Abby's Way: front garden

Showing posts with label front garden. Show all posts

Flowers To Greet You

Morning!
I wanted to share with you our front steps. It's a great spot for planters and flowers. Summers past I would always plant a lot of neutrals here. Lot's of white and a bit of soft pink to add a bit of pretty cottage style. Until that fateful day when the flower tag was wrong! I thought I planted pink and when the geranium bloomed it ended up being a bold red. RED! Eeeeck, I thought. All this delicate pink and white and then a powerful shot of red! I was tempted to pull it but decided to leave it in anyways, and by the end of summer it was my little star. It really pulled through with great vigour and also looked spot on for fall! Win win and if that's not enough,the red geranium is said to assist in protection for your home when placed at the front door. So, being benificial and all, I added another to the mix the next year. I then tried to over winter cuttings from all my geraniums, including pink and an even brighter pink, but only the two red ones survived. Some one really wants me to have red geraniums!!

I just planted these pots a day or two ago, after being over wintered in our basement. They will fill out nicely once they get the sun on them. Not today though, cloudy and windy is our forecast as you can tell.

Our house is a taupe colour, acting as a warm back drop for richer colours. Red, purple and yellow is the colour scheme. The pots have slowly been added to year after year. Fade and discolour only adds the character I seek. Not an excess of pots, but enough to feel the welcome.

Through out the summer I'll usually rearrange the pots to share the sun light. This is a very shaded spot which isn't always a bad thing, but geraniums do love sun. They'll each get some time in the sun.

I also have a few Gnomes out here greeting our guest...well, when we aren't in Quarantine they are the greeters.

I added yellow into the mix because of the nine barks we have planted in the front garden. Once this little guy gets growing he'll also add a little sunshine to the shade.

A painted rock from my Mother's Day weekend found a spot in this planter.

Purple wave petunias, with some good fertilizer and a bit of pruning through out the summer, should get to be fairly bushy.

White impatience for the shadiest spot, and some raw Amethyst stones. I love the energy of Amethyst stones. I've placed them around the boxwood just to pump up the positive energy that flows into our home.

Thank you so much for stopping by! This little blog of mine has been a blessing for me. It keeps me moving forward and pushing myself to find the positive through this crazy time. I hope you find some comfort here as well.

Until next time, Abby.

Autumn at the Front Door

Isn't fall spectacular! Every day the colours get a bit richer and deeper. Oranges, reds, purples, and they all look so lovely together. I've thrown in the towel for a softer, muted colour scheme this year. I'm fully embracing autumn tones. Here's my cottage front steps, all dressed for fall.

With the help of my mum, we've managed to collect a few brass pots over the summer. Searching second hand shops, we found four of varying sizes. Staggering them down the steps with the addition of red, orange, yellow, and white mums. Mixing in my terra cotta pots with my two black pots creating a gentle path to our front door.

My WOODLAND WREATH that I've recently made is hanging on the door to greet you.

A pair of owls are hanging by a strand of jute so we didn't have to damage the siding.

I gave my hurricane candle holders a good scrub and popped a small brass pot with a candle inside each one. And as I purchase pumpkins for Halloween, they will get nestled in along both sides.

Just as important as the curb appeal to me, is how it looks from inside. Making sure that the landing looks as cosy from the door as it does from the street.

Inside is a bit messy...I've been preserving like a mad women! Pretty sure I completely over planted
tomatoes and peppers. To think these plants that I started as seeds have turned into salsa, tomato sauce and soup! The whole thing has just deepened my addiction.

There may be frost tonight so I've pulled the rest of my veggie plants out and this is what I've picked. I'm hoping that under some newspaper these green tomatoes will ripen. I was asked how much our garden had saved us, I don't know if it saved us any money, however having fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables a few steps away allowed us to create amazing meals. The savings, if any, were just an added bonus.

Once I get this tidied up I will share my fall decor,
Happy Nesting!

Cottage Lighting for Curb Appeal

Welcome!

This is our home that we have loved and lived in, since 2010. Almost seven full years.There is a nice flow from room to room, rarely feeling too small or too big for our family. Functions very well. But the details, the little details have always been my issue. From paint colours to materials used. Having bought a new house, we couldn't talk ourselves into immediately changing all the details. Instead, year by year, project by project, we have been working through our list of upgrades.

First it was finishing the basement, then painting over the bold colour choices from the builder, then interior lighting, and landscaping. And now, exterior lighting.

