The Backyard

I've lived in this house since May 1992.  When we moved in, the backyard was nice, but over the years, and with the addition of larger dogs, much of the grass is gone, replaced with bare dirt/sand.  I've planted a few trees and some sago palms, and since I am not a landscaper, there is no design at all as to where these plants were planted.  In plain language, the backyard looks absolutely horrible.

I would love to have a beautiful backyard.  I'm not sure why because I rarely go out there.  Maybe that's because it's so ugly, but I think it is partly because in the warmer weather, the mosquitos are quite bad.  Behind my house is a protected wetlands (man-made).  Also, I've encountered water moccasin snakes (which are poisonous, in case you didn't know) in the past two years.  I wonder if I should just leave it as is until the number of dogs decrease.  But, when it rains, the dogs track in mud.  When it doesn't rain, they track in dirt/sand.  I'm tired of that.

A few days ago, I had a friend give me some advice.  He said the first thing I needed to do was put up a new fence.  I also want to get rid of the tree that is next to the fence (see second picture).  I hate to spend the money, but I think I probably need to get the fence.  I would like to go with a white vinyl fence, since if I get another wood fence, I'll just have to replace it in 10 years.  (I think the current fence is 10 years old.)

So, over the next few weeks, I'll be gathering estimates for a privacy fence to see if I can afford it.  If I can, I'll need to get that tree cut down as I will probably move the back fence up towards the house a foot or two, so there is enough room behind to fence.  I will need to get behind the fence a couple times of year to clear out what is growing back there so it doesn't damage the fence, like it is now.

I would much rather spend my money on something fun like travel, but I know that I need to spend on upkeep.

I would also like to take care of the bare spots in the yard.  In the second picture, the bare area, that is about in the center of the picture, is much larger now.  I have put in pieces of sod, but they don't take (even though I watered it).  I am thinking of having a concrete patio poured in that area, with a built in fire pit (you can see my temporary fire pit, with the plastic chairs around it).  Also, maybe a concrete walkway that leads from the gate, around the screened in porch to the patio.  That's probably out of my price range, but if I can find someone to do that work, I'll see if I can afford it.  I am just worried since I want it to look nice and planned out, and that is not something I am good at.  I am hoping that my friends will help me plan this.

I guess this will give me something to do for the next 5-6 months, and will keep me and my mind occupied.  I just hope I can afford to do something to improve the backyard.  Right now, it just looks so bad that I am embarrassed to have anyone look back there.  I am also afraid that the dogs will tear it up if I do anything (which is why I was thinking concrete).