Front Yard Transformation

A couple of months ago I shared some pictures with you of our front yard.  The grass (if there ever was any) was definitely struggling, and all of our plants were still babies.  Since the warmer weather, and Drew Babe putting his green thumb to work, our plants have taken off and we finally have a mouthful yard-ful of green grass.  Here are some before and afters for you to get a glimpse of the outdoor projects at the Martin House :)

Notice the grass, or the lack there of.

Now, thanks to Drew Babe's hard work, we have lush green grass.

The Japanese Maple on the far left has grown a lot in just one year.

We recently put down fresh mulch, which definitely spruces up everything and adds a dark contrast with the green grass.  Last year we did bagged mulch, but this year decided it would be much cheaper to get a truck load of brown dyed mulch.  

The plants have really enjoyed the rain and warm weather and everything has nearly doubled in size.  I think the hanging basket ferns give the front porch a more welcoming feel.

Here is an up close view of our Nandinas, Indian Hawthorns, and Euonymus.  We have been feeding mostly everything with Espoma Holly Tone, which seems to be working.

One last picture that really shows off Drew's vibrant and healthy grass.

We are still waiting for the buds on our Azaleas to pop out, and probably as it gets closer to summer the Hydrangea will bloom as well.  Hopefully one day we will be able to revamp our front porch a bit with a new porch roof, because that metal awning just isn't cutting it.  But until then, we are definitely enjoying our front flower bed and new lawn.  

Sometimes we just sit on the front porch, sip a little Moscato, and observe our land :) 

A Little Touch of Spring

With this warmer weather we've been having, it's made me anxious to give my brown green thumb a try (to be honest, Drew Babe is the one with the green thumb....hopefully it will rub off on me a little).  Last weekend I headed out to Taylor's Do it Center and bought a few plants to spruce up our front porch.

Our front porch is very shady, so I had to find plants that liked the shade (Fortunately, after working at a plant nursery for a couple summers, I did have somewhat of a clue about shade plants).  I ended up getting two Boston Ferns to put in hanging baskets and three New Guinea Impatiens.

Of course in VA the weather seems to always have terrible mood swings.  After being warm for a couple weeks, we had a few days of cold and windy weather.  Thankfully I hadn't planted yet and kept the new plants in the garage until it got warm again.  Eventually I got my bright Impatiens in the ground and added a little Bloom Booster to get them going.

I transferred the ferns from the plastic pots to some more decorative coco lined hanging baskets and hung them on the porch.

The hanging baskets just seem to make the porch so much more inviting.  Now let's just hope I can keep these things alive.

After we get a truck load of fresh mulch in the flower bed, I'll be sure to show you more pictures of our entire front yard and flower bed.  Drew Babe has done an AWESOME job with our lawn and all of our plants.  They have grown so much since last year!