workin' hard in our yard

This summer we've tackled a few big outdoor projects.   When we purchased this house, we loved the yard and outdoor spaces . . . what we didn't realize is that it takes a lot of work to maintain. The first project was taking down 3 trees in the backyard that didn't make it through the super cold hard winter we had.  :(  I wasn't home when the trees actually came down (we hired someone to do it), but snapped this pic of Dad and Billy with what was left of the remains.  We were so thankful for help from friends to move the wood/debris - it was a huge mess and more than we could tackle on our own.   (And it looked soooo bare back there at first!)

We also finally replaced the privacy fence around the hosta garden that had seen better days.  A couple of years ago several panels blew down during a windstorm and were somewhat temporarily propped up.  It was also starting to rot/fall apart in several places. . . .

It took several weeks from start to finish, but here's the new fence!  Big thanks to Billy's dad for all his help (and to Holly and Lynette and my Dad for helping on the 4th too).  

I love this area . . . unfortunately we have discovered that the big tree has also experienced some trauma, and is not doing so well (even though it appears healthy) and may also have to come down. :( boo!

Here's a view of the back hosta/flower bed.  The 3 trees we took down were in this area (they were big like the remaining tree at the right of this picture).  Taking down the trees made a huge mess, and since we had the stumps drilled out we had to do some work to clean up the bed and redo the rock border.  I am hopeful that some of the perennial plants that were trampled down by the trees will reappear next year.

We planted a few new shrubs in place of the trees.  One is a variety of lilac that is supposed to bloom 3 times during the summer, and the other two are a variation of a hydrangea - so hopefully we'll have some pretty blooms in the future to contrast with the green plants.  I threw in a few flowering vinca for color and just to fill in the empty space in the front for this year (that's where I am hoping the perennials will reappear next summer).

My mom also helped me to separate/transplant some lilies and hosta last week.  I hope the lilies eventually fill in the area in front of the fence, and next year we'll mulch that area too to make it more finished looking. (We've already overspent our outdoor budget AND energy for such tasks for this summer.)

I hadn't had my "good" camera out much this summer, and was taking pics of the kids when I decided to take all the landscaping pics above (I really wanted to document what things look like so I can remember what was planted where when things start coming up next year).  While I had the camera out, I took a few pics of other flowers - things are so pretty this year! I love when everything is in full bloom . . .

impatiens under the tree

our miniature hydrangea tree out front - this year the white blooms have turned really pink - so pretty!

potted plants