im a fan of the weeping trees. i planted our weeping mulberry in the front and got a weeping birch for the back at the end of the season last year, fingers crossed it comes back our winter was not that bad this year....
i think all the plants i paid full price ended up dying on me, huge fan of the 50%off rack, and my husband HATES that i spend money on the yard

jbealer wrote:

i think all the plants i paid full price ended up dying on me, huge fan of the 50%off rack, and my husband HATES that i spend money on the yard

Why? I look at it as an investment. Plus, you gotta be happy in your yard right? Well, I think so anyway.

All my clearance plants that I bought last year are already budding now so I know they all survived the winter. I'm very happy because we had a colder winter this year than is normal for this area.

The hubby and I spent the morning planting out in the front yard. We put in the azaleas, hisbiscus, liriope, verbena, phlox, and lantana. Apparently I miscounted and got less than I should have on the lantana. Oh well, I'll get more another time. I planted the mini roses and petunias in my flower cart yesterday. I'll post before and afters for those that I actually took before pictures of. I know it's not a huge difference because the plants are small now but I expect them to grow and burst out with colorful blooms over the course of the year. I will probably post updated pics of their growth as the months pass to keep track of their changes and hopefully show off some pretty flowers.

Anyway, pics!

This one I didn't have a "before" picture of so here are the azaleas and liriope around the base of our maple tree in the front yard. The maple is just now showing the slightest hints of budding, yay!



Front walkway BEFORE:


Front walkway AFTER adding lantana:



Other side of front walkway BEFORE:


Other side of front walkway AFTER adding verbena and phlox:



Front side BEFORE:


Front side AFTER adding hibiscus:



And lastly, for now, is my flower cart with mini roses and petunias.



I am hoping to be able to plant my 3 rose bushes either tomorrow or Monday, they are loaded with thorns so this will be fun. Once the roses are in, phase one will be complete and we can start planning out phase two. And oh the plans I have for phase two! I can hardly contain my excitement! Stay tuned!

Okay, I went shopping today and came home with 160 flowers!!! Yes, just flowers! And I also came home with a couple of other vegetable plants. The hubby and I are supposed to go out this weekend to look at trees and shrubs, we'll see what else I pick up then. Don't ask me how much money is being planted into the ground around my house.

Just curious, is anyone actually interested in updates to this thread or no? Don't be afraid to say you're not interested, it's fine and won't hurt my feelings one bit. I just don't want to go to the trouble of posting updates if no one really cares, because believe me I'm not updating for my own sake.

Huskyluv wrote:

Okay, I went shopping today and came home with 160 flowers!!! Yes, just flowers!

I'm watching with great interest. But if it's a PITA then don't worry about it. Sure is more interesting than the Colorado stuff. I have grass and roses.

i love to see Val! in fact i had to cut my grasses down this weekend because the new growth was starting, i also saw my tulips were starting to come up. i think i will take pics this weekend and post as well so we can see how it all fills in when it starts to grow. i have the "just" planted pics and dang has it filled in over the last year i love plants, wish we had the $$$ to get it all done this summer. most of the cost is in the flagstone i want to put in, and that is with me doing all the work....
this was the start in 2008

then we got grass and a sprinkler system
and i can't find the flower pictures

I'm watching too!
I'd love to see how it all turns out!
The front of my house would look nearly as good as it did last summer with all the pansies, but hopefully some of them will come back and hubby has planted a few bulbs in there randomly. So it'll be interesting to see how it fills in this spring!

You are all better women than I....


ETA: Yes, I'm interested

You have a very pretty house Val! Well what I can see anyway lol I'm so sick of looking at Florida I want to leave already!! Argh!

Although, it is a gorgeous day today....


And i'm interested too

I wanna see your progress!! (So yes, count me in as interested!)

I like your updates! I want to live vicariously through you...

Well thanks guys, I will continue to update then. But be advised, all this stuff is starting out very small so I expect it to take a few months to really start looking decent. The way things are now it's almost embarrassing how small my plants are.

Jenn, the progress you've made with your yard is significant! It looks so very nice how it is currently from looking at your most recent pics on FB.

Here's a pic of the front of our house/yard from last year taken just after we moved in. I never shared pics of the house so this what it looks like since I always crop out the house.

Our humble abode, 5 bed/3 bath/2700 sqft for 2 people. Yeah I know I took a crooked picture.


I'll try to get some new pics and updates up soon.

You have a really pretty house Val! I love the bricking/stone around the garage and in the front. House is big enough for MORE HUSKIES!

Holy hell that is one HUGE home, were coming for a visit... with the dogs

ours is 3B 2.5 bath and around 1500sf

That is a BIG house!
Since it's only 2 humans, you need at least one more Sibe!

WIth the big house and huge yard I keep pushing for another husky but it is a no go with the hubby. That's alright, my three keep me plenty busy and I honestly prefer having 2 dogs...I think that's my personal magic number which means I'm already 1 over. No more furry creatures in this household, although we are considering fostering (chihuahuas, not sibes...hubby would have my head if I brought another sibe home ).

And believe me, every day that I have to vacuum the whole house I am reminded of just how big this house is. I keep trying to convince the hubby to get me a Roomba!

Tomorrow begins some more planting in the garden, between housework, the pets, and planning/planting I am in for a long day tomorrow. I'll try to put together a list of the new plants I bought today.

Huskyluv wrote:

...And believe me, every day that I have to vacuum the whole house I am reminded of just how big this house is. I keep trying to convince the hubby to get me a Roomba!

I would hate to vacuum my whole house! In fact, I HATE to clean this whole house by myself! I'd forever be cleaning this house! It's a good thing we rarely use the basement, and Ginger really only goes in 3 rooms in our whole house! - The dining room, family room, and our master bedroom!

