Since we moved into our house four years ago, we've been dreaming about re-doing the landscaping. Although there was some hardscape in (retaining walls and bullets in the front), the vinyl edging around the sides and back was starting to fall apart, and the 5 plants looked sickly and haphazard. We were not fans of the white rock and debated back and forth about whether to keep or replace it. After saving up for a while, we finally decided this was the year to strike on some outdoor projects.
The first thing we needed to do was get rid of the rock. ALL.THE.ROCK. That turned out to be a bigger task than anticipated. The white rock was about 8" thick in most places and the retaining walls were FILLED TO THE BRIM! No wonder no plants could grow in them! We had a friend who wanted the rock for his acreage and could bring a skid loader and dump trailer to haul it. (We totally won on that deal.) We also hired three football guys to come scoop rock. (You're welcome, family members that we did not ask to help with this rotten task). It took 5 guys a total of about 5 hours and that was after Adam had already done much of the prep/back yard work.
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| Scooping rock. |
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| All the rock is out! |
We hired a babysitter for a Saturday morning so Adam and I could go to Ground Effects to pick out all the plants. We had a list made of ones we'd like but they helped us cross a few off that wouldn't work in the sun/shade. Adam and the boys went and picked up all the selections later in the week and set them out to make sure we liked the placement.
Ryan helped plant the big topiary.
Adam got everything planted and mulched, then one evening we stuck Avonlea in the exersaucer outside while I helped cut plastic while Adam tacked with rock. Here is the rock we got from Aalbers Excavating:
The boys were around, running between the front and backyards and only after investigating a lengthy absence, did I discover this:
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| Swimming fully clothed. |
Adam finished the rest of the rock around the house and we finally could tie a bow around this project! Here are the plants we picked:
As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the flowering plants, but we hope the blooming periods spread out throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
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