Casa Grande Landscaping 2009

(All pictures can be clicked for a larger image in a separate window)

The first year that we moved into our Casa Grande home, we ripped out most of the dead and over grown plants and those bushes that we didn't like. We left the queen palms in the front and back, but put in several other palms in the backyard. After a year, those new plants are doing well, but the two queen palms in the backyard continued to get uglier as they struggled to survive.

Our neighbor Al had the desire to extend the size of his backyard by moving the wall forward that is on the property line shared by us. We agreed to go in with him on the costs and move ours forward as well and also move the wall on the other side at the same time, since Al had made arrangements with a local contractor that would give us a great price. This also gave us the opportunity to change out our only gate from a single gate to a wider double gate; this would allow moving larger items into the backyard.

With this new access, we could then bring in something to replace our ailing Queen palms in the corners of the backyard. They were dug up, chopped up, and taken away. In early April we had visited a nursery in Phoenix that stocked larger plants and found two beautiful Yucca aloifolia plants. The downside of getting a deal on the new wall/fence/gate was our low priority with the contractor, which meant that we were squeezed in between other work the contractor had and it wasn't until 6/26 that the new fence went up. The Yucca's had been sitting at a Casa Grande nursery and were delivered on 7/2 and planted a week later.

The old palms:
West corner Palm   East corner Palm


Our Yuccas at the Nursery:
West corner Yucca East corner Yucca West corner location East corner location


Al's property is on our left as you look at the front of our house, which is our West wall. Al gained a lot of backyard space and moved his kids jungle gym into the new area. We both brought our walls as close to the street as possible without interfering with the utilities. The color of the new brick is pretty close to the existing; it just may look different in the photo due to the time of day the picture was taken. Our new gate uses composite boards that won't change color, stain, crack, or warp over time. I also used a couple of the old cement pieces that were on the property border as a base under the gate doors. We've still got some cleanup to do, which will happen after the Yuccas get in.
Street view West wall before Street view West wall after Inside backyard West wall after Dismantling old West wall

Our East wall gives us more square footage in the backyard. The shared wall along the property line already existed and we put the new wall in aligned with the neighbor's front wall. This area used to be just a collector for trash blown in by the wind from the street. Eventually we'll set up a small table and arbor towards the end of the yard and many pots for herbs and vegetables along the walls.
Street view East wall before Street view East wall after Inside backyard East wall after Dismantling old East wall

Street view of entire house

Ben and Sam Grover of Grover Landscaping were our guys to move the Yuccas. Here the West Yucca makes it's final trek into it's final location. A major problem are that the leaves have needle sharp spikes, the leaves are stiff, and their edges are serrated.
Ben and Sam with Dolly Off we go Onto the lawn Into the hole

The East Yucca on it's way.
Moving the East Yucca At the edge of the hole Ouch, Ouch, Ouch Ouch, Ouch, Ouch

The West Yucca in it's new home. The cactus will be planted soon.

The East Yucca in it's new home.

We've decided to move the lounge chairs to the corner of the pool closer to the patio to give the Yucca more space and a better view to appreciate it. It still needs a bit more landscaping around it.

Below is a plot plan of the property to help give a sense of where things are located.