Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Our New House’s Exterior

First of all, the outpouring of kindness and support that you guys showed to our family yesterday is both humbling and amazing. Thanks for the helpful words of encouragement and for sharing your stories. But enough with the heavy stuff. How about something light and fluffy? Let’s go on a looooong overdue photo tour of our yard (a la Katie B’s), shall we?

You’ve gotten a few select glimpses of what we’re working with in this post about our carport/driveaway, this post about our “alley”, and this one about the magnolia out front. But there’s plenty more to show (that’s your warning that this post will be photo-heavy – so much so that it took me three weeks just to muster the energy to finally edit down the 100+ pics that I snapped a couple of weekends ago and write this beast of a post).

So let’s start somewhere familiar – the front yard (as sort of pictured in our header).

Outside Front Of House

It’s smaller than our last house’s front yard (i.e. the house is closer to the street) which I see as a good thing because there’s less grass to mow. Sah-weet. Actually, there are enough bush-borders, areas of groundcover, and that big dirt circle under the magnolia that ensure there isn’t too much grass at all. Of course we have some long term plans to transform our house’s curb appeal and pretty much every square foot of yard that we have (just like we did slowly and steadily over 4+ years at our last house) but as for specifics, we’re not quite there yet. But it should be fun to see where we end up in a few years.

Outside Front Yard Grass

Our general plans for the front are mainly to make it feel more open and inviting to the front porch. Like our last house, there are lots of borders of bushes (mostly boxwoods and azaleas) that act as a natural fence around the grassy area seen above. But in our opinion, it just means a lot of visual interruption – especially when it comes to feeling welcomed towards the front door. We’ve also always felt that short squat houses like ranches look best with some open area and lower and more varied plantings than walls of large shrubs (so there aren’t a bunch of things in front of the house to dwarf it even more).

Outside Front Driveway

No one really uses our front door now (unless they’re selling something). In fact even FedEx uses the side door in our carport to drop things off. We can’t really blame ’em because the front pathway is so narrow that it doesn’t really say “walk this way.” I actually had to trim some bushes on move-in day just to fit furniture through (it didn’t help that the bushes were also dusted with snow). Since the path is such a nice natural continuation to the sweet paver stones that they used to create the driveway, we’d love for it to at least look like it’s usable someday – even if everyone still goes to the carport.

Outside Front Walkway

So we’re thinking that trimming back / removing / transplanting some of these bushes above in favor of some lower profile landscaping will help open up the entrance on both sides of the path. Which will hopefully make it feel more inviting and show off our full-of-potential front porch (which we also have plans to pimp as we go).

Outside Front Porch

But as much as bush-borders are a theme on our property, it doesn’t compare to the sheer volume of liriope (aka “monkey grass”) that you can find around here. Just check out the sloped area on this side of the front yard. Yup, it’s above that stone wall and below it, about 10+ plants deep:

Outside Front Stone Wall

This particular sea of liriope is actually kinda welcome because it makes for a virtually self-sustaining spot of landscaping, though it would be nice to add a bit more color to it at some point. But we’re not über-focused on that area because we’re so distracted / confounded by the area next to it. Yes, this big wild spot of leaves and tall grasses next to that stone wall and brick path is still our property.

Outside Leafy On Side

This is the area that separates our house from our neighbors to the left (as you face the house). And I must say that we really appreciate the breathing room. Which reminds me – I should point out that this lot is surprisingly similar in size to our last house (almost an acre), BUT this lot is kinda square whereas our last house was a long skinny rectangle – with about half of it being woods in the back.

(Imagine a nice little whole-yard sketch here- I’ll have to whip one up in a future post).

