Our Exterior’s Landscaping Progress

Exterior Landscaping is the topic today, but first here’s an update on Jordan.  She and her family made it home from Thailand yesterday after many, many hours spent in airports and on planes.  Google saw his new room, met his dog Gracie, and is settling in.  Jordan said that although he isn’t speaking English yet, he is starting to understand.  He can follow simple directions and copy his sister.  As they settle in, we will see progress every single day.  Thank goodness for Skype, which we are using instead of Facetime, because it provides a larger monitor for him to see us and for us to see him.  We want him to get to know us even before he even meets us and vice versa.

Now, let’s get on to today’s topic.  After our exterior landscaping was installed early last December, we shared a few iphone photos of our house’s exterior.  At the time, our fence had not been reinstalled, and the leaves weren’t on the trees.

The Exterior Fence

Things are looking better now, and we want to give you an update.  First of all, our fence is in.  We had most of it removed during the remodeling months because we didn’t want it to get damaged, and it was often in the way.  It is getting repainted this summer, which will not be a small task.  The old paint must be removed with a special sander before the new paint can be applied.  Each house on our block has a wrought iron fence, and each design is different.  I love how that adds character and personality to our street.  And I especially like having a gate.  It’s so old fashioned.  Our fence is probably the least ornate of all of them, and that’s okay.

The Flowers

Monday I spent several hours planting several large flats of pink and white begonias along the border of our landscaping.  I almost planted red and white ones so they would look better with the red, white, and blue flag and bunting when our July 4th decorations are up, but I really prefer pink and went with that. The courtyard, which I will show you soon, is also decked out in pink and white flowers, and I just love how it is looking.  Of course, it will look even better as the flowers grow and bloom.

 

The Shrubs

I bought two holly plants for the big pots on our porch and filled in around them with dusty miller and pink and white wave begonias.   As the flowers grow and spread down the sides, they will look a lot better.

Boxwoods would probably have been a better shrub selection, but since there is a boxwood blight in our area, I didn’t want to take the chance of buying diseased plants and then exposing our healthy shrubs to them.

 

The Plan

We still need to fill in the landscaping.  We spent most of our landscaping budget on the courtyard, and we will fill gradually fill in the bare spots as time goes on.  And of course, things will grow and fill in on their own over time.

We are adding an espaliered tree against the fireplace on the side of the house.  I found one at a local nursery, but they don’t deliver.  So, I think that means I will rent a truck to get it here.

I am thinking that we will add five Annabelle hydrangeas in front of the wall which will be softened when the climbing hydrangea starts climbing.  It’s that clump of green, and we have several of them along this wall.  My hesitation with the Anabelles is that they require a lot of water and can look really droopy on dry and hot summer days.  They are shade lovers, though, and they will be under a big tree.  I would love something with a bloom, but it might be more practical to go with a holly.  We will see.  I am open to your suggestions.

After we finish planting, we will add more mulch which will make everything look all crisp and finished.  When the begonias grow and fill in, I think it will look really pretty.

Oh, and here’s a reminder of what it looked like before.  We are definitely making progress.

We have just loved living here in our new place and are so happy with that we upsized after learning that downsizing just wasn’t working for us.  If you are considering downsizing, you might want to read this post first. We will keep you updated on the progress of our exterior landscaping as things grow and bloom and even offer some tips on how to keep your exterior landscaping and plantings looking fresh.

 

Take care.