Landscaping / Curb Appeal

Today I'm planning to share a little post about how we improved our home's curb appeal with a little landscaping project.

Yep, that's what we started with. Very blah. With overgrown bushes and trees (which you can't really actually see because this photo was taken in March before the leaves grew in...). Our house was in desperate need of some curb appeal before we put it up for sale this summer. We had pretty much let everything outside go while we worked on the inside for the past 3 years. And it showed.


We started by pulling out the overgrown shrubs and trimming the trees that were growing too close to the house and doing a lot of other stuff such as scrubbing and cleaning the deck, foundation and siding, restaining the deck, repainting the foundation, spray painting the shutters, replacing the roof, pouring a new sidewalk, etc. After thousands of dollars and 3 months time, we were ready to plant new bushes/flowers.

So my mom (who I consider a landscaping genius!) came out to visit. She brought me two planters for the front porch. We then walked around the house and decided roughly how many plants we would need and what types. Then we headed off to Lowe's where we bought 2 giant carts full of plants. Luckily a lot of them were on sale since it was mid July (we couldn't plant anything till all the other work such as the roof was done)...On the way, I guestimated that it would cost us about $300 before we got there. Mom thought I was crazy. Then it rang up as $292. I was pretty close. Guess 3 years of remodeling has taught me how to estimate projects...and be cynical. I know I can't make it out of Lowe's without spending at least $100.

Anyways, we bought 2 Wintergreen Boxwoods for either side of the deck as well as a Dwarf Burning Bush and a Royal Purpose Smoke Tree for each side. We also purchased 2 gorgeous white flowering Hardy Hydrangeas for the left side of the deck and 6 Hostas and a Weigela Bush for around the maple tree. We planned to just weed and thin out the Daylilies in front of the deck and the Giant Rose Bush by our driveway. For around the well, we purchased a Blue Astra Balloon Flower, a yellow Daylily and some Maiden Grass (which Dave specifically requested).

We began planting around 4:30 that afternoon. Luckily it was only in the mid 80s that day as opposed to the 90s like it had been. It was pretty easy going planting around the deck but when we started planting the Weigela Bush and Hostas around the maple tree after dinner (which consisted of delivered pizza on the front porch!) I thought I would die...And this explains the HORRIBLE photo of us shown above. By about 9:30 we were exhausted!

You could only dig about 1/2" into the ground then hit 4 maple tree roots, work for 15 mins to cut and remove them only to find 4 more another 1/2" lower. It took me an hour to plant one hosta. Mom and I were worn out and Levi was screaming his head off about being stuck in the stroller all evening.

We were about to give up on planting the hostas and then my hubby Dave came out with a hole saw attached to his drill and the reciprocating saw (2 unlikely gardening tools, I know, but whatever works!) and we got the roots out of the way and our hostas in the ground. And Mom took Levi inside and they got ready for bed. Still, it was about 10:30 that night when all was said and done.

The next day we went to Lowe's and purchased two cute chairs for the front porch. We then mulched around all the flower beds, the well, and the mailbox. And that really helped to beautify things.

Here's the after photo...doesn't it look a lot more appealing? Would you buy this house?

I was just so incredibly relieved we were able to get all this done in 1 weekend.
After a kitchen remodel that took a year and a half it was amazing to me that landscaping could be done in 1 weekend and make such a HUGE difference in curb appeal. I'm so glad we did this.

And here are some more after photos of the details...

Our existing rose bush (which could probably still use some attention.)

This is what that bush looks like when blooming! Absolutely gorgeous!

Here are the boxwoods, burning bush and smoke tree on one side of the deck.

And the other side with the hydrangeas added in as well as the sedum (which was already there). Please ignore the droopy hydrangeas. I hadn't watered for a day or so and it's been very hot and dry here...

Here are the planters from mom and the new chairs. So inviting...

And I just love our new sidewalk. It sures beats the old one (shown below). Ew! I am not a fan of pavers since grass and weeds can easily grow up between them and they can get uneven and create a tripping hazard.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to check out the latest post on our renovations Also, I linked this post up to Centsational Girl's Garden Link Party today. Check it out! Lots of inspiration over there for sure!