Installing A New Flower Bed

If you follow me on IG you probably saw this picture a few months ago.  A trunk load of free plants from my aunt!  I used some of them in our new flower bed I blogged about here.

Here is where we started:

I made a plan for laying out all the plants making sure that the colors coordinated throughout

The first step was to layout all the plants where I want them.  I did it a few days ahead so the grass was nice and tromped down where each plant was to go.  Next we arranged the garden hose the way we wanted the bed to go.  I knew I wanted curves so it was helpful to play around with the hose to get it just perfect!  

We then spread flour outside of where the hose was lying to mark where we should dig.

Jacob did a lion's share of the digging, which looked like this when it was finished.  We worked hard on creating a straight edge of the soil so we could mound the mulch up and away from the grass.  I found a lot of information about it here

Next we dug the holes for the plants, having the grass tromped down was helpful for knowing exactly where to dig.

We decided to use landscape fabric because we don't have easy access to a garden tiller.  I used the plan to put the plants back into place and fill in the holes.

Mulching wasn't fun but then it never is.  

All finished!

And here it is over 2 months later!

I love it!

Because we were given several plants and had several already in place all in all it cost less than $150 and around 4 hours of work.  It was definitely a well worth it project, one that we get a lot of compliments on!

New Flower Bed

Back in April Jacob and I installed a long flower garden along the left side of our backyard.  Our yard was basically a blank slate when we moved in.  We added the fence (a must with dogs and being pregnant at the time) and things stayed that way for awhile.  

Last spring we moved 3 peony plants from the front to the back when we had the front landscaped.  You can see them in the picture below, the 4th plant is a tree without leaves and then an azalea....that is where we started.

Two full months later here is what it looks like today!  I wish peonies bloomed all summer!

This is the view off the deck, just to the right of the photo is the swing set.  It was important that it didn't block our view of the pond behind our property that we worked so hard to make visible!

 

All in all it took less than $150 and makes a nice statement !  I will be back with details on how we installed it shortly.

Friday

Happy Friday!

Things that make me happy

I'm loving the peonies I clipped from our multiple bushes in the backyard.  Seeing them on the table makes me so happy!

New Landscaping

Hello!

I'm back with pictures of our new landscaping.  Here are the before pics, which really don't look too bad.  I took these last June just before the arrival of baby M.  The daylilies were in full bloom and we had just planted the red verbena.  I was hoping the verbena would really spread out and make a nice statement but really there ended up being awkward clusters of red and weird empty spots.....not good.  Plus there in the back next to the column is one of the 2 peonies, which after they bloom for a few weeks in early May they flop over and are nothing special.

Like I said, really not too bad but in the winter everything dies and we are left with empty scraggly flower beds.

Here is the after:

We left a few daylillies and added some holly, a green Japanese maple, roses, and a few boxwoods.  They also took out the other level in the above flower bed and added to the stones below.  I can't wait for it to fill out a bit more.  There is also a spot in the below picture where they are coming back to plan more flowers now that it's finally staying warm.  We might remove the large hedge at some point.

One of my favorite things was having that ugly bush that covered our house number ripped out.

This is the flower bed to the left of the house, which we didn't do anything to.  I left my snapdragons in the ground last year and they came back!  I still need to plant a few more here and around the mailbox.

Much better!  We moved the peonies and gardenia to the backyard and they seem to be doing well.

Happy Friday!

We have a fun weekend planned and I promise to upload some pics of our new landscaping and painted laundry room!

Do you like the new blog?  If you're in reader click out to see it! 

Front Yard Reveal

Hi all!

I have posted a few times about trying to decide which flowers to plant and how I really wanted it to look nice outside before baby arrives. Well, I just realized I never showed you the final product.

I must preface this with saying that we simply planted flowers and kept what was already in place because of our time crunch. I hope to rework the flower beds/landscaping next year. I also must say that I hate our front door.....so don't judge. ;)

Tatum helps us with the watering

The red flowers are verbena and the white flowers are alyssum. I prefer a much fuller look so I'm hoping they both grow and fill out more as the summer continues.

I also decided to add a few pots of flowers to soften the steps and because you can't have too many flowers in my book!

I'm proud of what we have accomplished considering it's been such a wet spring and since I was 8 months pregnant by the time we could start really planting. My mom was a huge help and we certainly couldn't have done it without her!

I head to the doctor today for my 40 week appointment. I'm hoping for some progress!

Have a great day!

Emily

Paper Flower Tutorial

Hi all!

I'm here to share a project with you all that I am pretty excited about. I do have to give credit where credit is due and say that I did not think of this project I simply recreated it from another blog. In case you aren't familiar with Jones Design Co let me be the first to tell you that you are missing out. Click here for the tutorial, which I'll list here but I didn't bother taking step by step pictures like she did. I'm lazy and she explains everything so wonderfully.

When I ran across this project I knew it was perfect for the nursery and let me tell you that it is

I needed something to put on the top of the bookcase and I think this little project looks so darling there and it solves my dilemma of real plant in the nursery or not.

Here you can see the curtains in the background. I promise to have the full reveal in a few days

SUPPLIES:

paper printed on both sides (some for the flowers and some for the leaves)

floral wire

scissors

hot glue gun

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut out an irregular circle (I did several different sizes)

2. Start at the outside edge and cut a spiral to the center of the circle

3. Roll your paper starting at the outside edge when you get to the center you will have a coiled rosette

4. Release the coil and see it form a beautiful flower

5. Add a bit of glue to the bottom and press together to solidify your flower

To make a leaf:

1. Cut out a leaf shape

2. Fold it accordion style at the base

3. Glue it onto the base of the flower as well as the floral stem (just bend a small portion of the wire and add a bit of glue to adhere)

I didn't have double sided print paper so I glued a few pieces together and it worked okay. You can see on my pink rose what happens when you do this but I'm okay with it not being perfect.

Hope you have enjoyed this little project!

Emily

What I woke up to

Good morning!

This is what I woke up to today, my first peony has bloomed! Peonies are my favorite flowers so I was thrilled to see the 4 plants poking up from the ground this spring of our new house.

My bouquet was white peonies and other greenery so I the smell takes me right back to that June day 4 years ago.

I think it's going to be a great day!

Emily

Patio Progress

Hi all!

It's turned out to be a beautiful spring afternoon and I'm so happy to have a beautiful deck to enjoy it on! Jacob and I have been busy bees readying the deck for company this spring/summer. Mostly we are trying to buy/get things accomplished before baby comes so we can enjoy being outside all summer.

I have always wanted a shrub of some sort in a black urn.....I just think they look awesome. I finally have gotten my wish!

I can't wait for the flowers to bloom and trail more as they should be bright and plentiful at the bottom of the urns. Hi Oliver!

This is the bistro set we have had for years so it's on the deck too making for 2 seating arrangements. I think eventually when we do pavers under the deck it will make it's way down there but for now it's fine as we have a large space to work with.

Here's our glorious new patio set and umbrella that is so comfy!

Here's our new gas ignition charcoal grill that Jacob is pretty pumped about

I'm not a huge petunia person but I wanted to go with bright purples and pinks in the back because we're doing reds, yellows, and white in the front of the house. This planter was only $5 at Lowes. Score!

Are you readying your outdoor spaces like we are? Can't wait to plant flowers out front tomorrow!

Emily