Curb Appeal 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Just in case you might be wondering why I enjoy my flower beds so much - I have found pictures from all 5 years I have owned this house. Cecily had commented that she and Steve were there in the beginning and that led me to try to find a picture from each year. It looked so horrible from the outside that I told the realator to not bother showing it to me. But I really liked the neighborhood and nothing else was available at the time so I did look at it. Liked the inside - it was just perfect for me (well except that 2nd bathroom every girl needs!).

This is what it looked like in 2005:

I'll bet you really like that door, too! No storm door - just a bright yellow door. My brother said it needed a happy face painted on it. When Cecily and Steve came down to arrange the furniture and hang pictures Steve spent time digging and did manage to get one of those horrible bushes out. Mike Howell, who has done the rehabbing inside and out, pulled the rest out with a chain on the back of his truck in the spring of 2006!

So - almost all of it came out. I was busy with the job I had at the time and hired someone to plant in 2006.

Then she planted. She put in a lot of different plants and it never did look like it was comfortable with itself. Half of it died - I loved those Shasta daisys but they died, too. I finally moved the bush to the woods in back and moved some grass she had planted to the backyard to hide that green thing in the corner.

2007 rolls around - the door is still yellow and still no storm door but I pulled everything out and started again! The plants are what I have in now - they all managed to find a 'forever' home. Except for the Peony - I thought it was pretty but, oh my, the ants! Lots of ants. It had to cross that rainbow bridge for plants.

I did it backward - it would be much easier to put down the landscape cloth first, then cut holes in it to plant. But I just couldn't wait to put the plants in so...I had to lay the cloth around them. The cloth is to keep the weeds down and it works very well. These days I put newpaper under the cloth for mulch and lay the cloth on top of that - it is a lot of work but really is easier in the long run and controls the growth of the hostas and daylillies that can take over a garden.

Oh - and I painted the door!! First thing I had ever painted! Thank goodness it turned out well. Of course, I have Mike in my corner and he told me how to do it.

Then finally I put the pine bark mulch on top of the landscape cloth - it's done! That's what it looks like under all of those plants.

Everything came back up in 2008 and it was looking good and a happy plant place! There is even a storm door on the front door finally!Except - well, I'm not liking the border around that flower bed. Are you?

2009 - yep - the border is gone. I just think that the border took away from the plants. Some of it has a new life in the back yard holding down the black plastic over the hostas along the tree line. The rest is vacationing in the garage until I decide where they are going. This is the border that I have been pounding in all spring. Now I wonder if the plants are getting too crowded in there....maybe next year I will split them and give them some room back....now where will I plant the parts I split out?