Category: Outside

Our plot of land looks so loooooong. It’s 37′-6″ x 125″, and yes my drawing is to scale. :)

I did a bit of yard work during the day. My stepmom gave me four big yuccas and a bunch of orange daylillies. They aren’t my favorite plants, but they were free! I put the yuccas symmetrically in the big dirt patch / main garden area out front. I think they could look nice mixed in the middle of other plants. The day lillies might go along the garage in the back (just past the bottom edge of my drawing).

I went to a couple of nurseries today. Everything is so expensive! Very pretty, but expensive. I saw a nice Eastern Redbud tree for $300. They’re only $30 at Home Depot, but those are much smaller. I also saw a really pretty magnolia for $700, but we won’t be buying that.

I did go back to buy some of the little flowers that I liked. They were called “Wee Willy”! I put them in a couple of little pots.

We’re having a party for Brandon in a couple of weeks (he’s turning 30), so hopefully the yard will look a little better by then. We have no patio and no furniture back there, but I think I can pull it together. We can stick our old dining room chairs out there for the day and some folding tables will look just fine under tablecloths. I’m actually looking forward to transforming the space, even though it won’t be close to finished.

I wish I could see past my thinking that annuals are a waste of money, because I really like a lot of them.

I love Dusty Miller. And how cute is it with these petite flowers at the local garden center?

I did buy some Asparagus Fern though, which is an annual here. I had some last year by the front door and it grew like crazy even when I was less than attentive to it.

The only thing Brandon and I have done outside is prepare the ground. I also planted an anemone in a pot, and it’s doing really well! Now, this is where I can trick you and show you how pretty my garden is…

But it really looks like this:

The cinder block is my favorite. So pretty.

I planted the Asparagus Fern in some hanging pots from IKEA.

They look nice on the porch, but everything still looks so dead around here. Come on spring!

Brandon and I have done a lot of work inside (obviously), but the outside looks terrible. I do NOT know how to garden, but I’d like to give it a try and I’m not sure where to start!

Any recommendations for good gardening books (or magazines or websites)? Should I be sticking to some sort of Arts & Crafts or Bungalow style?

We have peonies, which I love… but they only look good from May – September. The rest of the year, the stems die off and it looks like we have nothing in front of our house. We definitely need something (evergreens?) to anchor everything and look good year-round. Maybe we’ll add a flowering tree too? I like the pink blossoms of the Eastern Redbud even though it might not match the style of our home. Maybe I’ll get one anyway?

Eh. I’m clueless in this department.

Wind + rain = no more fluffs.

The rod that I was using to hang them fell apart, and then the fluffs got wet. Dang.