This was the front of our house when we bought it:
Pretty innocuous, right? But I always hated the bushes in front. Over the summer they really "bushed out", which meant that they blocked the view of the porch. And the ones on the right (other than the juniper) were thorny and nasty.
The juniper lost his home last Fall, but the rest of those bushes just hung out all Winter, annoying me.
After a visit to the garden department at Lowe's on Saturday, we came home and did this:
Bye-bye bushes!
We used the car to yank out some, and the stubborn ones got roughed up with the shovel.
Once we remove about 10 cubic feet of lava rock we'll be ready to replant!
And no, my plan did not include an "After".... so as usual, I will wing it & hope for the best.
But honestly..... dirt patch or no, I still think it's an improvement!
Hub will gone for the month of April, so I guess I have 30 days to figure it out.
Any suggestions on what to add? I prefer something easy to grow and not messy (no flowers that will drop off and make a huge mess). I love hydrangeas, but those are probably better suited to our back yard. Hosta? Wildflowers? A concrete slab? FYI, the front gets sunlight from noon-sunset.
10 comments:
My WMP post today is also about yard work, so I think you're in good company with this post! :-) Sometimes you've got to do the dirty work before you can have those "After" photos - ours is still in progress. As for what to plant, if you figure it out, will you let me know?? We've tried all kinds of plants and bushes in front of our house over the last 11 years, and we've yet to find something that we really love that always looks good. {sigh} At this point we're ready to put a concrete slab over the whole yard, paint it green, and call it good. ;-)
So good that Spring is coming around. I always perk up when I see a garden post. It looks like your front yard gets a lot of sun (?), so hosta and hydrangaes (amoung my favorite garden plants) wouldn't do to well. You may want to consider ground cover roses. I would suggest a small boxwood hedge, but since you just pulled out your bushes... :)
No advice--but just encouragement and appluse! You ill be so much happier. Take a look around the eb and see what you like. You may be inspired.
Wow! I'm impressed! We have a 40-year-old hedge that needs to be ripped out, but it's just overwhelming and we've just ignored it. Maybe this year...
Any effort that requires a car for removal is impressive. Great job :-)
If you're not wanting to block your porch you might just want to get a good ground cover like jasmine or something. But then again, you probably shouldn't listen to me because we built our house 7 years ago and still haven't planted anything around it. I have dreams, but so far, no action.
Wander Jew might be a nice ground cover. Please excuse the name. I dunno what the scientific name for it is. But it is a pretty purple wandering vine that takes care of itself.
Wander Jew might be a nice ground cover. Please excuse the name. I dunno what the scientific name for it is. But it is a pretty purple wandering vine that takes care of itself.
-Leilani @ www.clydewoman.wordpress.com
I love that you used your car.
You really burned the calories with that job!
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