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!

Feels Like Spring

The weather is just one of the many things I love about good ol' VA.  Even at the end of January we still have days where the temperature is close to 70, and it feels just like May.  This got me thinking about our Spring 2011 outdoor project.  

Our first step in tackling the front yard, was the flower bed.  Before we got a hold of it, the bed consisted of a few measly Azaleas and lots of dirt.  Not very homey or welcoming, to say the least.  We decided to add some sexy curves to the flower bed and extend it.  After finalizing the outline of our new bed, we determined which plants would be the best for the partially shady spot.  

We headed to a local nursery and picked up the following:

• 1 Japanese Maple Fireglow (this stays small, so we don't have to worry about it taking over our house)
• 3 Nandina Domestica (they have festive reddish-orange berries in the winter)
• 2 Hawthorn Indian Princess
• 3 Euonymus Moonshadow
• 2 Azalea Amagasa Coral/Orange
• 12 Liriope Super Blue
• 3 Gardenia Dwarf (these little guys didn't make it, so we ended up getting three more Azaleas to fill their place)

After traveling home with all of our new babies, we attempted to put our green thumbs to work.  Equipped with shovels, fertilizer, gloves, and a hose we began to place and plant everything in our flower bed.

  We used the Liriope to create a soft border on the edge of our flower bed.  The Maple was placed in it's own little spot, so it could really show off its vibrant leaves (maybe one day we will get a soft light to shine on it at night).  We put the three Nandinas near the window with the Hawthorns and Euonymus  in front of them.  The Azaleas found their spot in front of the porch and in spring they will bring a nice pop of color (hopefully!).

During the planting process, we made sure to tease the roots, dig a properly sized hole, and sprinkle with a little fertilizer to give all the plants a boost.  Thankfully they all survived the summer...well, most of them (had to replace the Gardenias with Azaleas).  We are hoping Spring 2012 will really show off our new garden and everything will pop out.  

We knew after planting and mulching our new flower bed, were were going to have to do something with the front lawn.  See that big brown, bare spot in our lawn??  Well, this past fall we made that our outdoor project.  Drew Babe aerated and planted a brand new lawn using a Fescue seed mix.  After lots and LOTS of watering, we now have a beautiful and lush front lawn.  

All of the pictures above are when the plants were just babies, and we had more dirt and weeds than grass.  Check back in a couple months for all the "after" pictures, which will all be lush, green, and vibrant....fingers crossed!

Psst...We have a new porch idea in the works as well.  Can't wait to say goodbye to that awning which never seems to stay clean no matter how many times Drew Babe power washes it.  So keep an eye out for a new front porch as well! :)