Green thumbs and green stones.

We got a letter last week from the HOA about our "dead foliage" in the front yard. Apparently, the HOA was none too pleased that, in a fit of boredom, Matt decided to rip up a few of them and leave them out to dry, ha.

So we took advantage of that letter and the nicer weather yesterday by revamping half of our front yard... and by "we", I mean "I", as he readily admits that I'm the brawn to his brains. (Though I beg to differ on the latter. ;)) The feeling after we had finished was akin to when we had to rip up the carpet in our basement after it flooded: A sense of accomplishment that can only come from tearing things down and building them back up.



I realized after we had already started cultivating that we didn't get a "before" shot. So instead, here's one from the listing when we bought our house a year ago. (Photo was probably from summer 2010. And no, that 'cycle isn't ours. Le sigh.)

I also don't have any "in progress" photos, which is just as disappointing! At least you get the final product, right? We still have to put in a couple more bags of rocks to fill it out, but this is essentially it!




The stones, by the way, are Virginia green rocks from Lowe's. I think they're specific to the area as I can't find them online, but they are this lovely bright gray color with a slight tinge of green. They get darker and more green when wet, which I found out this morning as I was leaving the house for work.

And finally, we have this rosebush in the front yard from our previous neighbors. When we first moved in, it was February and none of the roses were out. It looked like a scraggly ol' thing, and I was pretty tempted to rip it up. Then it bloomed, and I thought... eh, maybe it's worth sticking around.

THEN came this year. Matt and I seriously never touch this thing; I just learned yesterday from a neighbor how to prune it, actually. And it's had so many beautiful yellow roses that it became the envy of the block: "Oh, your roses are gorgeous!" "That's the fullest I've ever seen it!" "How do you do that?!"

I dunno, just let the damn thing grow. ;)







Now we just have the right side of the front yard to take care of! We want to completely get rid of those bushes, which harbor bees and wasps through spring and summer (and a garden snake who lives under our steps and who we named Snakey, but we love him (her...?) and want him to find a new home when we revamp as the bushes are his place to sun himself), and replace them with the same green rocks and some flowerbeds. Ooh! And we want to put in a bench, too, but we have to run that by HOA first. Hope they let us.

And our back deck, too, but that's going to be a hell of a job. Pressure-washing, sanding, staining, and sealing? Yeah, I sense more backbreaking work ahead of us ahem, me.



Totally enjoyed a well-deserved Smirnoff blueberry lemonade after the fact. Very well-deserved.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this peek into our home! :)