Blood, Sweat and Shrubbery

We moved into this house in September of 2008 and we have not done a darn thing with the landscaping since...September 2008.  It was always a want and always an easy thing to push off another year for something else, but it seriously needed done this year and we couldn't push it any longer.  I was starting to feel like that house, especially because we have a retiree on one side of us whose yard is his well manicured child and on the other side we have a single empty-nester woman who is always in her yard when she isn't at work.  Then, of course, across the street we have the owner of a landscaping company...  get the picture?  It needed done.  This is what we were facing last week.

Overgrown much?

I honestly couldn't tell you what was what over there.

No definition.  It drove me crazy!  I am a clean line type lady.

We decided to consult with a landscape designer and take his plans into consideration, modify where needed and then do all the work ourselves.  I would consider Brian and I pretty avid DIYers and when given a task... we jump in head first.  This was no exception.  

First we had to shape the beds and remove all the sod, bushes and plants that needed to go and transplant some of the others to the backyard.  We rented a sod cutter for this, which is a highly unpredictable machine might I add.

Yes it is dark and raining in this picture, but when you have four kids you literally find time to work!  

Then it was delivery day on Saturday morning!  73 plants, 6 cubic yards of soil and 9 cubic yards of mulch!

This was all the mulch and plants.  The soil was in the street because we couldn't fit it on the driveway.  Then it was time for the BIG machines.  We rented, from Runyon, a rear tine rototiller and a trench digger to try and give definition to beds and break up this lackluster Indiana soil we have here (which is actually a mixture of clay, poor quality dirt and assorted pieced of lumber, metal and whatever else was on the site when this house was built.  It was an interesting excavation experience).

By the end of Saturday, which didn't occur until dark by the way, we had done all machine work, laid the top soil and pruned everything that needed it.  We didn't know it, but it was our easier day compared to the next day.

On Sunday, after we had a vomiting Trinity over night, it was time to go again.  My muscles said NO!  But, I didn't listen and made them get to work.  Brian did all the planting, because he is SO much more meticulous than myself.  You should have seen him trying to figure out if the bushes were in a circle or not.  I would have eyeballed it and been on my way, but that man had out ladders for an aerial view, because there are usually10 foot tall people in our driveway, ropes, tape measures, kids chalk and the plans.  It look a fair amount of time to get those bushes just right.  I know it is important to him though, so I stood by and supported the madness while trying not to bust out laughing.  

I was diggin' the digging and wheel barrow work where I can shovel it in, wheel it somewhere, dump it and spread it.  Sounds good to me!  

Sunday was filled with planting, weeding, mulching, and last details.  We were outside with flood lights on until 11pm that night, but we did it!  These pictures were taken the next morning when we had light again.  

green velvet boxwood's and Salvia

knockout roses, green mountain boxwood and an Alberta spruce at the end. 

hostas, boxwood's, catmint and daylily's

boxwoods, daylily's

The new service berry tree is back on the left along with bloomerang lilac, hydrangeas and a sedum purple emperor and some becky daisies in the front left.

We expanded beds in the back yard and transplanted a bush from that front.

We connected all the lion rose bushes in the back and transplanted others.

The curves were echoed all around the house.

We are very happy with everything and now all we have to do it keep it all alive!  We were sore, bruised, HOT (did I mention these were the two HOTTEST days this month with temps averaging 95 plus degrees?) and filthy, but we did it.  The two of us did it all and saved about $2500 in doing so.  

What do you do after all that work?  Party of course!!!

A last minute Memorial Day BBQ Monday evening is just what the weekend called for.  Friends, food, kids being crazy and playing in the water and sitting....  ahhhh...  sitting!  Good times!!!

Epilogue- the girls wanted to go strawberry picking the next day...  As much as I LOVE berry picking, mama needs a break from dirt and plants for a solid few days, ok?

*Just a note in thanks to all the armed forces that help protect our home and give unselfishly of their time, their world and, most unfortunately, sometimes their lives.  Thank you.