While I'm finalizing my backyard plans, quotes and design, I thought I'd do some work on my front yard.
This was the front of my cute little cottage 'before'.It was a great starting point of established boxwood and lilac hedges (see below), giant hostas and bleeding hearts.
To begin to add to the curb appeal, I started off with planters with some annuals and went from there....
I wanted to stick with a consistent colour palate and consistent plants for the planters. I used Coleus (in 2 colours), Grasses, Potatoe Vines, and Creeping Jenny.
I also stuck with the same style of planter. Squared, clean lines and metal.
Here is a picture of the planter, just after planting about a month ago...
This is a picture of the planter today....
As you can see, it's really filling in and I love the look! The hostas are really coming along too (see to the right of the picture)....they are one of my favorite perennials....they come in so many wonderful shades of greens and different leaf shapes & sizes.
These are the smaller planters up my front steps...a cute addition to just add a bit more foliage and colour.
It was then onto the perennial bed that boarders the sidewalk.
This actually started last summer when I began 'phase one'. I dug and planted 3 smaller beds, with the plan to make it into one larger bed this summer. With my trusty four legged, furry gardening partner, we set to work!
These are tulips I planted in one of the 3 gardens in the front of the house last summer. When I transformed the 3 beds into one larger bed this spring, I dug up the bulbs (after letting the flowers brown) and have replanted them, ...so fingers crossed they come up again next year !
I had my plan, knew the species I wanted, the colour scheme I was working toward and I then made many trips to various garden centres around Guelph and Burlington. One of my favorites is
Northland Nursery just north of Waterdown (they have great prices, an amazing selection and to top it all off...they have Labs and horses..I was in heaven!) The plants below on my side stairs are all from Northland.
Notice the walkway to the left in the picture above? The garden that runs along it was also a project last summer and I ended up planting it almost entirely with hostas...the picture below is one of my favorites!
So...after lots of digging, removing sod, adding soil, peat, 'fertilizer', planting, watering and mulching....here it is..my new front yard perennial garden!!
I used 3 different Hydrangeas, a Burning Bush, SandCherries, a Barberry, Grasses, Dogwoods and a variety of other perennials, with the goal of sticking with a green, white, pink and deep burgundy/red wine colour scheme.
I am really, really happy with the final result and can't wait for it to begin filling in!
Down the road (hopefully by the end of the summer) I will also put in a flagstone patio between this new bed and the existing hosta bed, from the driveway to the walkway into the house. It is the never ending fun of home ownership!
Once things have filled in just a bit more (and I've cut the grass), I'll post a full 'after picture' of the front of the house/cottage...so "stay tuned"!
RR
