Bush Whacking

Since the weather here at the Jersey Shore has been so amazing this August, we've been able to start working on some of the outdoor, curb appeal boosting projects we planned on doing in the Fall.  First up was losing three flowering almond bushes that grew along this darling little split rail fence in our front yard.  They bloomed for a very short time in the early spring.  I was not thrilled with the show, and I was even less happy when the greenery filled out and blocked my view of everything when I sat out on the front patio.

The winter view, before the almond bushes got big and green

The front yard, with its new knockout rose bed


Hubby started things off by bringing me home 5 knockout rose bushes that he bought on sale for less than $6 a piece.  After agonizing over where to plant them, I thought why not kill two birds with one stone and lose the hated flowering almonds while adding some color to the front yard.  The first thing we did was rip out the bushes.  We wrapped a chain around the bottom of each bush and connected the other end to hubby's truck, which loosened them up a lot for us.  We dug and pulled the rest of the way out.  They were pretty mature and some of those roots were  tough to pull out.  We started late in the day, and were still working past dark.  

Of course this project was done on a budget.  We bought everything at Home Depot and spent a total of about $50.





Next we sunk the little rose bushes into the ground and gave them a good soaking before we called it a night.  The next day, we finished off with landscaping fabric, edging and black mulch.  We also freshened up the rock border on the patio side with some nice clean white granite chips, which cost less than $4 a bag.  We used three bags in this area.  We are so pleased with the result, and are loving sitting out on the patio with a glass of wine watching the sun set over the lagoon in the evening.

The last piece of the puzzle will be finishing off the edge with something decorative.  I'm thinking stacked slate.  What do you think?

A Yard Full of Surprises

This is the house just before we moved in.  We are slowly but surely adding our own personality to it and boosting its curb appeal.  We are working on a project just in front of this split rail fence at the moment..

Part of what attracted us to our perfect little home was that it sits on a large corner lot.  I'm pretty sure we have the biggest yard (back and front) on our street.  The front and side are mainly grass with some bushes around the perimeter and one bed in front and one on the side.  The back yard is about 75% rock, which I wasn't crazy about, but there is a decent sized grassy area for kids to play on and the dog loves to roll around there, and there are nice, curvy landscaped beds all around the perimeter of the yard.  I thought I could live with it for a while.

This is a view of our backyard when we moved into our home this past March.


Unbeknownst to me, there were many surprises waiting just under the dirt getting ready to reveal themselves to my  great delight!  First, the bushes all around the perimeter of the front and side yard turned out to be forsythia, and there was yellow everywhere shortly after we moved in.  I have always loved forsythia. For me it's  the quintessential sign that spring has sprung.  The usual early spring bulbs were soon to follow, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and a sweet patch of grape hyacinths in the backyard wildflower bed which I absolutely must get a picture of next year!

Next up came some lovely pink climbing roses against the fence.

You can see my daughter moving in for a sniff.


The weeping willow in the back yard got its leaves and is great for giving shade to people, hostas and hydrangeas.

The back beds began turning green and giving their own show - mature white and pink azealas followed by irises, tons and tons of sublime violet colored irises and a few unusual yellow ones too.  I think I just may keep the rock back there because with the  landscaping the way it is, I haven't even missed grass.  It was also a cinch to build our raised bed vegetable garden right on top of the rock, and maintenance is a breeze.

 Does anyone know what these low lying bushes are?  They border the beds and are around the perimeter of just about our entire back yard.  They really help soften the look of the stone.

Then there's this guy, whom my friend Michelle and I have affectionately named "Devil Baby".  He is actually a mythical creature who is half boy/ half rabbit.  He's got rabbit feet and a cotton tail and is holding a baby bunny.  There was a bunch of  "garden decor" left by the previous owners which I immediately put out to the curb, but Devil Baby seems like he belongs here so I let him stay. (Plus I'm kinda scared of him)




The show has been ongoing since April.  I am looking forward to seeing if there are any Fall blooming beauties around here.  I leave you with a few pictures of my favorite place in the yard, which is the wildly beautiful cottage garden that blows my mind still every day.  Each time I walk out the door I can't help but be happy.