The “pro” of our new squarer lot is that it puts more space between us and the next door neighbors (instead of just including a seemingly endless dense and thick woods in the back of the house). But the “con” is that instead of having a maintenance-free forest hidden in the back, we get “wild” spaces like this one shown above instead… which is visible from the street, btw. We’re not 100% certain, but we’d love to naturalize this area even more so it looks lush and semi-foresty instead of oddly bare but not quite tended to (tall grasses and wildflowers come to mind along with more large trees and shrubs). No rush though, we’ll figure it out someday…

And even though our lot is much less long and skinny than our last one, we still have plenty of raw un-landscaped area in the back. Actually, we have a ton of it. Sidenote: can you believe that’s the back of our house? Thanks to the addition it’s so different from the front (we think the peak is so charming) but someday we hope to bring some peaks into the front of the house and paint the hardboard siding (and possibly the brick) to make it feel more cohesive. But that might be five years down the line or even further. Gotta think long and hard about big changes like that to make sure we don’t do anything hasty that we’ll regret hate with a passion down the line.

Outside Wild Backyard

Apparently this expanse used to be more heavily wooded, but somewhere along the line it was cleared and now it just sits as a leaf depository. Total bummer because we loved the private wooded feeling beyond the grassy part of our first house’s backyard.

The old John & Sherry would just thrown down some grass seed to make the entire area look more finished, but we’ve sort of outgrown our “let’s grow grass everywhere” phase (thanks in part to reading the Organic Lawn Care Manual last year). So our current plan is to keep this portion of the backyard “wild” so it’s one less area that we need to maintain/mow/water/weed/otherwise tend to. We plan to slowly plant fast growing evergreens that will create some nice privacy and bring back that wooded feeling that we love. Because there’s already enough landscaped backyard to maintain for our tastes. Behold…

Outside Backyard Wide 0

Outside Backyard Wide 1

Outside Backyard Wide 2

Overall, we think the backyard is super charming. Which is a bit surprising considering how much we didn’t enjoy having pathways-lined-by-bushes everywhere in our last house’s yard. I think the key difference is that these pathways are brick, not pea gravel (which was a weeding NIGHTMARE). Though they obviously could use a quick pass with the leaf blower. But see those round planting beds on either side of the path the branches from left to right in the photo above? Those are goners. Sherry thinks that planting grass there to create more of an unobstructed area for pooch running and kid playing (especially when the offspring is older and excited to play tag or have races or play running bases) it’ll be nice to phase out a few of those small areas that break up that lush green grass. So we’re thinking that the brick paths can stay but the round beds will go.

Outside Two Brick Paths

And even though the low-profile liriope border along the path is an improvement over the big obstructive boxwoods in our last backyard, we’re not crazy about it – especially the fact that it’s 3 or 4 plants deep in many places. It just makes the paths feel narrower and more closed in. And since we’ve always preferred more organic transitions (vs. heavy distinct borders) we’ll probably dig up a lot of the monkey grass eventually (or we’ll post one of those you-dig-it-and-it’s-yours ads on craigslist) and just grow grass right up the edges of the brick paths for a more flush and clean look.

Outside Monkey Grass Crazy

Liriope isn’t the only border going on back here, though. We’ve got more stone borders than you can shake a stick at (which would probably break your stick, btw).

Outside White Stones Close

Sherry’s not a fan of them visually (too interruptive for her tastes) and I’m not a fan of having to break out the weed-whacker to trim the grass against them. I could learn to live with them in some places (like where they make a distinct break between the grassy yard and the wild leafy abyss behind). But other places – like this little tree in the middle of the grass – are a bit too disruptive (Sherry wants to transplant that guy into the woodsy back part of the yard anyway to de-clutter the grassy area a bit more anyway).

Outside Random Stoned Tree

One thing is for sure- all of those stone borders are a pain in my arse when I’m mowing.

Outside John Mowing

(Yes, I’m using my gas-powered mower and not my push mower for the back, since it only really works well on long, straight yards – which the back sadly isn’t).

Now that we’ve covered the front, side, and back yards – let’s move around the house to one last spot that we recently mentioned in this post (you can see how much older the pics are in this post by clicking over to that one for more lush leaves and stuff). It sits behind our carport, just off our sunroom and gets called everything from “Liriope Heaven” to “Burger’s Bathroom.” Here’s the view of it from the carport:

Outside Burger Potty

For Burger, it’s perfect. It’s fenced on all sides, completely visible from the house and has plenty of curious spots to sniff / mark… and even a little zen lawn ornament.

