Landscaping Part 1

We've realized we have a lot of catching up to do on here. Even if no one else reads this blog, it's been fun looking back at our previous posts. It helps us remember all the work we've done, and it's a good reminder that we still have a lot to do. So that is my motivation to update more regularly (seriously).

The past month and half we have been doing lots of landscaping work. As you might recall, our entire house was surrounded by 40 year-old yews when we bought it. We quickly ripped those out, did a ton of grade work, and were left with excellent drainage but nothing else. Our good friends the Barnes and Wieses gave us a beautiful Japanese Maple, but that was about it. Let's take a look back...

So here is the house as it looked when we bought it. This was taken in early April 2009...yews everywhere and a square bed with white stones near the front porch.

Close-up of the front porch...

Then we had all the yews removed, and the house looked pretty crazy. Notice how spotty the grass looks and all the rocks around the trees.

We decided pretty quickly that we needed to soften the angles of the front porch and the straight lines of the house with a curved bed in front. Aaron got to work...early May 2009.

We added beach pebbles along the house and finished the front bed...

By fall 2009 we had the maple and added mums and pumpkins to make it look like we had something going on...

By early April 2010 our grass had filled in (thanks to aeration and overseeding), the rocks around the trees are gone...

and we also began planting the beds in the front.

I am happy to report we have planted 2 of the front beds, added some more beach pebbles and replaced the mulch. BUT...we have to replace 3 grasses already, so I will have to show you how everything looks in my next post! Stay tuned!