<span style="font-weight: bold">My wife and daughter wouldn't even go in the backyard because of all the spiders, geckos, rats, ants and various other wildlife, so we had to do a little work back there, as well.
I paid to have the hardscape laid, but all greenery, design and material selection was done by me. I also planted everything. All the manual labor was a PITA at the time, but it seems to have paid off.
We also got together with some of the neighbors and replaced the 18-year-old rickety, broken down, water soaked, ant infested, rotting, good for nothing but toothpicks, booger nose, original wood POS fence. </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Before (north corner)</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">After (north corner)
I dug so many holes in this backyard that I feel like a gopher.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Chill Zone - The wife and I just hang out here for hours with the fire blazing and the water feature going. Well worth the money spent. During parties, the guests seem to appreciate it, too. When the water feature is on, the Tiki spits water into the river.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Before (south corner)
That old jacuzzi was nothing more than a ghetto for rats.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">After (south corner)
After tearing down the pergola, I used the wood to make a smaller pergola over the BBQ island.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">I had to build some gates to hide the crappy side of the house where all my junk is stored. I happened to acquire the handles and iron work from a store that was being torn down. Also added some bamboo to keep the vibe going.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Before (side walkway)
I needed a nicer pathway from the frontyard to the main party area.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">After (side walkway)</span>