Outside Burger Potty Closer

As we’ve mentioned a few times, we’d love to continue our liriope-removal party over here (can you tell I’m trying to psyche myself up by calling it a “party?” – maybe putting it all up on craigslist is the way to go) and then we’ll be DIYing a stone patio (all by ourselves if all goes well) so we’ve got more usable outdoor living space. I’m sure Burger would argue that he’s getting plenty of use out of it now, but he got out-voted at the family meeting. Poor guy. But he loved lounging on our back patio at the old house so methinks he’ll be down with the plan in the end.

Right now our only outdoor entertaining space is this patio off of the sunroom and living room that isn’t even big enough for our grill (fyi, that patio furniture was left by the previous owners and yes, Sherry’s broken ceramic dog still sits sadly by the door).

Outdoor Back Patio

The sunroom used to be some sort of outdoor space before it was enclosed, actually. You can even still see the original brick staircase that used to lead up to it. Funny, right? Well, funny to you and me – so annoying to the wife. She just doesn’t understand how someone completely enclosed the sunroom and heated and cooled it and added a million outlets and a fan but didn’t take the time to remove those odd stairs. I suggested putting some potted plants on them but she thinks it’ll be too busy and cluttered looking so we’ll have to come up with some other plan. Someday.

Outside Two Staircases

All-in-all, we’re smitten with the outdoor spaces that we got with this house. None of them are perfectly “us” yet, but that’s probably why we’re so excited about them – there’s so much possibility and potential. Even if some of it is buried more deeply (under rows and rows of liriope for example).

We’re falling in love with our surroundings more everyday as things start to bloom and green up. Like our new Most Favorite Tree In The Universe – this maple that’s grafted so it has two different colored leaves. Yeah, that’s one tree. Nature rocks my socks.

Outside Two Toned Maple

Maybe we love it so much because it provides this awesome shot of color through the window of our guest room (which we catch a glimpse of every time we walk down the hall away from Clara’s room). This picture does not do it justice.

Outside View From Guest

It’s actually a bummer I didn’t wait longer to take these pictures (three weeks from camera to post is inexcusable) because just yesterday our azaleas started to get some color on them. So rather than delay this post any longer by retaking and resizing all of these images (which might be another three inexcusable weeks), Sherry snapped a few flower shots for me to throw in here at the end. Ooooh…. ahhhh…..

Outside Flowers Grid

Phew! Now that you’ve seen all of these “before” pictures of the yard – and now that the weather is starting to be consistently nice – we can start tackling some of those outdoor projects. Well, as soon as Sherry’s allergies calm down a bit (our car was so green with pollen last week that it looked painted). But she’s working that Netti Pot like a fiend. You’re welcome for that visual.

Update: Apparently this post was confusing (even to Sherry) so this updated post (complete with a sketch and a video) should help.

Comments

  1. heather says

    That patio is going to be beautiful when it’s done. I can just picture all of the landscaping around the stone, etc. I look forward to seeing how it turns out. :)

    Reply

    • heather says

      P.S. I completely agree about letting some lawn go wild. I’d also take those stones (literally, if I didn’t live in the tundra compared to you) but also over what we had in our yard when we moved in…an above ground pool, the previous owners sunk 3 feet into the ground….and it was collapsed when we moved in.

      And yes, I accidentally did roll my car down the hill and into the hole once. My neighbors took a picture of it and put it in their annual calender they make people for Christmas. I need to post a picture of that sometime hah.

      You can see it for yourself. Score.
      http://www.likeacupoftea.com/earth-day-door-yard/

  4. Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says

    Maybe those odd steps can be painted white so they blend in better with the house? Weird that they were left behind…

    Also, the flowers are beautiful and whenever I see a dogwood tree blooming, I know it’s almost Summer (My favorite posts are the ones when you guys add a ton of images)!

    Reply

  5. HeatherB says

    I seriously wish I were your neighbor! My husband wants to kill me for trying to go so green bc of you guys!! You have a huge yard, and so many options! Cant wait to see the finished project!!

    Reply

  6. Rebecca @ the lil house that could says

    I love the picture Sherry pinned on Pinterest with the peaks you’d like to someday add to the house! Such a great idea!

