We’ve been so ready for spring to roll in, how about you? We’ve been dying to get the ladies together again after an off-season of working hard behind the scenes at Those Plant Ladies. Thank goodness it is finally warm enough for our all-female crew to get outside and get our hands dirty with our first installation of 2021. We kicked off our planting season with a stunning project in Charlotte, NC.
When creating the design for this installation, Fawn Renae Designs was inspired to bring a unique and modern look to this landscape, making it stand out from the other homes in the neighborhood. It was also critical to create privacy in the backyard so that the family could enjoy time together in their own little oasis without feeling like they were sitting in a fishbowl. Fawn’s design included a new patio and hardscaped edging for the front yard; the client had it installed according to the design and prior to our installation.
Fawn Renae Designs produced a stunning design with wide swaths of white hydrangea blooms down the side of the home, a mix of cool-toned perennials in the front beds for seasonal color, and evergreens for year-round structure. In the backyard, deciduous, upright zelkova trees provide privacy and shade high above the ground while limelight hydrangeas fill in the area along the ground between the trees for a mixed screen (our favorite kind of privacy screen). The backyard also faced some drainage issues and has a steep hill where mulch would be washed away. Fawn chose large river stone to help slow surface water and prevent wash-out on the hill. This design is everything a client could ask for: perfectly combining gorgeous aesthetics and optimum functionality.
“Everything is
FIGUROUTABLE!”
-Marie forleo
There were a few unique challenges for this project. In the front yard, we were required to source some large, 4″ caliper trees for the front tree wells to meet the requirements of the HOA. We also sourced larger trees than we normally work with for the backyard to create “instant” privacy for a total of 14 large trees that can not be lifted by just one or two people. To top it off, narrow side yards, air conditioner units, and tight fencing in the backyard made it impossible to get our tractors into the backyard. We needed to think outside of the box to get these large trees planted and carry 7 tons of stone to the backyard! But don’t worry – everything is figureoutable!
To make a huge dent in these challenges, Kubota stepped in and provided us with not one but TWO tractors from one of their local dealers to help us tackle these heavy loads! The day before our installation, New South Tractor from Newton, NC brought two brand new, never-been-used Kubota tractors to our jobsite! With the help of the both tractors, we were able to unload all 14 trees and planted the two large trees in the front yard in less than 3 hours! We used the mini excavator on the back of the smaller tractor to dig out holes in the tree wells for the larger trees in the front yard and lower them in place using the large tractor. There’s nothing that will make you feel like a boss lady more than stepping into a powerful piece of equipment and digging 3 feet into the ground or moving thousands of pounds with ease!
On installation day, we started off by tackling the largest challenge left for us — getting 12 more large trees into the backyard! Our fearless leader, Fawn, made a plan to carry the trees as far as possible on the Kubota and move them from the tractor to their final location using several crew members and a hand truck. With our powerhouse tractor and some brute strength from our ladies, all of our trees were in place within an hour!
Watching our all-female crew move these huge trees was a major empowerment moment for us! Our crew works harder than any crew we’ve been a part of because we’re passionate about showing other women that anything is possible. We approach each landscape as a beautiful work of art and we get to be the artists. Our team takes any hiccups that we face, looks them dead in the eye, and we tackle them with full force!
The rest of our installation went as smoothly as we could have hoped! We moved the stone with the tractor and wheelbarrows and placed them each by hand. It was so gorgeous. We literally could not stop staring at the new plants, stone, and mulch in the backyard when we were finished. Seriously, our homeowners have the best backyard that we could see in the whole neighborhood. We can’t wait until those zelkovas leaf out and the hydrangeas open their blooms! It’s going to provide them that private oasis for their sweet family to get away from their busy neighborhood right in their own backyard.
This installation had the works – large and small trees, shrubs, perennials, topsoil, mulch, and river stone! All of these things can be done in your yard too! Reach out to Fawn Renae Designs for your own custom digital design and have us bring your dream landscape to life! Or you can just join us on our next installation crew and learn all the tips and tricks to get your hands dirty and then install your own design!
