Nothing beats walking barefoot into your own yard that you created, feeling the tiny blades of grass between your toes shooting up from the turf you planted with your own two hands.
Yet, not all of us have yards, especially those of us who live in urban areas. But we want them! We yearn for outdoor barbecues pungent with smoky meat and grabbing a cold one from a handsome, wooden cooler on a hot summer day.
Recently, one man saw what most of us would consider a lot of dirt and saw his own private Shangri-La.
A Reddit user who goes by the handle Genkenx actually moved into his apartment building because of a huge, neglected lot his landlord had been neglecting for years. He knew with a little elbow grease and a whole lot of love, he could turn that empty lot into something so gorgeous its gives all us yard-less folks hope that one day we will too have our own Elysium Fields…
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Genkenx rents from an elderly landlord who is too old to upkeep his property. In the back of their building was this lot that no one was using.
When he first moved in the dirt yard had a chain link fence that served no purpose and tons of stones and debris.
He got to work raking up leaves, cleaned up the trash, exposed dirt, laid down some grass seed, and got to watering!
He knew of an old pile of rubble left over from what must have been a demolished building close to a retailer he frequented and took some materials. “Cost for landscaping stones and bricks? $0!” he said. Smart guy!
“I had to get rid of that fence. I hated it,” he also said. So he and buddy disassembled and pulled everything out. “Scrappers took all of the material before you could blink an eye.”
He decided to lay some red mulch for a pop of color.
He didn’t work with a truck, nor did he rent one. “All hauls were taken in my lowly Hyundai Accent sedan. Needless to say, many-a-trip was taken,” he said.
He used gentle curves and asymmetry on the landscaping to give the yard more of a random and forested feel.
He received a barbecue barrel grill as a birthday present and plopped it into his flower-filled oasis.
After receiving the grill he decided to throw himself a party “It made a great entertaining space ... but I wasn't done,” he said.
He decided he wanted a hot tub. “I found a cheap inflatable hot tub for $100 off Craigslist and set it up.”
But he also needed privacy. He took some 2x2 furring strips from the hardware store, a couple of boxes of lathe strips, and built a "privacy screen" out of it.
But then he decided that the tub wasn't cutting it. He needed more. He decided to build a patio for the tub to extend patio space for future gatherings.
He dug out an 8x8-foot patch of dirt where those lilies used to be, poured some cement, and added more brick.
The final result is quite lovely, and gives guests more room.
The total project took him two full years to complete.
Yet, it’s a lovely outdoor space that anyone should be truly proud of.
What do you think of this transformation? Let us know!
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These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
