DIY Yardwork

Well, if DIY means Do-It-Yourselfhusband-with-your-bff's-expertise-and-bff's-husband's-muscles. When we moved into our house we had some serious work to do to get the yard to our liking.  Our problem last summer? We were putting all of our effort into painting the interior of the house and creating a baby nursery.  Our problem this summer? We had no clue where to start to make our yard pretty.  Thankfully Billie is a landscape architect and has told us all along that she would help us transplant a few plants that needed to move and she would also help us pick out plants to make everything look cohesive. Jonathan started a few weeks ago working on all of the dead spots of grass and already the grass is looking so much better.

Here are some before pics: (Please enjoy that middle awkward plant...it has weird like arms coming out of every side.)

 See the half dead plant at the corner of the house? Classy. Also, you can barely see it but there was a pretty hydrangea behind the three little bushes. The whole set up was very choppy and not cohesive.

 This has some dead spots but it's going to the backyard and it will hopefully thrive back there.

Saturday Jonathan and I had the day open so I called Billie to see if she could meet us at the nursery to choose some plants.  She and Derek and Eli met us there and we picked some great plants out. It's so wonderful to walk around the nursery with someone who knows what the plants are and all of the necessary information that I wouldn't even think about (which are hearty, which need sun, which have burrs).  I really appreciate how specific she is about how the actual plants look.  They then came over for a hot dog dinner that night and then started in on yard work (hoping that the evening would have less heat and humidity) and the boys got to digging up every single plant that was already in the yard.  The biggest issue was the Japanese Maple that was planted in a very awkward area so it was really difficult to dig up. (Cement on almost every side. Moving it was the best thing because where it was didn't give it enough room to grow! It really opens up the walkway and it highlights the maple now that it is in the yard now.)

All of the plants dug up waiting for their new homes. Some of the homes were in the backyard (like that ugly arm-y green plant and some other little plants with prickers. yuck!).  We have no landscape in the backyard so prickery and ugly is better than nothing right? right??

Working on digging up that maple.

Right after the guys got the maple out of the ground it started pouring down rain.  They got it done right in time! Thankfully Derek and Billie offered to come back Sunday after church to help plant everything.  It was HOT and HUMID but that didn't stop them! {Notice I said "them". I was on baby/child duty.  I'm pretty sure I would have been ZERO help had I tried.} It started raining and hailing about 2/3 of the way through the planting process and they worked on through it! Superstars! When it finally stopped raining everything was completed.  We just have to go buy some flowers, mulch, oh...and a tree. (The nursery we went to didn't have a big enough selection for the type we want.)

After Pictures!

How much better does that maple look now that it has a nice place to grow and have some limelight! We are going to plant a tree in behind the maple next to the last green bush (Billie would have a more technical name for it than that.) We are also going to be planting flowers this week in front of the green bushes but behind the liriope! {Look, I used a real plant name!}

Now our hydrangea is in a prominent spot so you can see it! And I LOVE that red tree. It's going to look awesome once it grows a bit taller!

The right side of the garage now balances the left side. We put a hosta and a small bush (that we dug up from the front porch area) next to the evergreen and I think it looks so good!

Can you tell that this summer is the summer of exterior sprucing-up? I hope you enjoyed my oh so not technical post about our landscape. Once we get the tree, flowers and mulch down I'll post some true after pictures! Next on the summer agenda will be painting the front door and shutters. (I have yet to decide what color I want them to be!)

We are so very blessed to have friends who are willing to work so hard and give up a beautiful weekend to help us out!! Thanks guys!!! We love you!