 7 years so we figured our then 14 yr old boy will do it!
And here's our patio. I really want to get some really nice outdoor seating to replace the bench, but I'm going to wait until the end of the season and try to get something cheap!

We are thinking of mounting a small t.v that we have in the corner by the backdoor. That would be fun for football games and when we are grilling.

I also want to do something on that big blank spot of brick over the bench. Not sure what yet, though!

And lastly, our wonderful, magnificent, beautiful pergola. Can you tell I like it? I do so!!

So that's it! We had some awesome friends that helped us move the playset (a few times) and with planting and mulching. Thank you guys! I can't wait until everything is in bloom. It will be a different place back there! One of the river birch trees is getting some leaves on it. I will definitely repost some pics when all the blooms and leaves are out!

We have also been working on the front yard. Now, the front lawn is the way a lawn should look! No mange there! There are a few finishing touches and I'll post about it soon!

Linking to Transformation Thursday!