Weekend Warrior!

I finally have the front yard landscaping done... for now...

Or at least done until I think of something else I want to do with it. 

Front Yard

I honestly think that I have become obsessed with this yard! 

I worked Thursday night and came home from work on Friday morning and drug my husband out of bed so we could go to Lowe's and see if there was anything I liked on sale. I also realized that we spend entirely too much time at Lowe's because the people there know us by name! Anyways, there wasn't a lot of work I could get done on Friday due to being beyond tired but I was able to get a little bit done. 

I was unable to do anything on Saturday cause I had to be out of town all day but was really excited because my awesome husband went to one of those pop up nursery's in the parking lot at the mall close to our house and got some great flowers and other various plants.  So come Sunday I was all business and got some serious work done!

Sunday brings big changes around the yard! 

On a side note... This flower bed gets full sun all day long so I had to pick plants that could stand the heat! 

There is lavender, cone flower, sedum, geraniums, columbine and a butterfly bush that will be the focal point of this bed when it matures. There are also some other plants that I can't think of the names of right now but they look great!
I'm all about planting different types of perennials so that each year it comes back even better than the year before! I also think it's important to pick a mixture of plants with different bloom times so that you have color from spring through fall. 

Flower Bed in Front of Garage

So, I got up early on Sunday and went to church then stopped at Kroger on the way home to get some stuff to make breakfast and was sidetracked with the plants they had for sale out side. I was amazed at what all they had and the prices were great! Of course I couldn't pass up the great deal. 

The rest of the day was spent in the yard planting the flowers, and spreading mulch!

It's so much fun to see it all coming together! I still can't believe how much difference the red mulch makes in tying everything together, and I love the color! We have looked all through our neighborhood and were kind of surprised to find that no one else has used red mulch.  

Don't be afraid to do something different and be yourself! 

Rhododendron

Quince

Another Tip is to buy plants on clearance at your local home improvement store or nursery. You can get some really great deals on plants that are in great condition, and even ones that look a little ragged in the store will perk up and do just fine once you get it in the ground. 

The rhododendron and the flowering quince were clearance plants at Lowe's and were under $10 each! 

Off To The Back Yard...

Various Kinds of Hosta

Now that the front yard is done, for now, I'm focusing on the back yard and my shade garden that will transition the yard into the woods behind our house. 

I really want my back yard to be a place where you can loose yourself and truly relax and enjoy nature! My inspiration for our yard comes partially from my Dad and Step Mom's yard. One think I have always loved about their back yard is that you feel like you are in you're own little world and there are tons different kinds of flowers and shrubs and it is always changing with the seasons. 

 

 My plan is for this shade garden to meander across the back of the yard and it will have the rock border and mulch to tie in with the front yard.

Hydrangea

Like I said earlier I found some great plants at Kroger, they included 4 big hosta, 2 lilac bushes and a gorgeous hydrangea!

Lilac

These lilacs smells so good and will be amazing when they mature and are covered in the fragrant flowers!

Variegated Weigela Starts

Why Must You Cut Through Our Yard? 

We have had a lot of problems with the neighborhood kids cutting through our yard to get home from school or walking their dogs back along the woods.

I had to rethink my original plan to put in barberry bushes that would really prevent people and pets from walking through our yard but figured we might get some complaints and besides that I would probably tear my self to shreds putting them in and keeping them pruned back. So instead I have planted variegated weigela between our yard and our neighbors.

Right now they are kinda small so we had to put rocks around them to keep the lawn guys from not seeing them and mowing them over.  

These weigela will get big and have lots of flowers from spring to
fall that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Sneak Peak! 

Here is a sneak peak of how the rock border and mulch is going to look in the back, this is the only section I have done right now but it's coming along!

You can kind of see here how I have started laying out the border all the way across the back.

Now I have to dig up all the area where the rest of the plants are going and get it ready for when everything we just ordered comes in.

We also need to go rock hunting again and get more rock to fill in the border.

 Until next time... Happy Gardening! 

The Eclecticness Of It All!

Just can't make up my mind... Ever...

I have a very eclectic taste in most everything in my life from music to fashion to home decor. And naturally it's now overflown into my yard. The way colors, textures and shapes can work together just amazes me.

