Well, I'm using the term "recently" lightly. Guess when I actually started writing this post?
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September 4th. Oh yeah. September was when this project happened, and I'm just now loopin' ya in. I'm on top things around here!
But it was back in August when I left off showing you some newly planted grass in our side yard and front yard and so, here's where I'm picking up with the next stage of lawn-development.
The grass we planted actually grew in (surprise, surprise). And it was then that we realized the area around the house where flower beds would one day be was in need of an immediate face-lift. We feared our neighbors would move away if they had to look at the awful sight going on around the perimeter of the house. And while we weren't really in a state of mind (nor the right time of the season) to do a bunch of gardening, we decided it would be good to get an outline set up for where wanted the plants/flowers to go.
Enter new stones + new mulch + landscape fabric that we already owned.
Joey picked up the stones from a local place called Breezy Hills Nursery and got the mulch from Menard's and brought the heavy load to the house. The rectangle edging stones are used to outline the perimeter of the flower beds. They are a grayish color to coordinate with the gray cement window sills and corbels around the house. The mulch is brown, which fits in with the brown brick. Yes, we're matchy-matchy.
After getting my opinion on the overall layout, Joey got to work (I was doing something else - I forget what it was) laying out the landscaping fabric in the shape we wanted. We went with simple rectangles along with west side of the house (similar to the east side seen here).
But as you work your way from the side to the front of the house, we went with a curve. We're brave. I know.
Joey claims it's a perfect 90-degree angle type of curve - where every part of the curve is perfectly measured out from the center. (He's big on perfect angles.) Then as the curve wraps around to the front of the house, it gets pretty rectangle-y again.
Once the landscaping fabric was staked down, Joey laid out the stones where he wanted them placed and began to dump mulch everywhere. I forgot to mention this, but he did dig out a few inches of grass/dirt where the flowerbeds would be so that the stones and mulch wouldn't sit high above the grass. We wanted everything pretty level.
This process took a lot of stones and a lot of mulch and lot of heavy lifting. This kind of work builds muscle, or so they say.
Joey worked like a dog to get it all done in one long day.
In the end, it looked neat and tidy and ready for planting - which will come next spring.
We're planning for a rather large item (like a burning bush) to go in front of the air conditioning unit to hide it. The rest of the space will mostly be layered with perennials.
We've still got to do something about that shabby window box in front too. *Sigh*
Altogether the cost was about $400 for the stones and $150 for the mulch. Anyone ever tell you landscaping is expensive? It is!
But what do you think? Big improvement?
Yes-sir-ee-bob! I'd say so.
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