landscaping adventures

oh landscaping.

we have spent many hours and many dollars on fixing our landscaping. the previous owners obviously took little to no interest in the outside appearance of their house, but we sure do. 

from the dead boxwood bush in the front, to the out-of-control weeds in the back, to the unkept fountain under the deck complete with a huge goldfish, we have had our hands full.  oh, and did i mention the deck was completely unstained/untreated? good news is, our neighbors are taking notice, and they also think i'm "cute" for taking pictures of everything we do - super, we've got an audience.

so, just like everyone else's landscaping, this is going to be a progressive project.  as of today, here is a list of everything we've completed:

- pulled out all weed mat
- removed many bushes and small random trees growing in the bushes
- removed the fountain and set goldie free in a park pond
- started a rock bed where the fountain used to be
- stained our deck, which already needs to be redone because it was so bad before
- mulched a few of the front beds
- trimmed all the trees
- growing grass in several areas, especially where there used to be a huge playset
- removed the dead boxwood bush in front and replaced it with a very cute, live boxwood
- planted a beautiful lily, some lavendar, 2 henry sweetspire bushes, 1 pretty hosta that sophie has already gotten her teeth into, and a tower boxwood, which will soon be accompanied by many more to create a barrier to our neighbors along the back fence

it's pretty funny, or pretty sad, whichever way you prefer to look at it - even after tearing out most of everything and making it bare, it still looks way better than it did before.  we definitely aren't finished and still have a long list of To-Do's, but here are a few pictures of our progress.

before - where the playset was located

before - most of the bushes are taken over by weeds

after

after - lavender plants

after - beautiful lilies, which sophie likes to smell and gets the pollen all over her

before - where the fountain was located

after - the fountain has been removed. this will eventually be filled with hostas, ferns, etc.

it's been a lot of work but very rewarding.  i can't wait to see the difference when we're all finished, which will probably be years from now!