Just a little update, got 45 of my 160 plants in today. Mind you, I opted for bare root flowers since they are cheaper and I don't mind going that route and watching them grow throughout the year. It will definitely make for interesting before and after shots. Planting bare roots is also a million times easier than larger plants too, thank goodness!

Anyway, so the plants I put in today included:
Astilbe x 12
Dicentra x 3
Convallaria (Lily of the Valley) x 20
Heuchera x 5
Hosta x 5

All of these were planted in the mostly shady area (morning sun only) along the back of the house where my Japanese maple is.

A pic of the finished product, you can't see much because the new shoots are so small but they are there!


Some close ups since the above pic doesn't really show them very well...

Convalleria


Dicentra


Heuchera


Hosta


Forgot to snap a pic of my Astilbe, next time!

A picture of the 3 rose bushes that I planted on Sunday. I am planning to have 8 rose bushes when all is said and done but I am picky about my roses and will have to wait to find the right ones that I am looking for.


My vegetable plants, tomato (left) and bell pepper (right), I want to get these two in the ground soon!


My tomato plant has at least 8 tomatoes already growing nicely on it.


I have so much more to do still and a ton more plants to put in the ground yet. But I am having FUN!

i need to completely redo my gardens around my house. they all look terrible! i just bought the house last year and ivy is/was taking over everything!!!!! i've spent most of my time killing it off because i hate it and its super invasive. its growing over my fence in the back and destroying it still. ugh, terrible. i am spending the day tomorrow working on my gardens in front of my house. should be fun! haha i love what you're doing with your yard so far val! must be nice to start with a clean slate! i feel bad pulling out bushes and killing stuff i deem horrible, but what are you gonna do...i've been researching what plants to get for my yard. i'm in zone 7. i just planted a lilac bush out front, can't wait for it to )hopefully) bloom by next year! it was a volunteer from my parents lilac bush and it seems to be doing well so far. i'm currently rooting some twigs from my parent's curly willow (awesome tree but can put off some serious trash from the branches) i'm not looking forward to when my neighbor's GIGANTIC mulberry trees drop their fruit it was absolutely miserable and smelly last year and dyed nikki pink red for half the summer, haha..ugh! anyway...your yard is looking great!

looking good Val, you make me want spring to hit all ready so i can see green again! it was snowing a bit tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we have started with a dirt yard as well and i LOVE IT, hate the money it is costing but i get to design it all and that is the best. the only thing i have to kill is the damn junipers in the front by the porch, a raised garden bed is going there. and infront of that the flagstone walk way to the gate with some more flower beds along the fence, need to move all that damn rock and hide it under our porch, i think that is really what is holding up finishing the front yard, rock, rock and more rock to move!! i love roses but they do not do that great in CO you can grow so much more in the east as its not so dry.

I should show you all pictures of my dead disgusting, muddy, still snow filled yard. This winter is the worst we've had in 75 years or something according to the news. Ridiculous. Normally I'm riding the horses outside this time of year. Not this year

To join in the fun, our neighbor told me that this random bush in the middle of our yard that we wanted to knock down is a lilac bush... I LOVE LILACS. They are my favorite flower So that actually made me SUPER excited. Yay!

Lilacs are awesome!

We'll have to see if our pansies come up again in front. It was so pretty last summer, then it got pelted with hail and it all went away. There's a few coming up right now, and JD planted some bulbs randomly but he may have been a little late getting those in the ground.

Val - it's looking really good! I'm really impressed! I can't wait until it starts to come up more!
Thanks for keeping this thread updated with pictures! I'm starting to want to go buy flowers to put around the base of some trees we have!

Claudia,
do not put anything in the ground other then a tree/bush or bulbs right now in CO, it will not make it. we can't plant anything safely till after mothers day and even then its iffy. after all we did wake up to snow on the ground today!!! i bought one of those "greenhouse" kits (little tray to put seeds in with lid) im gonna start my seeds April 1st that gives them 1.5 months to grow before planting i planted some bulbs in pots this past weekend to see what happens. i forgot all the bulbs i planted in the fall so it will be a surprise as to what pops up this spring!

I was considering picking up some lavender or lilac but I haven't done my homework on them to know what their requirements are, when they bloom, size, zone, sun/shade requirements, etc. I bought a ton of Gladiolus bulbs to put in the back yard along the aluminum fence line...I'm hoping the tons of deer we have in the woods don't eat my Gladiolus.

It is wonderful starting out with a clean slate, I love it and my imagination is just running wild. After an abnormally colder winter than normal we are experiencing an abnormally warm February and March this year. This year is anything but normal it seems! Last summer was supposedly hotter than normal too.

Jenn, I'm starting a raised garden bed this year too. Mine will be for my vegetables though. I really need to get that started within the next week or two...my goal is within the next week but we'll see what happens...I've just got so much to do. And roses are my favorite flower, they always have been. My roses are my pride and joy and the centerpiece of my garden. Since I moved out of my parents' house when I was in college I've moved so many times that I've never had the opportunity to get back into growing my roses. Now I finally am able to pick it up again. And my current rose bushes have some nice buds on them that I'm expecting to open very soon! My second favorite flowers are Stargazer lilies which I also bought bulbs 10 of, just need to get some soil so I can put them in the ground.

I'm at a standstill today as I only have a tiny bit of soil left, I might be able to put a few gladiolus bulbs in with what little I have. Tomorrow the hubby and I are making a run to the store to stock up on more soil and to see what flowers, possibly trees, and shrubs he might like. I'd like to get a few more flowers as well.

Claudia, I love pansies. I am planning to get some pansies this fall to have some color in the ground from fall through spring.

I'll update what I am able to plant today (which won't be much) as well as what we pick up tomorrow when we go shopping. I'm still looking for a place that carries purple lantana.