    Do you guys have any sort of organic weed killing tricks? We just ordered some organic weed killer online for part of our lawn that is viciously weedy, but I know there are household remedies around as well. Unless the good old pull ’em out method is your trick :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We are crazy. We pull weeds by hand. But it works! And it’s a nice little workout. Haha. Maybe you can google around for organic weed killing tips? Anyone have any?

      xo,
      s

    • Rebecca @ the lil house that could says

      Pulling them out is our current method and the solution we just bought was a mixture of vinegar and something else, which is why I asked. But this year we seem to be getting a lot of weedy things mixed in with our grass which is becoming a lot to um, weed through ;)

      We have a half acre and many of our neighbors have professional help, so we’re trying to avoid having our grass stick out like a sore thumb. But with all of the animals roaming around, I want to keep it natural. Even though I know most of my neighbors don’t, it doesn’t make it right!

    • georgia says

      Fiskars the scissor company they do gardening equipment and on tv over here in the UK they have this new weed tool, it stabs into the ground and pulls the weed out! It looks very cool! And saves the bad back! Woo

    • Sarah M. says

      Have you heard of Grandpa’s Weeder? We were busy weeding our yard early this spring, and our retiree neighbor came out and offered this AMAZING tool that makes pulling weeds almost fun. (I said almost). You jab the pointed ends right next to the weed into the ground, and then push a ‘pedal’ type thing on the side, and pull the weed out! Seriously, so much better than the whole bending/squatting/yanking/pulling routine!! We haven’t purchased our own yet, because honestly, we used his so much and pulled out pretty much everything in 1 afternoon.. but I did find it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Oswego-GW-1-Grandpas-Weeder/dp/B001D1FFZA

    • Jillian says

      Honey works wonders too if you’re looking for a natural solution to seasonal outdoor allergies (it won’t help for indoor allergens such as mold, dust, mildew etc). Just make sure that it’s *local* honey from your farmer’s market or a nearby beekeeper. A teaspoon or so a day should do the trick!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I have done this for years and have noticed no difference. It’s a bummer because I made sure it was really local and took a teaspoon religiously. It actually started to give me reactions. Boo. But glad it works for other lucky ducks!

      xo,
      s

  9. MicheleLouise says

    I don’t know what program you are using to prep your images for your posts, but if you are looking for something to streamline the “pruning”, batch editing (say for white balance if you are shooting RAW especially), resizing, tagging, sorting, rating, etc I would HIGHLY recommend looking into Adobe’s Lightroom. It’s $300, which isn’t cheap, but not bad compared to photoshop. It is so much faster. It’s reall like a combination of Bridge and Camera Raw if you have used those with your version of Photoshop.

    You can even do things like great “collections”, for example you could have a “to blog” one and a “blogged” one to track which images you have already blogged. You could tag images with the name, date or a number for each blog post.

    Like most (if not all?) adobe products you can download a free 30 day trail from their website.

    I can’t wait to see what you do with the yard. Ours really needs some work too.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the tip! The problem is just that we take waaaay too many photos and then have to edit them down to the best ten or fifteen that tell as much of the story as possible. In other words: it’s us and not our editing software for the most part. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  11. Natalie says

    Great yard!!! Any plans for a veggie garden? You have a ton of space for it and I can just imagine all the things you could do with homegrown organic food

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, we’d love to add one as soon as we figure out the right full sun spot (we had an awesome edible garden in the last house and I miss it a lot).

      xo,
      s

  13. Stephanie Phillips says

    Your yard looks like mine! We have over twenty azaleas, twelve dogwoods, and all kinds of other (as yet unidentified) growth on our third of an acre. I LOVE it! We’ve transplanted some and craigslisted others (free labor!) but are trying to work with what we have. The husband is under strict orders to NOT buy any plants for a few years. The only two projects we have on the agenda for this summer is a retaining wall for a weird spot at the sidewalk in front and a large patio for out back. Looking forward to your patio posts!

    (And I have been absolutely amazed by the outpouring of support y’all received yesterday. This has become such a great community).

