Backyard Landscaping - 4 Years

Although the east coast rain cycle has caused a lot of havoc in a lot of areas, in my backyard, the rain has been welcomed.  Here's how our yard looked 3 years ago, about a year after planting hydrangeas near the back of the house and screen porch.

Here's how it looks now...

I guess I no longer need to worry about covering those air conditioning units - naturally screening is doing its thing!

On the back of the screen porch door, I added this door basket (found here) filled with some nursery plants.  

I'm not sure I have ever showcased that back door, but it's a great area now.  In case you are interested, here is the light that I eventually chose (it took a few tries to get it right).  I wanted a "dark skies"light so it would not bother our neighbors but I wanted to be sure the steps were well lit for my friends when they leave after a couple of glasses of wine!

Last year our garden gate looked like this -

This year it looks like this -

The hydrangeas are again the big story of this before and after.  I also added a metal basket onto our side gate.  I think it's actually for Christmas but I've had it for years and never used it before.  I almost tossed it in the yard sale pile but thought of this space.  Why not?

I also finally found a climbing hydrangea that I hope will eventually climb the arbor over the gate.  Hopefully this does as well as the other hydrangeas.

Hope you are having a great day!

Garden Fountain {Patio}

When we visit my parents' house, I love the sound of their water feature.  Theirs is a good size pond with waterfall and frogs, and the works.  No way am I installing a pond and my dad is constantly threatening to bulldoze the whole thing because it's so hard to keep the water clean (or even semi-algae-free).  I even had the perfect spot in mind near our back steps, just off the patio.

I had seen some DIY garden fountains on various blogs, Pinterest, and websites.  I came across a couple of references to these instructions, and decided to go for it.  I took a client to HomeGoods a few weeks ago for an accessory shopping excursion, and of course, had to go back immediately afterwards to buy some of the amazing pots I saw there.

Here are the basic components -

• 2 or 3 pots (if they are not ceramic, or something sealed from water, you'll need to spray seal them with Thompson's Water Seal)
• Fountain pump (available near the indoor plants at Home Depot)
• About 12" of tubing (also near the pumps)
• 2 or 3 filler pots (either plastic or other pots you have on hand)
• 2 bags of river rock
• tube of silicone calking

I'm not going to rewrite Martha's directions but here are some basic pictures of the process.

And here's the final result...

Fortunately we have an outlet on our porch where I could easily plug the pump in.

We've had it going for a few weeks and I have to add more water about every 3 or 4 days if we have no rain at all.  The pump will automatically shut off if it's too low on water.  Fortunately (?) we have had so much rain that I have only filled it maybe 4 times.

It does not make quite as much noise as I would like.  I may add another pot next year which would increase the trickling sound.  If my top pot had a lip on the edge, I think there would be more trickling.  But, I love the sound when we are sitting on the patio eating dinner or hanging out in the backyard with the kids.

I need a fire pit!

Last spring in kindergarten, Elizabeth learned the difference between a "want" and a "need" which she frequently articulated back to us when we used the terms incorrectly (or interchangeably).  It seems that my 3 year old also caught on because one night earlier in the summer, I told him that I need him to get out of bed and go to the bathroom in the night if he needs to.  Alex said, "Mommy, that's a want not a need."  Seriously, that kid...

This leads to the title of this post. This is a long-term want which has now turned into a "need".  At least in "first world" terms.  I have mainly put it off because Handy Hubby's insistence that we will never use.  I insist that we will use it as the fall wears on and we can toast marshmallows, etc.  I'm not sure we'll ever see eye-to-eye on this.  Want to put money on who is going to win? 

Here's our patio - doesn't it seem like it needs a little something?

So, I have been assessing my options.  My criteria are: 1) it must have a cover to protect the kiddos, 2) cannot be too big, 3) relatively attractive, 4) ideally it should fold up for easy storage or transport, and 5) less than $100.  Here are the contenders:

Landman USA 28240 - about $75

Fire Sense 22" Folding Fire Pit - about $50

Charbroil Portable Fire Pit - about $60

Anyone have a favorite fire pit that fits the bill for me?  My need to swing by Target tomorrow. I heard they were putting any remaining summer and outdoor stuff on sale this week.  Bring on the Christmas lights!

