Landscaping, Finally!

Thursday after Steven got home I snapped some pictures from the curb of my guys rocking in the new(old) rocker and realized that I haven't shared any landscaping pictures yet!

Below is a picture of the yard in early autumn, when that shrub(formally known as the Beast) had to be hacked down again for the second time. Our yard has looked like this ever since we've lived in our house....so it really wasn't too surprising when we had multiple neighbors introduce themselves to us while we were working and treat us like we'd just moved in. Woopsies! 

"Welcome to the neighborhood!"

"Oh thanks! But actually we've been here almost three years..."

The Beast got all prettied up and we're letting him stay. We added Silver Dragon Liriope around the base and planted two shade-loving Box Honeysuckles called Lonicera Edmee Gold in the Beast's shadow.

Here's a picture from the day we cut the beds out in March...lots of hard work all in one day! Perfect unseasonably warm winter weather to start working outdoors.

I think it's important to note that Steven is wearing the exact same shirt in these pictures doing yard work as the one months ago slicing at The Beast.....I suppose I should mention that as I type this in the sun on our front porch, Steven is wearing the same shirt again..."It's my favorite shirt!" he says.

Here's one of my favorite pictures from that day:

So here we did an assortment of Mediterranean White Heather which blooms in winter and Azaleas called The Robe that have beautiful variegated(thanks for that new word Mom!)leaves.

In the corner we planted a Phantom Hydrangea that will bloom around mid-June and I've heard that the blooms can last almost until September!

I am so happy with our front yard and it was so worth it to get over my fear of putting plants in the ground and them dying on me! So far they're doing great!

We still have some work to do on the right side of the house. Three Holly bushes wait patiently to be planted in the ground! 

Now we're off to the Blue Plum Festival once Finner wakes up! Oh, and remember how I'm a sucker for big stories with impossible feats and when good fights to overcome evil? Snow White and The Huntsman is a great example of my favorite kind of story...if you're anything like me, go see it!

Allison

Outdoor Color Scheming

Last week Steven and I picked out the color that we'll be painting the porch. After getting a brand new beautiful solid wood door, we finally decided on Night View by Valspar. (Which looks a lot more gray and a lot less navy online than in real life)

It was around that same time that I ran across this lovely pattern on an outdoor pillow at Bed, Bath & Beyond. With a 20% off coupon I left the store with it for about $8.00. 

With this pattern I established the color scheme for our front porch.

Our old front door was black; so was our mailbox and porch lights. The mailbox got a new coat of paint called Cobalt Cannon. 

I adore Valspar spray paint, it never lets me down!

I took Finn with me to check out a local store called Sparrow's Nest to see what little additions I could find. I got this itty bitty wreath for our new door.

I cut a strip of gray fabric, strung it through the wreath, and nailed it to the top of the door.

These plant hangers came with the house and even though I do love the worn look of them and sage-green color, I thought it was time to add them to the scheme.

Primed and ready to go!

Here's the improved plant hanger in Cobalt Cannon next to its unfinished counterpart.

This year I opted out of planting Sweet Potato Vine, even though I do love it. I grabbed Creeping Jenny instead. I have no idea how it'll do, but I'm hopeful, and I love its bright green color!

I really hope it grows because from the sidewalk you can't even see that there's anything planted in the baskets.

Here's our porch in July last year vs. our porch yesterday:

The porch floor would've been painted by now if the weather had held out for us; so we still have painting to do and new porch lights to purchase and install. The little side table by the chair I purchased for super cheap at TJ Maxx and plan on painting it as well.

I also got two Coleus plants, one for us, and one for our new neighbors who'll be moving in next door soon...yay!

Finn's excited (and it looks as if he's a tad bit uneasy too) about having a girl move in next door who's exactly two months older!

Happy Earth Day!

Allison

The Beast Lives On & Coffee

Oh how I've missed coffee! This afternoon has been so sweet. My great friend Kristin sat with me at the table and I drank coffee, Finn drank a bottle, Kristin drank water and painted. And, more importantly, we listened to this beautiful album and did a good amount of heart-refreshing talk.

Then I thought about the Beast...

I know we're all sick of hearing about the Beast. The Beast is the unruly bush that has overtaken nearly 1/3 of the front of our house. I have posted about the Beast on multiple occasions. At one point I thought it was defeated once and for all, but I was mistaken.
This is the Beast just a few days ago...Summer's heat aided it in accomplishing insane growth. 

Steven didn't even say a word after he got home from work the other day, he just changed out of shirt and tie and into his conquerer outfit, cranked up the trimmer and went to town.

Take that Beast! We're never too busy to tame an enemy as gruesome as this.

And just because I love my guys...

And as I've written this post I've gotta say, Finn has not made one peep since I put him down for his nap 20 minutes ago(I'm trying not to hold my breath)...YES!!! Gosh, I really sound like a mom now...Bring it on!

The Beast Update: Unremoved, but Tamed

Back in February, Steven and I decided to remove a huge bush from our front yard that I named the beast. We never got around to pulling the bush out completely, so it was left through spring after being chopped in half. After growing back just a tad, I am happy with the beast sticking around for a while.
Let's take a look at the transformation:


The beast went from this...

To this...

And the beast today after a refreshing spring...

And although I have completely neglected the yard for indoor ventures, I am so excited about all the great plants popping up everywhere from last year and years before. There was definitely at one time someone who lived in this house who knew what they were doing in the yard.

I love these beautiful white blooms that are sprouting in the backyard (is this a yucca?).

There's also a super cute rosebush that seems to bloom more than just once a year

This hasta has never failed to grow back 

And these ground crawlers I planted in a strawberry pot about two years ago and they keep growing back each season. I love how tiny they are!

And check out these great blooms that sprung up along the front and side of our home!

I plan on using a can of spray paint on an old metal chair I found thrifting ages ago and some new house numbers along with more green thumb attempts to give our front porch more appeal. Hopefully making some headway this weekend, especially if the weather holds up!

I am slowly but surely preparing for baby Finn's arrival and helping Steven with the bathroom remodel along the way...more on that to come!

A Free Gift

These roses smell even better than they look...and the best part was that these little trimmings were stolen free! Let's just say they may not have come from our yard, but they were hanging over our driveway and each time we drove past they got smacked by our windshield, so I think that counts for fair dibs ;).

Don't you just love all those colors? Marvelous! Happy Monday!