There was nothing wrong with the previous lighting, perfectly fine. But fine just wasn't cutting for me anymore. At our first stop we were thrilled to find big, curvy cottage style, bubble glass, outdoor lights. Perfect. The pricing worked within our budget, done!

Hear that noise? That is the sound of my heart singing! As soon as he held the new light up, it was love! They match the scale of the garage so much better and the style definitely says cottage.

After a few choice words and a bit of a struggle....

TADA!!

A comparison of the two styles...

What do you think? Better?

Here is a little list of the details that I love about cottage style at my front door,

First, I love to arrange an assortment of flower pots and candles to suit the season. Staggering them along either side of the steps of this porch seems to soften the hard lines of the concrete. Filling them with flowers to bring the garden up to the door. It's even better if the flowers stretch and spill over the edge of the pots. So yummy!

A welcoming wreath. Personally I love the process of creating a wreath, it is one of my favourite things to do. The planning, collecting and assembly, it's so much fun! If that is something you don't enjoy, you can find gorgeous wreaths already made almost anywhere.

Lighting, making sure that your home is lit up. Not only for safety, but also to add character! Treating your fixtures like earrings, making sure they match the colours and details that are pre existing.

Welcome mats are another area that you can add seasonal decor. I have a black lattice style welcome mat at the front door that hasn't changed since we've been at this address. I find if they have a coloured design or pattern they get dirty fast, and need to be changed seasonally.

Plaques, and exterior wall art. This is a new 'hunt' for me. On either sides of our front door I have bare walls...gasp! I am realising this is a great space that I have completely over looked! Maybe something copper or even some weather worn wood...but that is the fun of it, nothing is ever truly complete. I'll enjoy this search.

The exterior of our homes are very important. They literally are the shells that protects us. My wish for you is that above all it keeps you safe and warm...or cool! That wish is for you and yours.

Linking up to

A Stroll thru Life

Dishing it and Digging it

Dwellings-the heart of your home/amaze me mondays

Xeriscaping Our Front Garden

I have been plotting and planning for the last two years. Our

front yard was about 75% grass. In this city, there is a NO pesticide

NO herbicide by-law. The past few summers have also had some serious

watering restrictions. I felt really crappy about trying to keep a green

lawn knowing it was such a waste of a valuable resource. So we

just gave up on our grass in the front. Weedy, yellow grass, it looked very

neglected. I'm sure our neighbours loved that!
I've been studying the gardens around us and

what is doing well in our extreme weather conditions.
We wanted low maintenance, xeriscaped buffet for the birds and

bugs. In time we would like it to look slightly overgrown, and a little

bit wild, creating a warm welcoming entrance to our home.

Just for the heck of it...

here are some old pictures of the front yard.

This was a ton of work! Extremely labour intensive, but worth every sore

muscle and every broken nail ;).
We started the project in March.

The weather was amazing, and the plants I wanted were

in stock at the local nurseries.

We removed the grass with a rented sod cutter. As soon as the sod was lifted

out and the blank slate was exposed, I knew we made the right choice.

The ground underneath was terrible. Rocks and clay. No wonder the grass

couldn't handle the heat!

We moved some boulders around to open up the top portion of the garden

and created some random tiers to help with the slope.

Living in a higher elevation, I knew I wanted it to work with our surroundings.

Working towards a natural mountain trail look,

boulders were the obvious choice.

Deep, wide holes were dug, adding a lot of wood chips and compost to each hole,

creating an organically rich enviroment for my new babies to thrive in.

I am hoping over time it will all fill in and fade out the path edges.

We planted variegated dogwood, fragrant sumac, potentilla, ninebark, mugo pine,

junipers, and one more Austrian pine. I am on the look out for some variegated irises

or woodland bulbs to plant along the path edges.

Once everything was planted and thoroughly soaked, the drip line was installed.

This will be a wonderful water saver. Water being delivered right
to the roots. No evaporation or waste on the road or drive way.
Then, thick landscape fabric was laid
below the rocks and the gravel pathway,

reducing the amount of weeding.

However, I left the area under the wood

chips free of the landscape fabric so I can enrich that soil annually,

and possibly add some more plantings if I

get the urge. ..ha....if I get the urge :)?!?

We were able to re-use the solar lights along the path. I nestled
them in amongst the rocks and wood chips. The copper
works beautifully with everything.