Screen Porch: Landscaping

We had some final landscaping done around the screen porch. First though we had to get some leaks in our sprinkler system fixed. Not surprising after a big project.  Things were pretty muddy and gross along the side of the porch.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the flood when we turned on the sprinklers!  Fortunately our sprinkler company came right out and fixed it up for free! 

Next up our landscapers came in and cleaned up the mess made by the flood and some general clean-up around the porch area, including lifting up the stepping stones which had literally sunk under the mud and dirt so you couldn't even really see them!  They also did a little grading away from the house and re-mulched.  

After all that was done, I went ahead and divided some day lilies and peonies that I already had growing in other parts of the garden and planted them along the edge of the steps and porch.  I am hoping this will be an amazing "before" picture next year!  The door mat is from Target - it's so cheerful and cute!

Here's the view from the gate to the backyard. 

My favorite view is this one from the front yard into the backyard.

 The plants next to the porch were also plants that we already had or which were given to us by a neighbor who was doing some "de-landscaping" in their new backyard.  LOVE free plants!

Hoping they get enough water from the sprinkler system to keep them alive during this mini-drought.

It's really coming together now both in and out.  A few more changes to come.

Not Quite Free Backyard Makeover

I am happy to say that our backyard is pretty much finished. We have a few trees to plant in the spring but other than that, it really does look good. Here is what it looked like just before installing our swing set last winter.

Here's what it looks like today.

Obviously the major change is our neighbors' new garage. So clean and nice to look at. The added bonus is that it's larger than their previous garage so we get more privacy in our yard and through the first floor windows in the back of the house. 

The fence is a custom fence installed by a locally owned company, Expert Fence. Before installing the fence, Handy Hubby had to rip out old shrubbery on the right side and along the back of the garage. Then we had our landscapers come in and regrade the back corner of our lot so the soccer balls won't roll behind the garage after every kick! We also wanted to be sure the fence would slope down gradually without any big drops. They then finished off the project with some nice sod which was really the only option considering that it's already November.

Finally, we installed our sprinkler system a few weeks ago. It certainly comes in handy for keeping the new sod alive!

So, although not exactly a free makeover, at least we don't have a tumbling down garage to look at anymore, and it spurred us to clean up the back of our property line so it's clean and neat, as opposed to untamed and a bit scary!

We're also really excited to have a new gate in the back corner where we can slip through the back for fire pit parties at our neighbors behind!

Any landscaping projects left on your list?

Fake, Faux, Not Real

Yesterday I revealed my front porch fall updates.

 

See those pumpkins?

Totally fake. Yup, not a real one in the bunch. I finally gave up on the real pumpkins for purely decorative purposes after the squirrels had a feast of them last year. This year there is supposed to be a shortage because of the heavy rains in the east so it made it a perfect year to "invest" in some fake pumpkins (funkins?). These all came from Michaels although I think two different manufacturers. None of them was over $7 each when I used my coupons (of course). Here's how they looked when I brought them home.

A bit too perfect, so I had to "real" them up a bit.  I took a rag with some regular minwax stain that we had in the basement, and I just rubbed it on all over the pumpkins. I also took some scissors and jabbed them a bit so they didn't look quite as perfect. Now they are much more realistic.

Have you de-perfected something recently? Tell me about it!!

Linking to: Centsational Girl

Fall Front Stoop

I love decorating our front stoop for fall. No idea why. Maybe it's the trick-or-treat factor, but that's a whole other level.  Although I don't love fall (because winter follows closely behind) I do like fall decorating.

I showed you the family room mantel on Monday and today here's my front stoop decorated for fall.

Honestly, I've gone back and forth with the configuration and landed on this after a bit. It may not stay the same once the jack-o-lanterns join the fray. 

The wreath was from Home Goods (I think) a year or two ago. I'm thinking about hanging it on the storm door but haven't quite figured out how that will work yet. I'll keep you posted.

That gas meter is irking me. So ugly and matte gray against the brick. Hmmmm.

How is your fall decorating going?

Linking to: Thrifty Decor Chick

Quick fix for an ugly problem

We had an ugly little problem which detracted from our home's curb appeal. Most people probably didn't notice it but I noticed it every time I pulled in the driveway or went out on the front porch. It was this...

Can you see it?  Here's the close-up.

It's actually a pipe connected to our basement sump pump which pumps the water out to the street. It's ugly. And white. Which is not a nice contrast with dark brick.

I was tired of it. So, I picked up a can of this -

available here

Of course I didn't want to spray the surrounding brick so I rigged up a shield with an old box which was headed for the recycling anyway.

