Then and Now

BEFORE

Here's a picture of our backyard right after we purchased our house about seven years ago.  The grass was dead, we had no trees...unless you're counting the two stumps in the backyard...it was very barren to say the least.  We would show the place to our friends and our families before we bought it and they would say, "what are you going to do about that yard"?  I thought it would be fun to show you...

AFTER

To the left you will see Chocolate Vines we planted.  They are wonderful and they grow really fast and are very tough!  They were my attempt to cover up a shed that my husband had built.  I like how it kind of frames in our yard.  In the springtime the vines have these subtle little white flower that blooms. 

My husband built us a fence after Happy Feet was born.  I never knew that I could love a fence so much.  Red Shoes get to enjoy the great outdoors so much more now that it's here.  The shrubs that you see in front of the fence are called Ninebark Diablo.  These have just really started growing in the last year or so.  They have pretty berries in the fall and winter that create some visual interest.  This picture was taken closer to fall, so they were starting to lose some of their leaves. 

BEFORE

This was the weed bed that visitors got to take in as they walked up our sidewalk and entered our home.  I'm sure it left quite an impression. 

AFTER

We planted a Japanese Maple in the center of the flower bed.  It was actually a present my family got for me.  It has since died due to a really harsh winter, but I really liked how it matched our shutters.  In the rest of the bed we have Lirope (Liriope), Next Spirea bushes, Day Lilies, Spireas and last Box Woods.  During the winter months I wish we would have put the Box Woods in the front.  We also replaced the outdoor lighting something a little more rustic.

BEFORE

AFTER

This is our Square Foot Garden.  I LOVE it!  I will this garden this way forever, even if we ever have a bigger space.  It is so easy and so much less labor intensive.  I'll do more on this later, but we always plant tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and onions.  We tried broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage this year.  I highly recommend the book, "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew.   You can find more at: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

BEFORE

This flower bed didn't exist before we moved in.  My mom & dad helped us with this entire project (dirt work for the yard, seeding, planting flower beds, creating flower beds, etc.) I know, we are VERY, VERY lucky!

AFTER

We planted Box Woods in the bed.  During springs that I feel like it,  I plant some annuals.  I like that it looks fine if I don't feel like tending to flowers that summer.  We planted some kind of fountain grass on the very end of the house, and we planted a Maple tree in the front yard.  It's so pretty in the fall.  We are constantly amazed at how much everything has grown in this short amount of time.

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