It looked sweet when we finished it last year, especially if you ignored the fact that we had lots of landscaping stuff to attend to behind it. But these days it’s looking more like this:
That’s a whole lotta ugly going on.
The patio itself still looks great (and is weed free thanks to this step, while our un-polymeric-sanded cobblestone driveway is covered with them), but the “garden” area behind the patio has never looked worse.
We even learned from the Katherine (the certified landscape designer who recently came over) that some of the trees were diseased and dying (which we actually heard from the previous owners as well but didn’t want to believe) along with a big rhododendron bush that was completely dead. Bummers.
So she told us what to prune back, what to keep, and what dead or diseased things we should remove to give the living things a better shot at survival – and make the whole area look a lot less… well, ugly.
So first we removed the two diseased trees that were on their last leg (sniffle) and the completely dead rhododendron. Then we raked up all the leaves so we could actually see the ground again.
It was definitely a huge immediate upgrade. In person the open-ness is really nice. Things were sort of encroaching on the patio a lot when it was all overgrown back there, so now when you walk onto the patio you feel less crowded and worried you’ll get a stick in the eye.
But we still had some liriope to remove and a whole lot of bare spots that needed some planting (I’ve been meaning to paint our rain barrel to blend him in a bit more, but who knows how long it’ll take me to get on that…).
The next step was digging out all the random clumps of liriope to make way for some more intentional looking plantings.
So here’s the area behind the tree that we cleared to make way for some free bushes.
How does one get free bushes? Well, by transplanting them of course. Yup, it was another suggestion from Katherine The Landscape Gal. She pointed out these were much too big and on top of each other over here…
… so we dug them up…
… and planted the three nandina bushes in a group with the one that was already there next to our giant hydrangeas in the corner. Since one happy little nandina bush was already on this side of the garden, we knew they’d do well over here. And a clump of the same type of plant always looks nicer than just one of ten different things hanging out all willy nilly together. Ideally we would have transplanted four of them to end up with a grouping of five since odd numbers seem to work well in gardening, but we were working with what we have. Thankfully they look nice in their little pack and will continue to fill in a bit more.
Then we grabbed three new hydrangea bushes from a local nursery (after some price checking, a place called Great Big Greenhouse had the best deal and also offered a year warranty on them). They’re the exact same variety as the ones we already have in the corner – which are doing gangbusters, so we hope these guys will grow nice and big and bloom just as well.
Of course only time will tell, but we’ll keep you posted. Here’s everything all dug in before we mulched the whole bed (which looks awesome by the way- just forgot to snap photos so we’ll have to share those in our next landscaping update).
Between all the rain we’re getting (and the rain barrel that’s nice and full from previous storms which comes in handy for stretches of dryness), we’re making sure these guys don’t give up on us. Oh and in Clara news, she especially loves talking about worms since digging our new plants in prompted us to discover a few (she even said she had a dream about worms the next night).
Sure we still have the corner by the rain barrel to attend to, but we have plans for that. So we’ll get there, someday! It’s definitely a nice discernible difference from the mess we were working with a week ago. There’s something really rewarding about landscaping work, although it’s bound to get you dirty and sweaty, just due to the fact that it’s such an obvious before and after. Something pretty and green can be found where there were only leaves and weeds the day before.
And the whole area is looking especially cheerful with the trees in bloom too.
Here are things from the other side (yup, Clara really did make it her job to be in every pic). This shows a few places we still have to work on (the bed near the house could use some smaller-scale greenery and of course we have the whole corner with the rain barrel to tackle)…
… but it’s definitely a lot easier on the eyes than this debacle.
It’s so crazy to me that the shot above was only taken about a week before the after pic on top of it (see all the buds on the trees that were about to bloom?).
Now they’re doing their thing. So pretty.
Here’s another before…
… and after.
And another. I can’t help it.
Ahh, much better.
I really wish I had snapped mulch pictures because it’s even better looking. Oh well, at least the mulch is holding it down and keeping weeds out and moisture in. Yay mulch. Update: Couldn’t resist sharing a Mulched & Fabulous pic, so I ran out and got this for ya:
It’s definitely a far cry from the view before:
This next picture is my favorite of the entire lot because I said “Clara, you’re in mommy’s picture!” and she squatted and closed her eyes and said “Where’s Clara” as if she were invisible.
Which must run in the family, because it’s exactly what her daddy did here.
What can I say? The girl has good hiding genes.
