Its about time project #4.1: Courtyard

Our front courtyard area has been long neglected.  I really wanted to see what we had before I bought any more 'stuff'.

I wandered around the yard, looking at what we had and working through some thoughts for the area.

I found a pile of these faux flagstone that I bought for a project but soon figured out that they were not durable enough for what I had in mind.

We had just piled them up waiting to...  either use them, sell them, or trash them.

DH rolled his eyes when I realized I couldn't use them - another unnecessary purchase... but I will get the last laugh!  But they were just what I needed to jazz up the courtyard a bit.


I cleared a spot in the rocks, leveled with sand, and placed four of the larger faux flagstones.  

I had to make sure that the top of the flagstones were level, then situated the bird bath on top. 

My plan is to run a hose from the sprinkler system into the bath so it stays filled, or at least stands a chance of staying filled.  Now I have to find a cute little 'something' to put in the bath to stabilize the fill hose.

I need to clean the bath out but I was on a roll and didn't want to stop to clean it.

Next, I took on the area under the shelves we had custom built to fit around the spigot in the courtyard.  It was always messy looking and it was hard to get to the weeds that were growing under it.  

Again, I spread sand to level and placed the faux flagstone under it.  This time, I filled the cracks with sand.  After the sand settles, I will sprinkle rocks into the cracks.

Its still not "house beautiful" but its a cleaner look and definitely better than it was.  

Here is a glimpse of the next courtyard project....

Lots still to do but its finally, or way PAST, time to do something with the courtyard.