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It's been almost 3 years since we moved into this sweet little house. I love this house. It's cozy, welcoming, and comfortable. I like the way it is laid out. I like the open floor plan. I like everything about it... except for the way it looks from the outside. (And, okay, I don't really like the basement, and there may be a few other itty bitty things I would change. But really. That's all.)

What we have here is a late 1960s flat-front, one-level brick home. No porch, no gables, no architectural structure at all in the front, no depth. No landscaping to speak of. Smallish, flat front yard. No trees. (We had to cut down the one large oak tree that was in the front. It was dying a slow and dangerous death.) Here's what you see from across the street:

I love gardening and landscaping, at least in my head. Actually getting out there and doing the work is a trickier proposition. First, sometimes it's just more of a project than I can tackle by myself. Second, lots of it has to be done when it's 200-freakin-degrees outside. Have I mentioned how much I detest hot weather? Third, I'm lazy and I procrastinate. Um, yeah... Can't deny it.
So every time I've pulled up to this house for the last three years I just kind of squint my eyes and try not to focus on how weedy the flowerbeds are, how bare the yard is, how stark the front of the house appears, and how badly the front door needs to be painted.

Here is one of the weedy flowerbeds.

The time has come. Here's what I've done so far:

Cleaned out and replanted the front flowerbed. Looks better, doesn't it? I cut down the dying hostas (maybe you're not supposed to do that, but I couldn't stand watching them wither any longer), removed the scraggly alyssum, and weeded. Then I planted a Dwarf Alberta Spruce (bottom), a Daybreak Exbury Azalea (middle) and a row of Mums (right side). The bush at the top of the picture is a PeeGee Hydrangea. The other green is leftover annual foliage. Poppies, if I remember correctly. Oh, and there's a wee Lavender bush up at the top in front of the Hydrangea.

I also cleaned out the flowerbed on the other side of the door, planted a Hibiscus “Kopper King” bush in it (beside another PeeGee Hydrangea; I like Hydrangeas), and planted some purple and yellow pansies in the front corner.
With better-looking flowerbeds, I was encouraged to tackle painting the door. So, two trips to Home Depot and a few hours later... it looks much better. I love the black and green.

Before: plain jane.

After: fresh and groovy.

I'm not embarrassed to have people over now! Unless Joe lets them in through the garage... Ahhh. Next project.

I've been plotting an herb garden for a while. I have the spot: right off the back patio. It gets morning sun, it needs some life, and I can be out of my kitchen and grabbing a handful of parsley in three steps. Read the rest of this entry »