Before we moved into this house, we never had a yard and I'd never tried to plant anything. Ever. I'd been given several houseplants over the years, and could never keep them alive. I figured I was hopeless. A brown thumb. The first year we lived here, our "landscaping" pretty much consisted of digging (ugly) stuff up and cutting (dead) stuff down. I wanted to plant something but didn't know where to start. So I hired a landscape designer to come up with a very simple beginning landscaping plan. The thought of planting something myself was overwhelming and intimidating. Then the local Garden Club had a sale and I bought a few hostas, dug some holes around the patio, put the plants in the holes, and waited. And guess what? They didn't die. So then I dug a few holes outside the back porch, put in some tomato and pepper plants, and waited. And they didn't die either. Those experiences gave me a bit of confidence, so I decided I'd try to at least get started with the landscape designer's plans. And so, for the past two years, I've slowly been adding simple elements to our landscape. With the exception of some mums and roses I planted in 2009 that didn't come back for 2010, everything is alive and - dare I say - thriving. And so, here I am, Kendra the Gardener. Who'd have thunk it? And the funniest thing about it is, I've found I actually like fooling with the green stuff.
Today, it's 75 degrees today in Northwest Missouri. The birds are singing, the trees are budding, and the grass is turning green. It's been a long, cold winter folks, and I'm itching to get my hands in some dirt and pretty up the exterior of this old house with a bit of landscaping. I'm ready to get more brave. Add a little excitement to the yard. Kick it up a notch. So, Peaches readers, I'm posting today to ask for your suggestions on how to make our landscape shine. Remember, we are a young family with a small business so we're definitely on a budget. Suggested plants should be native to our area and hard to kill. I'd prefer perennials, but would consider planting some annuals in spots. I've included some pictures and descriptions of the current landscaping for you to view and ponder. Don't hold back.
 |
| The front of the house, facing east. We have 2 globe blue spruces (one on each side of the steps) and eight holly bushes out front. On the northeast corner (the right side of the picture) we have a young red dogwood tree and three hydrangea bushes. I'd really like to add some color and line the front walk. |
 |
| This is the side of the house, facing north, from the street. We absolutely hate this side of the house and have no idea what to do with it. It is hard to see in this pictures, but we have 3 summer wine ninebark and 3 viburnum planted on this side of the house. I also have some creeping phlox around the AC unit. As you can see on the right side of the picture, we have a gravel rainbow drive and a fence line on this side of the house. We also have a lot of yard to work with on this side of the house. I'm thinking more shrubs, color, maybe some bushes or trees that will be pretty in the fall??? |
 |
| This is the south side of the house taken from the southeast corner of the front yard. This side of the house isn't very visible from the street, so we'll probably keep it simple here. There are some daffodils and some sort of lilies that I keep trying to dig up but just won't die. The brown things are mums I planted last fall. This is my second shot at planting mums. Hoping they'll come back this time, but it isn't looking good. You can't see them here, but there are 3 hydrangea bushes planted along the lattice on the south side of the porch. |
