A couple of weeks ago we were scheming what last minute trip we could throw together for spring break but nothing really came together. So then we started scheming a 'staycation' where Adam would just take a couple of days off of work and we could go do lots of fun family activities nearby that we never take the time to do on the weekends. Well, somehow those fun-filled days turned into getting a sitter and doing landscaping work. For some reason it sounded like a lot of fun! And as much as I LOVE my boys, getting a sitter and having some uninterrupted work time in the dirt sounded pretty fantastic.
We consulted with a local landscaper several weeks ago about doing some yardwork for us. He came out, gave us really good ideas and was supposed to get back to us with a proposal. Well, I called to follow up, and we still didn't get a proposal, so that was the end of that. Next, Adam spent an hour with another landscaper for one hour of pro bono consulting. That meeting was very beneficial. Adam took pictures of our yard to the meeting and ended up with a list of lots of plants that would work for different areas in our yard as well as lots of other suggestions.
After these meetings our minds started scheming. Every time we were outside we came up with new ideas of what we could do. But it was time to actually make something happen. So, on Monday and Tuesday we worked hard. Really hard. And here are the finished results.
The dogwood tree has lots of new friends around it. At least we hope the dogwood likes the new friends and everyone gets along!
Carter often takes off from the front yard to the back yard by running under the dogwood branches. I either had to squat while holding Ben to chase after him, or run all the way around the tree to catch up. So we created a walking path from the front to the back so I no longer have to squat. I think it looks pretty good and it is so useful too! (we still need to add a few more pavers to the path)
Our front bed was always 'off' to me. The boxwoods never recovered from a bad pruning several years back, plus they had a lot of snow damage a couple of years ago. We moved the boxwoods and added new gardenia plants instead.
The new view walking out the front door:
One of the hosta plants now under the dogwood.
One of the best parts about this projects is we only bought 5 new plants! (4 gardenias and 1 peony). The rest came from other areas in the back. We had several hydrangeas that came from starter rods from Poppa's house. We had lots of hostas that used to be in the back but couldn't handle the heat, so they were just hanging out in a shaded place to keep them living. And we had a rhododendron that was waiting for a good home too.
And now a few before and afters:
We also added a bench to the area underneath the Japanese maple. We are going to add a couple of planters around the bench, but I love this new sitting area! We spend lots of afternoon time out front because we have so little shade in the back, so I think we will log lots of hours on this new bench. It is sort of like the front porch we don't have.
And now, some work in progress pictures.
Daddy with his helper before our sitter arrived.
Ben supervising all of the hard work.
Carter discovered a little friend.
The arrival of the mulch.
Helping Mama load and spread the mulch.
This is Carter's definition of 'spreading' the mulch.
At the end of the day, we were all very tired and wished we could go to bed at Ben's night night time.
