Purposeful Planting

Now that we're into May and Wisconsin is FINALLY starting to see a little sun and some temperatures in the 50's and even 60's, it's time to starting thinking more and more about what on earth we're going to do with the landscaping in our yard.

As I've mentioned before, I know NOTHING about landscaping, flowers, gardening, maintenance etc... so, this is going to be a learn-as-you-go type of experience for both Joey and me.

Thankfully, we do have the help of family to guide us and act as a resource for questions. In fact, I'm meeting with my grandma in a week to get some ideas from her and lay out "a plan". Apart from that, Joey and I are pretty much on our own to plant whatever we decide we want.

Since we bought the house last May, we've done a lot of digging up of plants/flowers/bushes, but no planting. That has to change sometime very soon. So, my brain is moving more and more into the planning phase of the landscaping - trying to figure out what kinds of flowers to plant where and taking into consideration color, height, weather, sunlight/shade, and maintenance of the flowers. Plus cost.

There are so many choices it can become very overwhelming. So, I will probably stick to some basic flowers that many people typically use in our area.

Here are a few old pictures of the yard to give you an idea of what we have to work with...

This first picture is the back of the house between the porch and the garage. There was a wheelchair ramp over most of this space when we moved in, but that was ripped out in the first week. Other than some digging and removing of junk, it hasn't really been touched since then. It's just a big ol' pile of dirt.


We are planning to put a concrete patio down in order to use this space for the grill and entertaining. And then we'll use pots or built-in boxes around the edges for plants and flowers. Something like this...


The sides of the house have been mostly emptied of everything that lined them. Just a few more items to dig out.


We are planning to plant perennials down the sides of the house. I want a variety of flowers that will bloom in different seasons. I like that these types of flowers are lower maintenance and will bloom again and again each year. A few examples I'm considering are hyacinths, azaleas, chrysanthemums, and tulips.



The front of the house is what we worked on most recently - digging up the bushes that overwhelmed the area. There's still more to dig up such as the stumps and roots. The space is pretty empty - a clean slate if you will.


I haven't decided what to put in the ground yet, but I definitely want new flower boxes to sit on top of the cement corbels with pretty flowers in them. Something like this...



There is so much to think through since the yard is completely empty. I'll try to keep you posted as the details come together. Hopefully, we can find some sunny days among all the rainy ones we've had to actually do some work. Wish us luck.

Is there a particular flower that you like to plant around the edge of your house or in window boxes? Is it because of the color? The size? The look? Do share!