    Reply

  14. Jason says

    Wow – what a nice property! Someone did a lot of work with pavers and bricks back in the day! And liriope – does that stuff have little purple flowers or is that something else that I’ve seen in a lot of landscapes?

    You go with the gas mower, no one better say a word or I’ll put them on a reel mower I used to use!

    I think those stairs are nice, my Mom had stairs extra wide on the one side of the deck she had built at our old house, just for that reason – People used it for seating if others were down in the yard, but mainly for potted plants and the like, everyone loved it. I think the railing opening was wide, but not as wide as the steps for sure. But, I can see why it bugs Sherry, if the new steps were brick too and they connected, it would probably make her happier:)

    That tree might be 2 trees growing together, we have a few on the farm where my family lives like that a cherry tree and a small part is weeping and the rest isn’t and a new tulip magnolia with a maple in it lol.

    Reply

  15. Amanda C says

    Love the yard, it is a diamond in the rough right now, that is for sure. Quick question though, is the patio that you are hoping to have finished by Clara’s 1st birthday party the same one that is currently “Burger’s Bathroom”?

    Reply

  16. Abigail says

    can’t wait to see what you guys dream up for all that glorious space!! (living in the city i have a one foot by sixteen foot cement ‘balcony’)

    a thought i had about the poor puppy but never got to post: what about looking into having him professionally repaired. there are plenty of people who repair other ceramic items (dishes, vases, etc.), why not a dog? :)

    Reply

  17. Rachel says

    It’s so large and beautiful! I definitely see the potential.

    When I saw the pictures in the Easter post, I thought the liriope was pretty extensive…now I see just how much fun you’ll be having at your digging party. :) We dug up a ton of liriope to make room for a veggie garden and a patio…my advice to you is to invest in a couple of high quality shovels. I’m sure the end results will be worth it. I will be especially excited to see how you transform the closer part of the backyard into a more grassy expanse and create the more wild and free parts of your yard.

    Reply

  18. karen @ our slo house says

    It’s crazy how much the front and back of you house differ. In fact, I think I had the back’s “look” in my mind, because I didn’t even realize that you had ever changed your header with your new (old) house.

    BTW, I think I want to be a gardener or a landscape architect in my next life. I’m never happier, than in the garden… You can have SO much fun with all of those spaces!

    Reply

  19. Kim says

    Totally agree about the backyard. Actually, I was thinking “they should take out even more of the brick paths”, but then I thought what fun Clara will have in a couple of years making games of going down those paths.

    Reply

    • Ginny says

      I thought the same thing! We had some random paths in our last backyard (in Richmond, ironically) and weren’t quite sure how to remove them. Before we did anything, I recalled how I loved to explore little paths as a child, so I convinced my husband to leave them for a while. Our daughter loved exploring on them!

  20. neglegb says

    random rug question: is your green rug in your living room shedding at all? am thinking about purchasing a similar rug and don’t want fuzz all over the house/clothes/ect.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It sheds less than any other wool rug we have ever purchased (which usually need every other day vacuuming for the first few weeks). We vacuumed it twice when we got it and now only vacuum it once a week. It’s great!

      xo,
      s

  23. Christie says

    I love you guys yard. I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I really want to see what type of materials you would use in place of the stones to edge your flower beds. That is what me and the hubs are currently trying to figure out in our yard.

    Reply

  24. Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says

    So, I was thinking about your odd stair placement (to the now enclosed sun room). Could you possible remove the left railing and build a small wooden deck over the brick stairs? So the wooden decks would be the same height, and it would all be one plane and it could be a little potting area, or a place to store plants or hoses or something? I think by removing the railing, it would feel more seamless with the deck… Just a thought.

    Reply

  25. Jessica Z. says

    I love seeing the outdoor spaces! What is your mix of sunny and shady spaces? We’ve got lots of shady beds, so I am getting to know shade plants rather well after spending a full year tearing stuff out.

    And good luck eradicating the liriope. I think the yard of every old house has one scourge: ours is ivy growing everywhere. It is charming and fits with the Jeffersonian obsession of Charlottesville where we live, but it’s not so charming when it is crawling up the sides of the house, up the tree trunks, across the driveway, over our street number sign . . .

