Landscaping From Scratch

Why didn't anyone warn me just how expensive and time consuming landscaping could be?! We began tackling the front yard in early spring and it has been an endless effort ever since. Every time that I think we're gonna see a little progress it's as if the universe screams SIIIIKKKE, and then we basically find ourselves still at square one. If I were to say that we've been working our butts off it would be a gross understatement. :-( We've been putting in work, getting down and dirty--me, the hubby, & the baby. The good part is that doing it yourself is a lot cheaper than hiring the professionals. Have you seen their prices?! Besides, nothing feels quite as good as looking over something proudly and saying to yourself, "I did that"...but it has definitely been a process. When you're out in the yard, sweat rolling down your brow, and you're two hours pass the time that you said that you wanted to leave your house on the weekend (it's only 52 of them), questions start to come to your mind...lots of questions. Perhaps it's no philosophy, but here's just a few things that I've been pondering:

• Why am I paying for dirt?
• Why can't I just use my own dirt?
• What's wrong with my dirt?
• If I am paying for dirt why is it so much?
• Why is gardening fabric so high? I'm sure I bought shirts for less money.
• In the same vein, why is mulch so high?
• How could you need more than 10 of those gigantic/heavy bags to fill such a small section?
• Why do I have to replenish it every year?
• Why don't the color last longer?
• Why are the flowers I want the most almost always annuals?
• You think I'm gonna pay this much annually?!
• How do you justify a tree being 500 bucks? Yeah, that's staying there bruh!
• Why bushes $20 (or more) a pop?
• Why is that plastic border so high?
• I can't recreate that somehow with something else?
• Why some flowers don't have the little description picks? I need to know zones son!
• Why the weeds not leaving and the grass not feeding?
• Why my husband acting like a senior citizen--talking bout spraying the yard before it rains all the time?
• You mean I can't just put this plant in the ground?
• Plants like Epson Salts?
• Grow darn it!!! Did I do something wrong?
• Didn't I JUST water you yesterday? How much is this adding to my bill?
• Where can I find a pile of FREE rocks?
• We have to buy more tools???
• Why is the ground so...hard?
• How many times are we going to go up to this store?

At one point or another all of these things have gone through my mind. Is it just me? I mean, I can remember my mom buying flowers back in the day (from Bordine's Nursery no less) and I just didn't realize how much these types of things cost. I definitely have a new found appreciation for people's landscape; it's amazing what you notice when you are in a similar process. Let me just say this, I am sure it will take YEARS for our yard to look the way that I want it to (if ever), and that's a little on the depressing side :-(

Our yard had zero landscaping going on when we moved in. Well, there was the big Lilac bush that was reaching our first rooftop--no lie, and a couple other random plants in various stages of death. My husband and I quickly decided to rectify the situation when the spring rolled around. By the way, moving that Lilac bush to the backyard needs a post of its own! We THOUGHT that the yard was something that could be done quickly and cheaply to improve the outer appearance of our house. That's been our plan with everything--low hanging fruit first. Too bad we had no idea what it took to upgrade a yard.

Without a doubt, this is one of my absolute favorite pictures. My little guy is such the helper, and at 3 years old he believes that he can do anything his dad can.

This was the very beginning stages, tearing out the grass in order to make our flower beds.

 

Nothing happens fast when it comes to doing your own landscaping. It has been a slow and daunting process, and we're nowhere near finished.

There were a lot of times that we had to just throw in the towel and leave things for another day...see how far that border is up? It stayed that way for a couple of days (maybe even until the next weekend). And OMG look at that sad-patchy grass!

After weeks of searching the free world, I finally found my Annabelle Hydrangeas (the white ones)...don't even wanna talk about what these few items cost :-(

We always allow the little one to help, it helps to curb his jitters on an otherwise boring day of yard work ;-) Here he is adding Epsom Salt to the dirt before we planted our Hydrangeas.

He even has his own garden gloves. I thought they were cute and very much needed with some of the chemicals found in the dirt!

 



We eventually got the border to where it needed to be (see how much lower it is?). Also, laid new dirt and poured more grass seeds! Not pictured here, but it looks much better today thanks to that process along with my hubby's obsession with Weed & Feed.



Admiring the partial view of one of our new beds from my 'romantic writing room'. I had to have a Weeping Cherry Tree on that side. In the springtime when the cherry blossoms are in bloom it will look absolutely whimsical :) Cherry blossoms swaying in the breeze equals an element of romance to me!

 

Digging beds, buying supplies, purchasing greenery--I can't tell you how much time has been spent or actually how much money has gone into the project--and this was just for the front. Never mind, the fact that the backyard still has to be done. I don't even want to think about it.

One thing working to our advantage is that our neighbor is literally a Gardening Guru--I'm talking HGTV skills. Her yard is AMAZING! She has been gracious enough to show us the tricks of the trade and we're very appreciative, already we've learned so much.

Here's our neighbor giving us a much needed crash course at the nursery about zoning!

She is extremely passionate about horticulture, and it shows. She puts love into her yard and she puts it into ours too. But she's given us more than just a few pointers, she's also generous in sharing her plants--amongst them are various species of Hostas, Coral Bells, Ligularia, Bleeding Hearts, and Creeping Jenny. Her generosity has definitely helped to offset our cost and has allowed us to put the bulk of our funds towards higher priced items like bushes and trees. We bonded with our neighbor over gardening and now she is more like a aunt; she even went on our last self-guided historical tour with us (yay for historic lovers).

This process has certainly opened my eyes to a whole new world, one where experience and patience is of the upmost importance; unfortunately I don't have much of either. Moreover, I feel like Home Deport, Lowes, and the various other nursery's have smacked me around in the back alley and stolen my purse. Yes, I believe the prices are flat-out robbery. When I think of the money we've spent on the yard I could kick myself because there's no doubt in my mind that I could have the chandelier that I want by now--and then some. My husband is always sure to remind me that curb appeal is important--and it is. But it's what's on the inside that counts right? I'll know better next time.

Now we're basically just waiting on the end of the season sales. The plan is to landscape the backyard with all close-out items--I hope it works out that way. At the end of the summer, once everything is in full bloom, I will update the blog with more pics. By that time we hope to also have our sedum garden completed (the hubby has already begun ripping out the grass for that). I am sure that more yard work awaits us this weekend, but right now all I want is a little bit of chill time and possibly a chance to use my ol' dusty passport. A girl can dream right? Until the next time...wish us luck!!!