My Summer Project

Back of the house

I know my mom and a few of my Florida pals thought I was crazy to consider a landscaping project. I definitely have a brown thumb and lack the time and patience it takes to maintain plant life. Add in the fact that the pretty plants usually aggravate my allergies and I should be the last person trying to improve their landscaping on their own. I couldn't ignore the need for this project as the grass near the back porch habitually was soggy and sometimes coated in moss, creating an unappealing back yard setting.

Next to the back porch

I am fortunate that my friend, Peggy, has such an amazing affinity for landscaping. Not only did she visit and make a multitude of recommendations, she drew up schematic of our future landscaping, including pics of the plants placed strategically on the drawing so I would know where to plant the bushes. She noted every detail including the number of each plant that should be purchased for this project. Since this pic, we bought more huechera palace purples to fill-in between the hydrangeas and hostas and we special ordered beacon silver lamium, but it arrived too late for us to plant.

Rock garden for planters

Peggy walked the property with us recommending other ideas such as how we could possibly plant around some of the groupings of trees that shade the yard and using planters in strategic places. Though the ground near our porch formed a marshland, hard clay dominated the terrain around the corner. Hubby and I took turns through the summer, digging a ditch through the clay so that we could create a rock garden. Planters of varying sizes and path lighting will be placed along the back of the house next spring.

Roses

The front of our house is an interesting grouping of flowering bushes with one exception ... a monstrous green bush that did not flower and constantly pricked us through our gloves when we tried to trim it. It was off-centered below our large front window and was very unsightly. Digging out the bush and the its roots was a lengthy operation as it used to completely fill this space. We planted roses surrounded by cat mint bushes to replace the former eyesore.

Lilies

You see that was the beauty of Peggy's advice. She took into account my lack of attention and patience in maintaining the landscaping yet balanced it with the variant sunlight exposure and water flow issues around the house. Then she took into account my favorite colors and produced a beautiful arrangement. A few days after we had everything planted, the lilies that inhabited the front landscaping bloomed, showering my yard with an array of colors. And for those who are curious, lilies are my favorite flowers so I was excited by these.