What are you guys planting? Do you have any favorites? I never thought I’d be buying hydrangeas since they always seemed to be out of my skill level (how can something that pretty not be super high maintenance?) but after 15 months of not killing the existing hydrangeas (which get bigger and more gorgeous each spring) we decided to go for it. And nandina is always a really easy one for us (we had that at our last house and it always did well), so here’s hoping I didn’t just jinx myself. Anyway, I’d love to hear what action is going on outside in the garden or on the porch or wherever else you get your plant on.
Mindy says
Looks great. I love the actual patio. Here in Oregon it would be covered in moss already.
I may be a wee bit gardening obsessed, so I’m staring out the windows everyday, waiting for the rain to cease. Ha ha ha – as if it will before July.
Here’s a peek at what our front yard looks like in spring: http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2012/03/lungwort-is-blooming.html
Next time you’re in P-town, (bummed I missed you guys by the way)you should start a new Yard Crashers series – I’ll supply the sun tea. :)
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty! Would love to crash you!
xo,
s
Stevie says
I’m jealous of your rain barrel! Utah is a little behind the times when it comes to that kind of stuff. Up until 2 years ago it was actually illegal here to harvest rain water on your property. You can do it now but you have to register with the state and get a permit. Seems like a “desert” state would want you to conserve!
Anyway, the patio looks great, you guys are hard workers!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow – that’s crazy about registering for a permit! Hope it changes soon!
xo,
s
Ash says
I have about twenty pounds of bulbs sitting in the garage waiting to be planted…but it absolutely won’t stop raining! I may just have to cowboy-up and plant them in a downpour. Otherwise it’ll be July by the time I get around to it. ;)
Brandi says
it looks awesome!! where did you get your bird house? love the pop of blue there :)
YoungHouseLove says
That was from HomeGoods last year for $9. Loved it so much I needed it.
xo,
s
Lola says
I think my favourite part of this whole post is random spottings of that little noodle head Clara!!! So friggin adorable! Oh, she’s in a chair! Oh she’s dancing! hahahah
MichelleP says
Oh, and this past weekend we put in a 4′ x 8′ raised garden bed with tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, okra, eggplant, string beans, broccoli, onions and cucumbers. Also planted some strawberries and herbs in containers. We’ll see how much survives!
Carrie K says
When the hydrangeas bloom, you can cut the blooms off, spray hair spray on them and have your own dried flower arrangement. Enjoy! (Also, the color of your bloom depends on the pH of your dirt…blue means one thing, pink another. Sometimes, I get purply ones!)
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo,
s
Kathy says
Nice! I love the Spring outdoor improvements, it just feels fresh, and clean, and new! Is it ok for Clara to play back there, or no? If so, one of those little DIY fence toys on Pinterest could be fun.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve got plans for the area near the rain barrel- and they’re definitely Clara related!
xo,
s
Katie says
sandbox?!?
YoungHouseLove says
You might be onto something….haha.
xo,
s
Wendy - Old Town Home says
I love hydrangeas too! There’s nothing better than cut flowers, fresh from your garden!
We’re in the process of planning out the small space surrounding our city tree. We’re a little stumped on what type of border to install, based on a bunch of tree roots, an unsightly water meter, and lack of curb on the street. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2012/4/4/Feeling-Boxed-In-The-Great-Flower-Bed-Debate/index.aspx I’m sure whatever we end up with though will be an improvement!
Amber says
It looks great! But my favorite was the last two pictures, priceless.
Erika says
Looks fantastic!
Kelley says
So glad you added mulch pictures. It really is the cherry on top. Love the Clara pic at the end, too. My mom tells me that when I was little and would get in trouble with my brother and mom would come looking for us, I’d say: “Close your eyes so mom won’t see us!” haha. KIDS!
zoe says
I just love hydrangeas, they add interest to the garden all year long. I dried a few heads last year by hanging them upside down in my garage…just look how sweet they are now http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2012/02/everlasting-flowers.html
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty!
xo,
s
Lindsey K says
So glad you threw in the mulched pic.. looks awesome! I love the dark brown mulch (even though it dyes my hands so that they look permanently dirty!)
Lindsay D. says
We just planted a bunch of fruit trees. They’re not so much for curb appeal (more for the food they’ll produce in the next few years), but they look a lot better than the overgrown pine trees we had previously.
EngineerMom says
We dug 6 cubic yards of gravel out of our backyard a couple of weeks ago. How do I know it was 6 cubic yards? Because we then replaced it with 6 cubic yards of topsoil! We have a tiny yard, so it basically doubled the grass area. The previous owner had been a grass-hating single guy, no kids. He thought a high-maintenance pond and concrete-fake-rock-slabs patio would be a much better choice. *Sigh* To each their own, I suppose.
