Hey everyone! Hope you’ve been having a great week! It’s been busy over here and I have a lot of house updates. But today – a big update from the house exterior = side fences!!
I have to admit, I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately about the front landscaping not yet being completed (you’ll see more below), but I can see the light at the end of this dirt tunnel you guys. I’m getting closer.
And in true “this is your life, Sam” fashion, timing is everything and everything happens for a reason.
Let’s start on a positive note = The side fences are up! Considering the house exterior has pretty much been open to the public since June of 2013, it’s nice to feel a little added sense of security. Well, the gates aren’t up yet…but when they are (later this week), I’ll be feeling MUCH better. Anyway, here is the left side yard…
Last minute decision on this gate, I’m adding a small arbor over the top. Can’t wait to share the end result…
Now that the side fence is up, you can see the little space I’ve carved out for a future garden…
I can’t wait to grow veggies, herbs and other fun plants the kids can help with. They are very excited about a future garden. By the way, if you have any garden tips, shoot them my way – I’m just starting my research on this topic so anything you garden diy smarties can pass along will be helpful!
I’m definitely an organizer…and not a gardener! But I’m getting better.
Most of my growing success (with plants and flowers) has been with the help of Miracle-Gro. When I use Miracle-Gro, my plants and flowers are more beautiful and healthy. I’m again planning this garden with Miracle-Gro in mind. The soil in this corner of the yard isn’t great, so I’m looking forward to turning it over and adding a lot of nutrients for growing the foods we will be eating. I’ll be sure to share my gardening tips as more landscaping posts coming along, but I tend to lean towards plants and flowers that aren’t very high maintenance. With 3 little ones around, I can’t always get outside to spend hours gardening. Eventually I would love to do that and I’d love to get the kids into gardening as well. But for now I make sure that my sprinklers are set to hit everything. And I make sure to mulch and heavy trim 2 times a year.
Moving along, here’s the right side yard fence…
Love it! And I’m going to love both side fences even more once the pretty gates are installed later this week. After the gates are in, all of the fencing will be stained. Then at that point I can move forward with plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, the garden….and much more! I can’t wait to add color. Can. Not. Wait.
Speaking of color, remember when I said I had been a bit down in the dumps about some of the landscape progress? Well, it’s mainly due to this scene…
Yup, still NO sod out here. No pathways either. The rain held us up at first…and we need the rain here in Nor Cal, so no complaints from me. Then the rain did another favor by letting us know we needed added draining in the front, so we’ve been working on that when we have the time…
Trust me, I count my blessings here, but the dirt is wearing me down because the kids are constantly in it. Which means I have dirt coming into the house. Which means I am cleaning more than I’d care to.
Ahhh, life!
But there is always an upside. For me, it was spending time at the house last weekend, enjoying Easter with family and taking in the progress that *has* been made. And it’s huge progress, friends! I just can’t wait until the front is looking green and beautiful like these other spaces around the house…
And I’m looking forward to sharing a post soon about the new fences…
Remember, share your gardening tips here with me and other readers. Or if you want to share more personal gardening stories, share them at Gro Something Greater!
Back soon with a full fence recap! Have a good day!
The fences are looking great and I'm happy you're feeling better about the progress in the yard. It will come together in no time. My gardening advice (since you asked)? Ditch the Miracle-Gro, sponsored post or not. Feed your soil, not your plants. And definitely stay away from anywhere you intend to grow edibles. The beauty of growing your own food is that you know what goes into it. Dumping synthetic chemicals on it is no good. Most of all, have fun with it and don't get discourage by the occasional failure. Rather, revel in your successes.
I agree with Erin. No, on the Miracle Grow.I also feed the soil. I use to use Miracle Grow but found out I was doing it all wrong. Enriched soil=beautiful, healthy plants.
Your home is looking so good, it's amazing what sod can do for a back yard. I'm a compost type of person, dump your veggie scraps, yucky fruit, yard clipping and leaves on your garden. If you need to, buy some worms. Let nature take it's corse. We add in chicken manure from our chicken pens, great stuff. Keep feeding your soil. Like Erin says, stay away from synthetic chemicals. Have fun, get dirty! Enjoy those fresh veggies.
The yard is looking wonderful and the fences are really pulling it all together. My gardening advice is that if you plant tomatoes, plant marigolds near them to keep the bugs away. It worked for me last year. Not for food gardening but I also found that having geraniums next to my roses also kept the pesky Japanese beetles away, and the geraniums looked pretty all summer – win win!