Yard Work

We have just finished up redoing all of the flower beds around the house. It took us awhile, but it was all so worth the time!

I have a hard time remembering what our house actually looked like when we first bought it because things are so different now. We have spent many hours taking out bushes, trees, rocks (yes rocks…all kinds…small boulders, gravel, lava rocks…all partially hidden by layers of dirt, grass, plants, etc.), and so many concrete border pieces as seen around the bushes in the picture below. We’ve also sprigged grass where it needed it, hauled in countless loads of soil and compost, and installed new edging.

And then there are the plants. We went back and forth many times over what should, would, and could be planted in these beds around the house. We built up a small nursery of plants and watched for plant sales. We did our homework and sketched our design.

Although flower beds are never really “finished”, we have completed the first hurdle: getting the beds installed and planted.

We are so happy with the result!

This photo was taken before the house was “ours”.

This is after we did some major trimming last fall/winter. We had already removed some of the shrubs and had planted some things into one of the flower beds. We’ve even changed up what is in that bed since this photo was taken.

This photo starts the “after” shots! I know it doesn’t look like much now, but that’s because all of the plants are small and haven’t reached full size.

Purple fountain grass, Lantana, and Dianthus are what’s in this bed. The Lantana will grow much larger next year and we won’t have to plant as many annuals.

Purple fountain grass, Plumbago, Hibiscus President & Sunny Wind, Wandering Jew, Society Garlic, a few Dianthus transplants from the other flower bed, and Split-Leaf Philodendrons.

I know it looks a little sparse now, but the plants will grow to fill the space and I will probably not plant any annuals in this bed next year.

 

The side flower bed has Pink and Blue Hydrangeas and Variegated Flax (moved from the first front flower bed). We’re still on the lookout for the perfect plant to go in the space between the windows and have a few ideas.

 

This hibiscus ‘Sunny Wind’ was planted in the bed a couple of weeks after we finished the flower bed. We had been watching for a yellow hibiscus with a red throat and I finally found one at HEB. It is really the perfect compliment to the reds, blues, and purples that are in that bed.

Since it has gotten established, it has been a constant bloomer! The flowers are 4-6” and are just gorgeous. We’ve been getting one flower a day from this beauty for the last week!

 

I had to throw in a picture of the red hibiscus ‘President’. The blooms are a little smaller than the yellow, but we’ve also been getting constant blooms off of these two plants.

I am constantly amazed how much enjoyment we get out of the hard work we have been doing to revamp this old tired place. Seeing the results of another project finished makes me want to jump right into another one!