We ripped the pond out when we bought the house two years ago (3′ deep pond that hadn’t been cleaned in years and a walking toddler do NOT mix), but other than partially filling the hole and giving the “rocks” to some friends who were trying to deal with an area of their yard that refuses to grow grass, we hadn’t done much. Every summer it was a disaster of weeds.
We finally got everything organized and were blessed with 5 straight days of sun that started on a weekend (not common in the spring in Cincinnati!). My brother and cousin came to help us move the gravel. Manpower, four shovels, and two wheelbarrows were our “equipment”.
We’re fortunate to have a gravel area near the street that needed to be replenished, so we just moved all the gravel there. Then a dump truck delivered the dirt, and DH and I moved and tamped all that dirt by ourselves in about 6 hours. We were exhausted. The next day, after it had a chance to settle a bit, I spread seed and straw.
It’s growing, though still not enough for foot traffic or mowing, but it’s so encouraging!
Oh, and during all of that, we also got 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered for our 6 garden beds… which turned out to be about 2 yards too much! The neighbor that loaned us the wheelbarrow got free mulch for his generosity, enough to do his front beds and around all his trees. Then we still had enough left over to mulch the one square of rock we still had in the back – it looks much cleaner with the mulch, and we’re planning to just let the grass encroach on it as the mulch decays. We just ran out of dirt and energy to rip out the big rocks and fill it.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like so much work but I bet it’s looking amazing!
xo,
s
Vonda says
It looks great! I love the Spring clean up – it always makes such a difference.
Here’s a tip I heard about dogwoods (sadly too late for our dead one that has to be cut down): Place a 5 gallon bucket with a 1-2 drill holes in the bottom under the dogwood and fill it up. This keeps it watered as they’re not very drought tolerant.
Here’s some shots of the rewards from my fall planting and recent bed mulching. I was holding my breath hoping all that digging would pay off.
http://newlywedsandtheoldhouse.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-has-sprung-in-virginia.html
YoungHouseLove says
Smart tip for the dogwood in a drought! Thanks for sharing! And your fall planting and bed mulching looks great!
xo,
s
Megan says
hydrangeas love coffee. Starbucks normally bags the grounds for your use. =)
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Megan!
xo,
s
Brenda says
I just went flower planting crazy over at my house. We bought flowers for an empty bed along the front of our house, more for a bed that previously only had bushes, hanging pots, and I added two more pots on the porch stairs and by the door. All full of flowers! Now if the sun would just come out here (Seattle area) it’d really feel like spring.
Carli says
Looks great!! I can imagine it was tough digging up all those nearly-dead plants and discarding them. Living in a new community, I wish I had older, more mature and full foliage for privacy and just because it all looks so pretty. But, you guys did a great job of replacing the old plants with lovely new ones. It looks like that area behind your patio will grow in nicely :)
ania says
evergreens in back would add texture and winter interest
YoungHouseLove says
Another great idea!
xo,
s
Claire Jain says
I love the pink dogwood. They are rather disease-prone, though. An experienced gardener once said “Pink dogwoods are just looking for a place to die.” I thought it was hysterical, but then again, I’m a huge dork ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, I hope it doesn’t die!
xo,
s
Stephanie B. says
Your family is so awesome. Those pictures of Clara and John hiding are priceless!
Might I suggest that you move the rain barrel to the play room? Maybe then it would get chosen for a Dude, Get On That Already challenge and you’d have a painted barrel! (All in jest, of course.) :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it’s true!
xo,
s
Jen says
Wow, that looks fantastic, even with just the leaves raked up. I need to clean up the area along my fence too…it is so bad, it’s embarrassing!!
Marriah says
We’ve got six or so Nandina Bushes in our front yard hiding the house that my husband and I are going to try and transplant to the back yard this weekend? Was it difficult to dig up your Nandina bushes? The ones we have have probably been there for decades and seem to have root sprouts running through the yard underneath the soil. Which is crazy because there are random Nandina sprouts all over the yard. When we mow, there’s always a few little ones sprouted up that we mow over. In the back there are roots from the neighbors Nandinas that are coming up from under the fence. I’m hoping that we dont have to take a chain saw to cut up all the roots from the “volunteer” bushes. Just curious if you had the same problem. I’m hoping that we won’t be spending six weeks digging out Nandina roots and never get anything planted this year!