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’d say we have a lot more shady than full sun areas but it was like that at our last house too (we love old neighborhoods with mature trees) so it should be fun!

      xo,
      s

  26. Susan says

    Oh, just wanted to add…but you probably already have a program that does this…I use Microsoft Office Home and Student and it comes with Picture Manager. Picture Manager will allow you to resize all your pics at one time…as many or as few as you like. Just wanted to pass that along in case you were doing them one at a time. It’s a real time saver.

    Reply

    • ALittleBite says

      Since you own Macs, you could definitely set up Automator for batch processing as well (I think it’s installed in the Applications->Utilities folder)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the editing advice guys! We actually don’t mean to suggest that sizing and editing the actual photos is an issue for us- it’s more that we take five million photos (literally John went crazy outside for this post) and then sitting down and going through them all to edit them down to ten to fifteen for the actual post is the part that can take a while! Maybe someday we’ll learn to take fewer shots but we’re so snap happy it’s hard.

      xo,
      s

  27. Harinee says

    Lovely lot of land! I like the quirky stairs to nowhere – kids can picnic on the stairs when your new patio is done!

    Reply

  28. Meghan L. says

    I have to agree with Sherry, those brick stairs would be irritating. You guys could build a cool little wooden bench and have the legs mounted onto the brick! I can’t wait to see what you two do with the yard too!

    Reply

  29. ginai says

    I LOVE your new home, .. here in Atlanta one must be RICH RICH RICH to have a home/yard/privacy … in our neighborhood all the homes are close together, if you spit, it will hit your neighbor!! YIKES! no privacy what so ever.

    I thought that your first home was wonderful, and when you posted you wanted to move, my thought was WHY!?!? but now I know. and ya’ll are young, so you can enjoy all this.. good on you.
    Love your family so much, and all ya’ll do… burger too!!
    ginai((:

    Reply

  34. Ellen says

    I love that multicolored tree!

    We’ve been working on our front yard landscaping recently. I’m a) not a gardener and b) not familiar with what works in the Texas climate, so I lean heavily on my mother-in-law who is a Texas-certified master gardener! It’s really handy to have her around!

    Our backyard is a complete jungle, which includes (according to the aforementioned mother-in-law) three of the nastiest most pervasive/invasive plant species, including bamboo, a chokeberry tree and something else I can’t remember… I’m not sure when we’re going to get the time/money to tackle the back…

    Reply

    • Sarah M. says

      Ohmigosh, I’m so envious of you, Ellen, having a MIL as a master gardener! I used to work in the building with the AgriLIFE Extension office for our county, and I loved hitting them up for free advice. I wouldn’t have known of them if not for working nearby. Now I refer to Neil Sperry (a master gardener in my area and all-around TX garden genius) whenever I need some advice. He’s actually on facebook, and he will personally answer any questions you post, with details for your area!

  35. Julie says

    That’s a lot of monkey grass! Is it the type of plant that multiplies or was each one bought and planted??? I’m seeing major dollar signs in my head…I’m sure there are tons of people who will take that out for you. Whatever you two do with your yard will look great! Looking forward to more inspiring projects!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup it definitely multiplies, but I think we would post a you-dig-it-and-it’s-free ad since charging people to dig it up might feel weird (and slow things down). Nothing creates excitement and urgency like the word free. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • heather s. says

      I agree – posting on Craigslist like you did for your old house is the best way to go! I’d also post to dig up all of the bushes lining the front of your yard and driveway – once those are gone your yard will totally open up and be more inviting.

  36. Katie C says

    Sherry might not like the steps-to-nowhere, but I think they’re charming! It’s like the beginning to a great ghost story or something. Plus, they’re moss covered red brick. What could be more romantical? :)

    Reply

  37. Chloe says

    Oh the Neti Pot in RVA. Amen and amen.

    Also, you could probably have people dig up the liriope like you did the bushes at the old house. This time of year has several people selling it for a couple bucks per clump on Craigslist so I’m sure a post in the free section (and garden/farm for good measure) would increase the parties interested in your de-liriope party :) (I also had a punny dad!)

