It Never Ends

Well, there are a lot of things that never end. But what I'm thinking about today is landscaping and yard work. It never ends. In fact, for us, it has hardly even begun, and yet I'm tired of it already.

I don't mean to complain, but landscaping just doesn't give me that same boost of excitement and energy that interior design does. There are many people near and dear to me who have a love for gardening and yard maintenance. Apparently, I haven't caught that bug yet.

I just want the landscaping to be over and done with so that we can enjoy the great outdoors known as our yard without constantly thinking about all the work that is still needed. Alas, that isn't going to happen any time soon.

The last 3 yard updates I have given you all involved digging out all the plants/flowers/bushes we do not want in preparation for planting new items. That digging-up process is still in the works in some areas, but we've been able to move on in other areas. Here's a brief update.

A week or two ago we paid to have a landscaping company come and aerate the lawn for us. They also put down some weed-killing stuff (don't know what it's called) and some help-your-grass-grow-healthier seed (again, don't know what it's called). They are doing a total of 5 lawn treatments and each treatment is around $33. So, not too bad. It's something we would do ourselves if we had time for it. We just don't have time.

Here is a picture after the first round of aerating. The tool they use puts little holes all over the yard. The little bits of ground that they dig up look like little clumps of poop all over your yard. YUCK. At least they break down after a few days.


The aerating will help allow the fertilizer, seed, and other nutrients to penetrate the lawn and soil, thereby producing better results. Our grass is currently patchy and rough. It needs improving to say the least.

In addition to the few items the landscaping company is doing, Joey decided we needed to actually throw down some new grass seed in the bare spots of the lawn, including some of the areas where we dug out plants/flowers and want to grow grass instead.

Joey bought a few bags of EZ seed at Lowe's.


After throwing down some seed, Joey used orange tape and sticks and marked off the areas of new seed - just to ensure no intruders marched across the yard.


There were several spots around the yard that needed patching, including around the base of our trees where we had ripped out bricks and hostas back in March...


...we just want grass around the trees instead. Hopefully, with some good watering, we sill start to see grass sprout up in the next few weeks.


Another area that needed seeding is the row of dirt along the side of the house. We are narrowing the flower beds by more than half the width to allow for more grass on the west side of our property. The yard is small. So, the more grass the better.


This next picture shows where the side of the yard wraps around to the front of the yard. We still have to dig out the stumps of the big bushes Joey chopped down. These stumps run deep and have big roots. It's gonna be quite the process to remove them. We will then add some grass seed over part of the area and plant some new smaller plants/flowers too.


We're gonna have to get creative to find a way to hide the air conditioning unit that sits in the front corner of the house. I don't want it viewable, but it needs to be accessible for any maintenance/repairs that may be needed down the road.

Lastly, here's a shot down the east side of the house. It's the mostly-untouched side. When we looked down the side of the house a few weeks ago, all we saw were some daffodil buds and a few other flowers popping out, which we thought should be simple to remove.


But when we looked down the side of the house last night, the dirt and grass area was COVERED in some other type of plant (we think hostas) that is growing up everywhere. And let me tell you, these things have root systems like you wouldn't believe. I spent an hour digging up roots and only got about 3 feet cleared of these things. It's insane.


So, we're going to move to Plan B and basically kill everything down this side of the house using a common grass/weed killing process. More to come on that.

You can see from these pictures just how much still has to be done in this yard, but we're making baby steps in the right direction!


Missed some of the previous yard-related posts? Catch up HERE, HERE, and HERE!

Some More (P)inspiration!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend. Our weekend was busy...filled with running errands around town and doing odds and ends of things at the house. All in all it was a productive, but still-not-as-long-as-we-would-have-liked weekend.

As a little inspiration to jump start the new week, I thought I'd share with you a few of the newest additions to my pin boards! I've collected the images over the last week or so and continue to look them over again and again...

1. Closet-turned-Reading Nook: People just continue to amaze me with the way they re-purpose closets today. So creative. I love the fabric and colors for this nook. Adorable for a child's room.



2. Stunning painted floor: I love the pattern and colors used on this painted kitchen floor. Looks like the homeowners used it in the eating area too.



3. Children's Bedroom: I love the striped bedding and map wallpaper in this room. A new take on "nautical" perhaps?! I also love the woven trunks at the end of the beds.



4. Foyer Shelves and Baskets: I like the unique design of these shelves. They were hung lower on the wall then you normally see. This will make it easier for kids to reach items. It also leaves more space above to hang art and things.



5. Fabric-lined Kitchen: I adore the green fabric used in the curtains and roman shade in this kitchen. It coordinates with the lovely green subway tile used in the back splash!



6. DIY Cork board Map: Hang this in a home office or bedroom and add pins to all the places you've lived, visited, or any place that's special to you.



Is there anything that has been particularly inspiring to you recently? Do tell!


Note: Need to catch up on the world of Pinterest? Read all about it HERE!

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!