Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Magic of Mulch!

Since the days of being outdoors are basically here, we have taken quite a few steps to transform the eyesore that is our landscaping.  I shared step one with you guys last week, and I foreshadowed that step two involved some mulch.

After a delivery of 8 yards {we still need 4 more} and quite a bit of sweat equity on the boys part {LOVE them}, our beds have finally came to life!

{These pictures were taken on different days and with different equipment...that's why there is different light, amounts of pollen in the beds and equipment strewn throughout the yard.  Forgive me!}












Things are not finished yet.  These pictures were "pre-tree appointment", we still need to get a strip of sod to go in the dirt that is left in the bed to the left of the front door and we need to mulch the bed on the other side of the driveway and continue to spread the mulch around the side of the house.

All that aside, I think it still looks a lot better than it used to!  Now, a couple before and afters {errr, progress shots} for fun. :)









Anyone else get their landscape on lately?!?!

19 comments:

  1. It looks so good! The before and after is crazy town. How did you lay the stepping stones?? I love that they're all different shades of color.

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    1. I always forget just how bad our before pictures are. It's nice to remind ourselves how far we've come in the past couple months!

      Well all those flagstones were a "patio" in our backyard and sort trailed around the side of our house. So my hubby pulled them up, rinsed them off and then dropped them into the newly mulched area...kinda mushed them down into the mulch to set them. It's one of my favorite areas now!!

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  2. OMG it looks great!! Serious improvement!! I love all your choices for plants, and the black mulch is so crisp!

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  3. What a difference! Great job! What types of trees did you use in the front? I'm in the market...

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    1. Thank you, Christine! :) The two sets of bigger trees that flank our house are holly trees and dogwood trees. {They were there when we moved in.} Then the flowering tree to the left of the steps is a dwarf apple tree {only $35 from Home Depot} and the weeper to the right of the steps is a weeping pussy willow tree {our splurge at $70 from Home Depot}. I love them and they are both going to stay small, which we wanted since they are in the front of our house.

      Hope that helps!!

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  4. Wow! Love everything you guys have done so far. I'm also a huge fan of BLACK mulch. I hate the red stuff though. I've been landscaping a bit but I'm sadly nowhere close to making a difference like you guys have!

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    1. Thank you so much, Diana! We love the really dark mulch too. I have to admit, I'm not a red mulch kinda' girl either.

      And I'm sure it's more of a difference than you think! Can't wait to see your progress! :)

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  5. Wow! What a difference! You've done a great job. We have mulch sitting in our garage waiting to be spread.... since last summer. Hopefully we can jump on that this year! You've certainly made me want to do it when I get home! lol

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    1. Thanks Christine! You can do it...get on that mulch! You'll love the difference it makes. :)

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  6. What a huge difference! The before photos kind of make it look like a jungle. Now it's so pretty!!
    I need to mulch our front flower bed. I planted new flowers and put down weed block weeks ago, but never put down any mulch...

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    1. Oh my gosh, Debbie...it truly was a jungle! I even titled the post about the lawn "Welcome to the Jungle" hahaha!

      I bet some mulch would finish your beds off nicely! :)

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  7. I have become such a follower of your blog! I love seeing all of the transformations! My fiance and I recently bought and moved into our first house last week and you definitely inspire me to have goals of renovation! Keep up the great work! I know first hand that clearing out trees and bushes is A LOT of work!

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    1. I'm so happy you are following along with us! That made my day! :)

      And congratulations on your new place! That is so exciting!! {I'm heading over to check out your blog now!}

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  8. Wow...It's looking so much better!! I love door color so much too.

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  9. It's amazing how much of a difference a little mulch makes! We really need to get out and mulch our yard! And I also LOVE the door! ;)

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  10. That looks like so much work, but it is really paying off! What an improvement :)

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