YoungHouseLove says
They were actually really easy to get up. Try digging when the soil is wet (like the day after rain). We didn’t have any offshoots since they can’t really root in the patio so that’s probably why? I would just cut back or dig up any upshoots in a garden area (like where we transplanted them) to hopefully keep them from getting crazy!
xo,
s
Katherine says
Ok, yes the garden looks much better after the clean up and some new plants…….BUT, the best part of your yard is the little model. She makes it all sunshine and rainbows. What a cutie.
Sara says
Your patio is looking great!
About the hydrangeas….they really like to have their leaves watered, so if/when you water, don’t be afraid to water it all over! This is also a really great opportunity to set up a sprinkler for Clara to play in :)
Also, if you want the REALLY deep blue color, dump your coffee grinds around the base of the hydrangeas to raise the acidity of the soil.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Sara!
xo,
s
LMG says
I know you love cheap, green solutions…if your hydrangeas aren’t blooming with enough color, try adding some vinegar to some water to make the soil more acidic (the more acid the soil, the bluer and deeper the blooms). Also, don’t do a fall fertilizer on those past August (preferably late July).
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip!!!
xo,
s
Sara says
Oh! Also, there are plenty of veggies you could grow that don’t have to be put in the ground (or in a container) for a while yet. Burpee.com has a growing calendar where you can put in your zip code and it will give you and extensive list of what should be planted when.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Sara!
xo,
s
Ashley says
This porch reminded me that a certain Petersik has a birthday coming up! Has the planning craziness began? Should we expect a bee themed party with and even awesome-er pinata than last year?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re actually not thinking about going bee since Clara has so many of her own interests instead of our bee love. Haha. Last night we were thinking about some sort of worm theme though, so you never know where we’ll end up! Haha.
xo,
s
Ashley says
http://pinterest.com/pin/256775616224352224/
http://pinterest.com/pin/169799848420212174/
http://pinterest.com/pin/34199278389823223/
You could even carry the theme into “bookworm” party and have people bring books as gifts. Okay, okay I’m done :) This could be such a fun party! I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with :)
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! I love it! That’s totally what we were thinking about! Gummy worms and dirt cake and books to tie in the bookworm theme! She also loves trucks and buses and airplanes and sharks and so many other things so there are a bunch of possibilities!
xo,
s
Ash says
I would also recommend checking the party options from this gal on Pinterest, Lisa Frank (no, not the one with the awesome 90’s artwork :P):
http://pinterest.com/ljfrank/
She’s got a “Very Hungry Caterpillar Party” board, along with LOTS of other options (girl, boy and gender-neutral). Also a ton of DIY and decorating boards. With 111 boards and over 11,000 items pinned… she’s kind of my Pinterest Idol :D
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! What a fun person to follow!
xo,
s
Sasha says
Love that glass table- where did you get it?
YoungHouseLove says
That was a thrift store find a few years back! It used to be in our first house’s living room!
xo,
s
Elaine K says
Your patio looks great! If Clara likes worms she can come visit the thousands of inchworms invading our yard! Can’t wait until they turn into moths.
YoungHouseLove says
We have them too! They’re so crazy! She likes wiggling her pointer finger and waving at them, saying “hi inchey worm!” – never gets old.
xo,
s
Jennifer A says
Ahh, MULCH better!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahahahah, comment of the day fo sho!
xo,
s
Kim says
I need to get my raised bed turned over and the spinach and carrots in the ground before it gets too hot!
Ash says
So excited for yardwork (I swear, I never thought I’d say that…). With this first house, it could be approached with a “tabula rasa/blank slate” mentality or an “omg, this is a disaster” route. I’m attempting the tabula rasa version :)
The short story is that the house has had NO landscaping care for at least 10 years. It was being rented to college students for all that time before I bought it, so it’s basically a big pitted lawn with tufts of nasty tall grasses that grow taller than my Pomeranian, the occasional hidden tree stump, and is totally pitted with holes (watch the ankles!). There’s a very sad apple tree in a corner, which I plan to replace with a weeping cherry or a star magnolia. I have plans for a new driveway (small-rock gravel), a potting bench, a mini-patio off the back door, a larger patio/BBQ/fire pit area (there’s the foundation of a former garage already laid), herb and veggie gardens, etc. Thus far, my biggest accomplishment was digging a 2×3′ rectangle to plant some lilies that my aunt got me as a gift. It’s small, but it’s a start! It will take several years I’m guessing, and I have NO idea what I’m doing :D
Cara says
Your plans sound fabulous, and that’s the hard part. Books can help you learn as you go. Good luck! Sounds like a fun (very long-term) project.
