We have been in the new house now for about 9 months and we’ve certainly done a lot of work so far! The outside was really getting to me once spring arrived because I wanted it to be colorful and to get rid of that pine straw. This is a pic of the house shortly after we first moved in:
Now you see that yucky pine straw up close! Which brings me to the next big thing – replacing it with black mulch. Now that was a project. Raking out the pinestraw took the most effort. I wheelbarrowed load after load of the old pine straw to the back natural wooded part of our property (we back up to the Francis Marion National Forest) where the builder had already put pine straw originally, to fluff up that area again with the extra. I probably used 45-ish bags of mulch total between the front, sides and back of the house. I then added a stone border and that really just made it look so clean and lovely! I am just happy seeing it as I pull up in the driveway every day.
The tree in the front yard eventually got a border too!
You can also see that Jake installed a beautiful fence all on his own and got the shed built! He is so talented. Speaking of talented, he finished the shed too! Designed it all his own and built it completely solo. We finally got all the shed stuff out of the garage this past weekend so I can finally get to work on expanding the home gym and making it more professional looking for training clients.
This is the garden area in the backyard. It was just plain pine straw before, so I mulched and added some bright blooms.
I did also mulch around the perimeter of the house, but not much “garden” in there yet to speak of. I also laid some pavers for the grill to go on. The near-term plan is to have Jake build the screened in porch, so I didn’t go too hog wild with that area knowing we would be covering a portion of it with more concrete slab to make a large porch. I can’t wait until I’m able to say that project is done and be able to share it with you! The screen porch is my haven and I miss having one, but I know Jake will do an amazing job and will have been worth it to not have had the builder do their standard 8′ x 8′ one.
I have always said I’ve had a black thumb, but I think I am getting better (and also better about making time which is key). I will eventually plant more and more things as I get comfortable, but I am so happy to have made so much progress on making the outside of our house beautiful!
Also – here is my lime tree! She is actually getting limes her first year, which is not typical. Margaritas soon? That was the idea behind having my own lime tree! This pic was from about 6 weeks ago, this lime has at least doubled in size! Do you have any great gardening tips to share? Comment below!
