yard time!

so we spent this past weekend working our tails off in the yard... moving mulch, moving rocks, finding snakes (4 of them!), making new beds, planting new plants, seeding and fertilizing... i could keep going. it was very rewarding to start to see it all come together. there is still more to do (and a vegetable garden to plant- fingers crossed) but we feel like we've made some real progress. 

i'll start with some shock and awe... the yard one year ago (horrifying as it was):

and the yard as of this past sunday:

obviously some of the improvement comes from our neighbor building a big fence (i guess she didn't like the view... i can't blame her until recently). but we've worked hard to get all those gross weeds out and to start planting things that will grow and look great in the years to come. 

now we'll go backwards... 

final deck photos. robby has officially decided our deck has a very "zen" feel to it. i think it's because the deck, the house, and the oak tree have a lovely little conversation occurring. they all work together to create this awesome outdoor room without there being any walls. so i tried to capture more of this feeling, but i have to say - you just have to come experience it in person. (that is an open invitation)

now we move to the front of the house. robby took out the old nasty ceiling fan and put in a new light from (you guessed it) IKEA. $30 goes a long way there. (personal disclaimer: this light isn't made for outdoor use, but our porch is covered, so we'll be fine). he also finished removing the old railing and plastic column covers to reveal the aluminum underneath. we've gotten some positive feedback on those, so they're here to stay for a while. 

here is a random shot inside from the front door looking back. i had a wide angle lens and i think my sister asked for this shot last july (sorry for the delay), and i had just cleaned so things were relatively tidy... still no paint on the walls. still no personal photos or items out. and still no built-ins in the living room. all in due time. 

okay, and here is the finale for the back yard. i'll have to post front yard photos once i take some. so along the fence we planted forsythia and lilac. we finally got our fig tree in the ground. and i divided some of my hostas from the front yard and brought them to fill in around the hydrangea. i also bought pink hypoestes to fill in, too. sadly those are just annuals, though. 

here are my peonies that i am SO excited about (if i can keep boone from killing them). 6 buds total, so i'm hoping to get at least one nice flower arrangement from them. 

more shrubs we bought for around other parts of the house. soft touch hollies and golden leaf cyprus. both will add year round color to some parts of the house that just need to be covered up. 

robby throwing down wheat straw on the grass seed... fingers crossed we get some grass!

and my very special lily-of-the-valley. this came from my mom, which came from my grandmother's, which i believe came from my great-grandmother's garden. i have 5 blooms and lots of healthy leaves so it's life here in well rooted, i hope. 

and a shot i stole of robby all dirty and sweaty on saturday. i bet anyone out there who did yard work this weekend knows the look on his face.