I also taped off around where the pipe goes into the house so the brick there wouldn't get too much over spray. Sorry, I forgot to photograph that part. And apologies for the darkness of these pictures. I did this at about 8 p.m. last night when the temperature finally dipped below 90 as recommended on the paint can.

And now we have this...

So much better and I won't think about how ugly it is every time I pull into the driveway. We have a few other pipes for our downspouts in back which I may give the same treatment so they blend in a bit more. Unfortunately the plastic paint doesn't come in tons of colors so it's harder to find a good match to the dark green-brown siding. Brown/espresso may be the best option because it at least blends with our brick foundation (which goes all the way around) and mulch.

Did you do any quick fix projects this weekend?

Linking to -

House Tour Room-by-Room Link-up Party: Landscaping

The Room-by-Room House Tour is back with yards and landscaping! Basically, we all want to see your outdoor rooms! We love entertaining in our back yard. We don't eat out there that often unless  We have worked really hard on our landscaping over the past 2 years since everything that was there before was pretty much destroyed or moved during the renovation. Honestly there wasn't much there before the renovation so there wasn't that much to kill!  Still loads to do but we've come a long way!

If you were coming to our house for a party, you would probably come through this gate into the back yard.

Here's the patio. I am really excited about our landscaping filling in. The solar lights are probably going to go this year. They just aren't holding up the way I would like although I like the effect.

Building some sort of cover for the air handlers is on the to-do list. The hydrangeas have really taken off this year.

Then there's the yard itself which is dominated by our play set. We still need to do some work on the grass and we're considering a sprinkler system.

The biggest changes under way in our yard is actually our neighbors' new garage. Here's how it looked as of late last week!

It's big and close but it will provide some great privacy. I'm really looking forward to the new fence and gate between our yards!

Your turn now! Can't wait to see your yards and landscaping projects!! Don't forget to link back to my blog or this page or grab the button below.

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.houseography.net" title="HOUSEography House Tour Link Party"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfejo-vVCXhIt3k9eMCuNn1mekzH5IdoNfeEBzDPvkoAjAKPmJ92yHCkFN678vkSybsV2I2pocDmAKrGDA5dFMQ5deOCzH2RoYc0woHMDb7IRIkowA8_DtBNqk46cRD7cOx5Hklq6fIB9/s1600/HOUSEography+Button+HOUSE+TOUR+PARTY.jpg" alt="HOUSEography House Tour Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Hope you had a great 4th of July! I think we're all still recovering from the block party but it was a fun day and evening!

House Tour Room-by-Room Link-up Party: Front Porch, Stoop, & Door

Summer will officially arrive this week, although it has been here weather-wise for quite a while!  So, it's time to get those front doors and porches ready for the good weather. I love walking around the neighborhood admiring everyone's door colors and wreaths. Now I get to cruise around my virtual neighborhood and see all of my blog-buddy's doors and porches with this week's house tour link-up party!

I've done quite a bit of work on our curb appeal this year. We got our flag out for Memorial Day weekend, of course.

 A few weeks before I realized we had never filled the holes and repaint the spot where the flag bracket was prior to the renovation. Woops.

 I got out some spackle and fixed the holes and Handy Hubby (with my Handy Dad looking on) sanded it down and repainted before Alex's birthday party. Considerably better now!

I had added some tickweed perennials as well as some liriope grass to fill the border. I also added a couple of knock-out roses which aren't flowering yet. Maybe they are deciding whether they like their new location and whether they want to stick around and put on a show.

 I also filled my urns with new plants for summer but they still need some more height so I need to get some spiky plants to define them a bit more.

Not sure if I ever pointed out the view from the street to our screen porch. I love waving to our neighbors walking or driving by when we sit out there.

Here's a shot of our mailbox which caused me a lot of heartburn to find. Most mailboxes are horizontal but we didn't have enough space between our shutters and door frame. I finally found this one online. No idea where because it was more than 5 years ago!

 Here's the wreath that my mom made for me about 3 years ago while we were renovating.

 I love the yellow and purple with the fun poppy accent.

Now it's your turn - let's see your front door, front porch, stoop, walkway, or whatever other curb appeal you have to show-off. As always, torn up and in-progress posts are more than welcomed! Please don't forget to add my button or link to your post or blog.



And here's my party button!

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