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Around the House – Curb Appeal

By Dawn Sailors In Around the House, Outside, Projects

We’ve finally started to focus a little more on the outside of our home after having interior blinders on for the past year and a half. I’m sure our neighbors would agree that it’s about time. So with ambition high, I spent my memorial day in the front yard trying to drum up a small amount of curb appeal.

I’ve been frustrated with the plants in the front of our house since we bought it. They were so over-sized that they blocked the sidewalk to the porch. Our guests constantly bypass the front door and maneuver around our cars and trash cans to come knock on our garage door instead. That is when I really started to realize that we had a problem with the landscaping.

I have been particularly annoyed with the three large bushes lining the porch walk. Not only did they block the sidewalk despite my trimming them down, but those trims left me with some nasty war wounds, as we’re dealing with thorn bushes. (Sorry this isn’t a true before picture. I got a little too enthused and had the first and largest bush dug up before I remembered to get the camera out.)

Yes, thorny little twigs that are hard to see but just waiting for an unsuspecting bare foot or tiny fingers to prick. After one splinter too many, I decided I’d had enough.

I’d also had enough of the overgrown bushes in front of the bay windows. Despite my best efforts (ok my half-assed efforts, excuse the expression) they always just looked wild and unkempt. But no more! After a little elbow grease and sweat, we finally replaced them with something a little softer and cleaner.

Vera sat on the porch in her bouncer and watched while mom and dad worked away. She loves being outdoors and would have sat there quietly all afternoon if Brett hadn’t decided to take her indoors after seeing a bee flying around the porch. We agreed that we didn’t want to risk a sting and/or unknown allergy, so the hub got baby duty while I finished the planting.

So here’s the view from the front now that we replaced the old greenery with some new hostas and day-lilies. I think the walk looks much more inviting now, although there is still a lot that I’d like to do to it. It’s a good start though. I’m also loving the stone retaining wall we built up a month or so ago. There was one there already, but it had never really been finished. Most of the mulch spilled out and the rock was held in by rusting green metal dividers. We added another row to the top and it is quite a bit more substantial looking now. I’d still like to add a row of toppers though. Just to really finish it off.

I’ve officially designated this as the summer of the exterior around here, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll have a some big, small and exciting projects to post about before fall rolls around. Here’s hoping!

P.S. You may notice the conspicuously bare pots on our front porch. Anyone have any suggestions of pretty plants that need very little sun to survive? They get no sun and I just can’t keep anything growing in them!