Our curb appeal progress {weekend update}
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Spring cleanup has officially started here at our home. Cleaning out the flower beds, edging and adding fresh mulch are three easy tasks to add curb appeal to your home. I find that it’s easier to get this process started prior to memorial day because once school starts to wind down and the warmer weather arrives, my motivation level for yard work tends to decrease. It’s kind of like decorating a room. All the renovation work gets done first and then the fun part of decorating and accessorizing is the last step. My mom and I love to plant our annuals during the memorial day weekend, this is the decorating and accessorizing part of curb appeal in my mind.
Our backyard has few flower beds that I think this idea of stone edging would look perfect.
Here is our flower bed in the back yard that we finished edging and mulching yesterday. Don’t you think this stone edge idea would look great? They hydrangeas and hosta are starting to come up which tend to protrude a bit into the flower bed once they bloom but I think there would be enough room to add a 1 foot stone edge.
We used a traditional edger to edge around the flower beds. Since we moved in, in 2008, the flower beds have quadrupled. My dad would have just grass with the least amount of maintenance as possible. I will never forget in 2009 when I started ripping up the back yard (this flower bed above) and adding a winding flower bed that led from the door to the patio. He about lost his mind! His first words were, “what did you do?!” He didn’t care that I ripped up the yard, he wanted to make sure that I knew, he was not taking care of it. ha. I agreed to maintain and keep the flower beds weed free and looking pretty. They are a lot of maintenance but well worth it in my mind. Landscaping is what separates the average house from a phenomenal house in my mind. Here is another shot leading to the patio.
This flower bed is in the front of the house and has a beautiful crab apple tree surrounded by tulips that my mom planted a couple years ago. She plans on adding some annuals in a few weeks to brighten it up.
I took these pictures this morning as the sun was coming up. My grandfather said, “don’t even tell me you are taking these pictures for the blog.” Why yes I am gramp! I know that a professional photographer would probably shun these pictures but I love how a landscape looks with the sun peaking through the trees. We still have so much more work to do but getting 9+ yards of mulch spread puts us over the half way mark. ha!
This is the pool area above and the kids swing set area edged, mulch and cleaned up. Thank goodness the mulch is done! Has anyone started their curb appeal projects for the spring yet? Today is a great day to get started right? ha. Hope you all enjoy your Sunday. We are headed to a baseball parade and hopefully getting a little more yard work completed. Enjoy!
You may also like our exterior front door as well as the best 20 front door colors post.
Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
Looks great! I think the stone edging would be gorgeous (albeit, more maintenance) and would work really well–especially if you do put in that stone walkway you mentioned a few weeks ago…
I started battling with our sorely neglected flowerbeds back in February or so–any halfway decent day I went out to rake the dead stuff out before things began to come back to life. I confess, I’m a horrible gardener (aka, I basically don’t know what I’m doing), but our property has tons of flowerbeds, most of which my grandmother had established long before my parents were married. No one in my family has really done much to keep up the flowerbeds, so I took it upon myself to revive them a bit this year. Little by little, they’re looking better! I commend your efforts!
Hi! Your landscaping project looks great. Do you mind if I ask how you made your stone edge? I love it!
Hi, Jessica–
I love the pebble stone edging, have not seen that before. I went to the link at BH&G and still couldn’t locate the photo. Any chance you could link us up with it, and/or any instructions on same? I’d love to try it.
Thanks!
Anne
Here it is! 🙂 http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/outdoor/walkways/garden-paths/#page=14
I love it! Luv luv the stone edging idea! I’m always trying to think of ways to use rock..and my bf kinda laughs at me tho he likes some of the ideas..lol. we r just barely getting started. Planted a crape myrtle out front but more planting to do. Village is getting ready to completely rip up street out front and redo. So kinda need to see what all and where all they r doing to know what we r doing. Want to completely redo couple flower beds and maybe tear out some old lilacs but with the idea of replacing. This was my mom and dads old place. Lots and lots to do with time and money doing the talking!! Look forward to seeing the progress of ur projects!
Cindy
So lovely, however, the red-dyed mulch is not up to the quality of other items in the garden. It is so artificial-looking. Next time, I would suggest getting the typical brown mulch which isn’t dyed. It doesn’t shout, ” look at me”.
You are a hard-working lady.