Yard, Yard, YARD...OH MY!!!

THE FRONT YARD LOOKS BEAUTIFUL!!!

The awesome before and after of our front yard.  Hubby did good!!!

As I mentioned in my last few blogs, we've been doing A LOT of yard work.  It started a few weeks ago when Nick decided one Sunday (April 22nd to be exact) to cut down a lot of dead trees and bushes in our yard. This was the end result.

Our massive brush pile. :)

The next weekend, we cleaned up the yard a bit and worked on the back porch.

The next weekend, we purchased a hanging basket filled with Tarleton colored petunias.  We hung that from the front porch.  Then Nick decided that Sunday that he wanted to make a container plant.  This was the end result.

Our Tarleton colored petunias.

The BEAUTIFUL container plant my husband planted.

The next weekend, I was out of town, and Nick went all Rambo on the front yard flower beds and got rid of all of the remaining plants.  I was so excited and surprised when I got home.  We now had a blank slate to work with.

Our blank slate. :)

On Friday, May 18th, Nick came home with so many plants!  I was super stoked to get to working on the front yard and making it look beautiful.  We worked about 4 hours Friday night.  Two hours Saturday morning, and 6 house on Sunday.  We tilled, planted, spread compost, and started to put in a irrigation system for the flower beds.

Oh my goodness, look at all of those plants!

Nick placing and getting ready to plant everything.  I'd already put the hostas in the ground.  Nick ended up having me move the hostas to under the tree on Sunday.

Our BEAUTIFUL Azaleas.  I can't wait for them to bloom.  They alternate purple and white.  GO TARLETON!!!

End of night one.  Awful picture, but what I could get.

Back to the grindstone on Saturday.

Boxwoods are in the ground.

Pretty flower bed.  Better picture than the night before.

Working on Sunday.  I'm getting tired by now. :)

Everything that has been done through Sunday.

Trenching started for irrigation.

So pretty!

Nick worked almost every night that week on one thing or another in the yard.  He trenched, laid pipe, put in irrigation heads, moved a few plants, and watered religiously.  We were slowly but surely getting to the end!

Monday, May 28th was Memorial Day, so Nick & I had the day off.  We had bought lots and lots of mulch the day before, and we were ready to get the mulch in the beds.  I woke up, got dressed, and headed outside to plant the last 4 bushes... a few Indian Hawthorns that I'd been neglecting.  Nick had gone fishing with a couple of his friends, so that's all we got done that morning.  Once Nick had arrived back at the house, we ate lunch, then started working feverishly in the yard.  It was HOT!!!  BUT, Nick was finally able to turn the sprinkler system on.  WE HAVE WATER!!!  He had to flush all of the heads, then we put the nozzles on.  It's so much fun to watch them turn on.  Then, we laid about 3/4 of the mulch.  We finished two and a half beds.  After all of our hard work, Nick pulled out a few lawn chairs, turned on the sprinkler system, and we just sat and watched it.  So ready (and excited) to get this project finished!!!

Mulch makes a HUGE difference.  The bare spot is where stone and a water feature will go. 

Front flower bed with mulch.

We have water!!!

The week of May 28th, Nick finished up with stone work and the rest of the mulch.  Nick has put in all of our stone and has made the beds absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  I can't believe all of the hard work he's put into this front yard.  It has definitely paid off and we have some the prettiest flowerbeds in the neighborhood now!  Go husband!

There will eventually be a water feature in with the stone.  But as Nick reminds me...baby steps. :)

Beautiful!  And our little pathway made with flagstone.

Our pathway of flagstone and the beginning of the azalea & hosta bed. 

Azaleas and hostas!  I love the border around this bed. 

We need a little more rock to finish off this area.  But it's practically done!

The side of the house with the air conditioner.  Ready for the Indian Hawthorns to grow up!

A view of it all!  He did such a great job designing and putting this concept into a reality!