Welcome to my first post on something I’m very interested in becoming better at:
GARDENING!
First things first. When I was talking to all my go-to garden experts, they all said the same thing:
DEVELOP A PLAN
This planning phase must include:
1. Note what parts of your property get full-sun, partial-sun, full shade and what areas have slopes or get water accumulation (if any).
2. Plan which plants you will be using (based on their compatibility with your planting areas). A good idea would be to draw out your property and decide what you want, where.
3. Prep: includes cleaning out the beds from debris, loosening up soil, adding more topsoil, creating burms (if needed), and building stone/rock edges (if needed/desired) along beds.
The first 2 I’m starting on today. I will finish off step 2 this weekend and share with you my specific plant choices next week.
I’ve been itching to get started sprucing up our outdoor spaces. Amongst the craziness of furniture transformations inside, I can’t help but dream about what I’m going to do next!
Here is our starting point:
Our home is a late 60s ranch style and we really like it. It is nothing grand or fancy, but it is pretty cute. And we are on a mission to boost the curb appeal while making the backyard living spaces more inviting.
This is what I see as I get out of my car every day:
Those shrubs are BEGGING me to trim them.
And the front door:
It’s not bad, there is just nothing very attractive about it. Nothing that is really inviting or shows my style.
I LOVE the backyard. For 4 years we lived in a house with no usable yard. It had a large gravel drive-way and 1 acre on a pretty steep hill (with amazing views). A big yard, I’ve found, is a life-saver with small children. This picture doesn’t show how big the yard is, but this IS the part that will get the facelift.
This backyard bed is pretty brown and dead-looking. It also has a crooked boundary.
Soon, this will be filled with new plants and flowers with a clearly defined border.
And this is a side view of the patio. The awning actually has a cover that we need to pull out of storage.
There is so much potential here!!
Ok, now on to the inspiration!
Here is what I have in mind for the front door and shutters: Pale Aqua
As for the backyard patio, I found several sources that really caught my eye.
I love the chairs on this one. Very comfy and intimate.
I really like the bold colors and that sofa/bench is exactly what I’m looking to re-create (shape-wise).
This is also really cozy looking, and I love the mis-matched furniture.
This is likely closer to the color palette I will be aiming for, with pops of coral instead of an abundance of white.
On to the plan!
Here is some sketches I did of what I have in mind.
The front will have lots of little projects, as I’ve shown here. But I’m seriously contemplating adding a short white fence, putting in flower beds bordering the fence (on the inside). It would be a lot more work, for sure, but even if I DID decide to do that, we wouldn’t be able to fund that till maybe next year. So I’m just showing what our 2014 plan is for the front.
The back flower beds are going to get a colorful makeover. My hope is to create a cottage look, that feels cozy and looks beautiful.
Side view of the patio, where you can see my plan for the type of furniture I will be using in this space. I love the idea of having another lounging and eating space…outside. Those of you who have always had it are spoiled! I never had it growing up, nor have I since I’ve been married (10 years now!). I’m positively giddy about it now. 🙂
So, friends, that is the plan! I’ll be back next week to share my plant selections and sources for finding easy plants to grow, wherever you live! I don’t have a green thumb, so my goal is to use plants that require very little maintenance and many that are native to this area. Native plants don’t need pesticides or insecticides, and they are used to the climate so they usually are the lowest maintenance plants that you can find!
Also…. do you have any suggestions for me? Questions for me? Questions for my garden experts? Let me know your thoughts!
Until next week… 🙂
Until next week… 🙂
I love your choices…except for the fire. Under an awning? Seems like a disaster waiting to happen, but maybe you’re not the pyromaniac I am? 😉
Oh my gosh! See? This is why I need you! Haha! K so it will be a table, not a fire pit! 🙂
Such fun colors! Great bones to work with. Can’t wait to watch is all unfold!
Love the color you’re thinking of 🙂 Yummy. Also, love all your plans for the outdoors.
Wow, you really have everything planed out. I live in the St. Louis area and some of my favorite perennials are the Black-eyed Susan, Shasta daisy, and Stella de oro Daylily. They are not natives but do really well with little care in this area.
Oooo great choices! Good to know about them growing well here! I will see if I can incorporate some of them as well!