Keeps Getting Better and Better!

It’s a front yard transformation update!

If you’re not familiar with the metamorphosis our yard has experienced so far, you really MUST check it out here!!

The last time I shared news about our yard I was getting ready to plant some rhododendron ramapos, nest spruces, ornamental grasses called Elijah Blue and a couple Eunonymus, a variegated leafy plant, all around the path lighting at the front of our walk.

Here’s the before…

And the after!

I love the different colours and textures of the plants recommended by our landscape consultant Andre – and it’ll be fantastic when the rhododendron’s flower next spring!

And can you see how lush and green our grass looks? It’s so hard to imagine that, just a little over a month ago, it looked like this!

This blue-green mulch all over our yard was the result of a process called Hydroseeding. Let me tell you… it may look like an alien invasion, but it’s the coolest stuff! We now have a beautifully green and lush lawn! There are a few sections that need a little nurturing, but as the lawn matures these sections will fill out wonderfully.

And then there’s this ugly wall of cedar trunks that sit on our neighbour’s yard. Blech!

In past posts I shared with our DesignTies readers that we planned on installing a cedar fence along this section of our yard… but when we had a couple fence contractors come out to quote on the job all we heard were cha chings. We knew it would be expensive, and we were just about to splurge when Andre (our landscape consultant and nursery owner) showed us some scrumptious yews.

I loved the soft feel of the needles on the branches, and the new growth was a lovely pale green contrasting with the deep green of the rest of the shrub. Best of all, Andre told us that yews grow wonderfully in high-shade areas. Oh… that AND they would be way less expensive then a cedar fence!

They’re just wee little things right now… and they’ll take a few years to grow up and fill out enough to cover the hideous trunks… but isn’t the fun of a garden all about seeing things grow and mature? That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway!!

I’ve been asking Brian to support my idea of hanging 3 trellis panels – horizontally and painted in a slate grey – across the face of some of the trunks but he’s put his foot down with a firm NO :-(  He admits that it may look good, but he’s the money guy and he rightfully tells me that we have more important things to spend our money on. Darn!

So that’s where we’re at right now… lots of progress, but still a long way to go!! What do we have left to do? We still need plants for the 2 terraces!

I’m sharing this yard progress post with the readers dropping in to Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday’s blog party! Thanks for dropping by DesignTies… now make your way back to Between Naps on the Porch to see the other transformations shared on this week’s Met Monday party!!