Iris, Columbine and (a kind of sad looking)Peony

I can't just pick a few kinds of plants and go with it. I just love so many of them I can't decide so I think I need to try them all! My husband, Tyrone, tends to give me a hard time about it due to the fact that he thinks I need to have a plan and I'm more of a 'just go with it' kind of person. So, hence all my flower beds have a little bit of everything in them but I think it just adds interest and depth! It can pose a problem when we go to the local garden center and I can spend hours just perusing through the isles looking at everything and may pick out 100 things or nothing.
So, I'm sure I do make him a little crazy cause he would much rather have a plan on what we are going to get and use stealth tactics and swoop in get what we need and get out with as few casualties to our bank account as possible!
But as much as I make him crazy he usually lets get my way and sighs and says "happy wife, happy life..."
What can I say... I'm a lucky girl! :)

Power of the peony...

As you can see in the pic above the peony, which may be easier to identify as the wilted pile of green behind the rock to the left, has been looking rather sad and my loving but not so patient husband kept telling me I need to find something else to plant there cause it wasn't going to make it and of course I didn't want to admit that he might me right on this one. 

But my "Garden Guru" (AKA my Dad) said to give it time and it will probably be here longer than any of us cause they can live for like 100 years. So, I just kept watering it and sending it good vibes and having faith that it would eventually perk up. 

The Little Peony That Could

Much to my surprise on Friday morning when I got home from work I decided to take a look at how things were coming along and I had to do a double take and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because there was a single white bloom smiling up at me! 

I was so excited I had to show Tyrone right then and show him the power of the pony! 

He just laughed and said "I guess you're right!" 

VICTORY!  

In The Beginning...

In the Beginning...

A few weeks ago I started working on landscaping our yard at our new home. This is my first attempt at landscaping and gardening and I'm finding that I really enjoy it! It's hard work but it gives you such a since of accomplishment when you see it starting to come together.

Right Side of Driveway

I started by mapping out where I wanted flower beds using field stone found in our neighborhood after the builder had started construction on a new house.
It's really amazing how much good sized rock you can find like this and it saves a TON of money! The boulders on either side of the driveway were found when they dug our basement and the large boulder by the garage was on our lot and is one of the main reasons I picked the lot!
Yeah, I know, I have a thing for rocks! 

Lt Side of Driveway

Pulling up the sod is a messy job but luckily since our sod was still pretty new and hadn't had time to fully take so it wasn't that difficult to pull up.

On the other hand, the ground underneath the sod was solid clay and full of little rocks. I had to get a hand tiller and mix in several bags of garden soil to try and get it ready for planting. But several blisters and a soar back later the soil was usable!

The back of our SUV looked like a jungle! 

One thing that I wanted to do more than anything was drive down to Gosport Indiana to my family's farm and dig up plants to bring up and put in our yard. My grandparents always had a beautiful country garden with a variety of different plants and lots of color!

We were able to get Iris, Columbine, Bleeding Hearts, Peony, Sedum and Prickly Pear Cactus!

Prickly Pear Cactus

*Yes Cactus does grow in Indiana and actually does really well!!!


FYI it is NOT FUN to move! Three weeks later I still have cactus needles in my hand (yes I had leather gloves on). But the result is so worth it! And it's a fun conversation piece with the neighbors.
I can't wait till this blooms! It has beautiful yellow flowers!

Back Yard Bliss!

Our back yard faces a nature preserve which is the number one reason we chose this lot for our new home! I'm a country girl at heart and my husband is a city boy so this was our compromise and I couldn't be any happier with it!

We have big plans for a deck and poured concrete patio with fire pit next spring but for right now we are working on getting my shade garden in that borders the woods. 

Shade Garden

I am planting lots of hosta and other shade loving plants along the edge of the woods to make it look like our yard just continues into the tree line. 

Hosta, Sedum and Bleeding Hearts

I absolutely love Bleeding Hearts, they just make me smile! 

I was able to get a small plan from the farm but I am defiantly going to have to get more and different varieties! 

Well, I have lots more to share but it can wait til next time... Happy Gardening!