Megan says
So exciting to see you two get big props from Emily Henderson today on her blog! You guys deserve it!
YoungHouseLove says
What???? Thanks for the heads up! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
What a great update! I’ve been in denial about our tiny backyard so thanks for the inspiration to take a fresh look at the space and… the not so flourishing plants. Great idea to have a landscape professional come in to advise.
Rebecca
Carolyn H. says
That rain barrel needs some ORB. :)
We just mulched the beds around our foundation. Our city (Minneapolis) actually offers *free* piles of it. We just had to drive up, scoop it up and bring it home.
Ginny says
We just rented three plots in a community garden and I can’t wait to get into planting, pruning, and mulching – once the Seattle rain stops! No before pics, but just imagine your “before” garden area in a 10’x40′ plot and that’s what I have!
Michelle says
I like the cheery blue rain barrel as is! Fits in the same category as a bright pair of wellies or a colourful umbrella.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s a cute way to look at it!
xo,
s
Cara says
Plus, there’s that bright blue bird feeder. You just need to keep using bright blue for pots or whatever functionals you add out there and it’ll work perfectly.
YoungHouseLove says
That is a fun idea!
xo,
s
Beth M. says
Love love love it!! You guys are great!! I did keep expecting you to say that you have plans to spray paint the red wooden door (by garage) a bright sunny yellow though! :) Ha ha! Great job!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we definitely have plans for that door!
xo,
s
skye @ neathering our fest says
Yeah – I definitely scrolled down here to say this before I even read the post:
I got patio problems but the brick ain’t one.
(Alternate post title that popped in my head and would NOT go away until I said it!! LOL!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re the third one to come in with a riff on that. I love it.
xo,
s
Kasey M. says
Totally just blew my cover reading a blog at work by loudly chuckling at the Clara/John hiding antics. Too cute.
Jasmine says
I read nandina bushes as Narnia bushes. I was very confused for awhile :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes they’re from a far off fantasy land.
xo,
s
Valerie J. says
We LOVE those plant guarantees! It saved us $140 this spring since so many from last year croaked. Hydrangeas are the bomb…I’m on my 3rd year growing them. My only tip would be to water them at the base of the plant and avoid getting the leaves wet at all. You might already know that though… :)
Cara says
We moved last year and I have a great big yard now, so I am having a ton of fun with edibles. We built three raised beds in which I have lots and lots of tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, zucchini, Okinawa spinach, strawberries and space for what hits my fancy next. And I have three blueberry bushes in pots near the patio, a mulberry tree waiting for its space to be cleared, a fig tree in the corner… and herbs scattered about – parsley, dill, apple mint, basil and oregano. And I do have flowers, too. Its just that the edibles are my darlings.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds amazing!
xo,
s
Jimmy says
I’ve become a huge fan of planting rosemary everywhere. It’s an evergreen, it smells amazing, and it grows big like a shrub. And you can eat it, of course.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!
xo,
s
Kellie says
Great job! It’s amazing how a little bit of rearranging, adding, and subtracting can really change things. My hubby and I are about ready to start tackling our yard at our new place. All of your landscaping posts are really helping to give me the energy to ‘get on that already’. Now if only the sun would come out so we can get to work.
Mariel Saunders says
LOVE the last pics of your cute housemates! I’m surprised Burger wasn’t in on the action! Our tiny backyard is a complete loss because of our 2 basset hounds that like to make trails and dig. We added some gardenia bushs up front last spring before our daughter was born and now that they’re blooming I love walking outside and smelling them. I’m too nervous about hydrangeas, but I love them!
YoungHouseLove says
I know right? I wonder if Burger has allergies. I know that’s weird to say, but he waits a bit longer in the spring to get outside and play for hours (but it’s all he does in the summer)!
xo,
s
Tracey says
That area looks fabulous now! And the patio looks like you guys laid it yesterday! I was looking at our side yard/mini garden area yesterday and saw that some of my liriope is spreading like a house on fire, but then I remembered… You guys had all that ripped out, didn’t you? LOL. At first I was like, “Yea, I want it to spread!” but then I remembered how insanely happy it looked at your house and now I’m a little scared for the side yard’s future…
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it was dug out since it spreads a lot, but it’s supposedly not always as crazy as ours (there are two types and we have the kind that spreads instead of clumping).
xo,
s