    Reply

  38. Celia says

    I’m so glad to hear you’re going to try and leave some of your yard more wild! I’m excited to see which plants you’re going to use. I was just wondering – with all this space, are you planning to make a compost heap anywhere?

    Reply

  39. grace says

    I know you mentioned that Sherry thinks pots on the stairs will look to cluttered, but it could make a really great spot for a potted herb garden. You could plant lots of different things and maybe even lettuce or tomato plants. Just a thought! I think it would look great, especially if all the pots were uniform.

    Reply

  40. kathy says

    Beautiful yard! A little gardening tip: liriope needs to be cut back in early spring to allow for new growth. It will look so much healthier and pretty. :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the reminder! We actually did cut back the liriope that lines the driveway about a month ago (it’s coming in all lush and green) but just haven’t had a chance to tackle all of the other areas of it that surround us! Someday. Maybe next year. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  41. Melissa says

    What a great yard! It will be awesome to put a swing set and play house or fort back in that wooded part because the kids will just love to be back there in their own private area. Wishing our yard had that kind of flexibility – although without the mowing!!!

    Reply

  42. Melissa@Julia's Bookbag says

    I cannot believe all that surrounding property is yours!! I grew up in Hawaii and we had wooded area around our house like that and I LOOOOVED exploring it! I didn’t get a chance to comment on Clara’s birth story — I’m so sorry you had to undergo all that fear/worry/terror — but oh that little girl of yours is darling! Julia saw a picture of her and said OH WHAT A CUTE BABY!! The first time Clara is able to say ‘I Love you Mama’ you are going to run giddy around your house! Much aloha, Melissa

    Reply

  43. nikki says

    i feel for sherry and her allergies! my brother lives in atlanta and sent me pictures of his green-dusted cars. i felt my sinuses clog up just looking at my screen and i’m 6,000 miles away!

    Reply

  45. Katherine says

    That is a lot of monkey grass! I think landscaping might be my favorite of all home improvement projects, probably b/c you can (have to) do it outside and for us, it is about the one project we can work on when the kids are awake. They look for worms; we plant bushes. When we moved into this house, there were huge (6ft tall) thorn bushes that lined the path to the door. Awesome.

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  46. BrassyDel says

    Don’t forget to be careful with the bleeding heart – those are toxic to dogs. Hopefully that one is either out of reach, or Burger isn’t a plant-destroyer like my pooch!

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  47. Jessica says

    Actually, I think those little stairs left behind are neat! I wouldn’t get rid of them. All that landscaping work makes me tired just looking at it.

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  48. Hilary @Thistle Confections says

    Lots of space to grow into! I like your idea of the meditation space in between the new addition and original home; I didn’t get a chance to comment then, but I thought it was a super creative approach to a potentially wasted space.

    Your two-toned Japanese maple is probably a grafting mistake, though. It looks beautiful- but Japaneses maples are generally grafted onto silver maple, so if it is improperly grafted the original tree will grow through. You can really see this problem with weeping cherries, but that really looks like what you have going on.

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    • bfish says

      Seconding what Hilary said about the Japanese maple — the green part is more vigorous and appears to be the base plant. It is too lopsided to look intentional. If the reverting (green) section had been caught and pruned when it first came out the tree could have been grown as all red, as intended, but it appears to be too late now to make a correction! Don’t let this deter you from considering Japanese maples in your future landscaping plans; they are beautiful and your yard is an ideal place to grow them.

  49. lisa says

    I like the area a lot. And, yes, I too, agree about those wacky stairs that were never removed…I thinks omething can be done with them….like, with potted plants, or something else.:)

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  50. DemMom says

    I’ve seen liriope given away on Freecycle several times. Sometimes it’s even a “you dig it up, you take it for free” deal. You might get some help with your digging party. I could definitely use some for our yard. We put some bushes in front of our ranch that are called candlestick boxwoods or something like that. They’re tall and slim instead of square and squat like most boxwoods. Definitely have a “clean modern” look for our 60s ranch house!

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