Tweaking the front yard

After having the landscaping done in the front we kind of breathed a sigh of relief and just enjoyed it for a while, but slowly, little things have started to bother us and we've thought of ways to "tweak" the space. And on a whim, as usual, we turned our lazy weekend into a workhorse of a time and now we can't move!
Ha! This is what it looked like right after we finished all of the landscaping.

First and foremost- we really don't like the mulch- our landscaper didn't really give us an option of what would be put down and then one day it was just done. It's fine but it just isn't my favorite- I really much prefer the black mulch.

2. We really want some edging for the flower beds. The landscaper told us they were not necessary and he didn't like to use them so we didn't but now it's really hard to mow/ edge around the flowers without cutting them, and the grass has started growing in towards the flowers in the bed and creating thatch

3. We need some small patio furniture BAD- now that the bushes are low and you can actually see the front porch, it looks empty

4. I want to put down some flagstones down behind the drip line of the house and in front patio. We talked about with the landscaper but he wanted to charge A TON for something I figured we can do down the road

5. I desperately want new numbers for our house- the ones that are there are small and dinky and barely visible from the street!

6. I want a new front door- which will probably happen shortly down the road. I really want a solid wood door, I just think they have a little more heft and LOOK like a front door, not just a patio door.

7. I want a new light fixture for the porch- the current one is just not cutting it. Again- dinky and just cheap looking.



So, this weekend we decided to start tackling our list!!! It was a ton of work but SO worth it- seriously, it looks so good AND the best part of it is we did it all on our own (pat on the back ME - and mainly P) AND the whole thing cost less than the landscapers estimate just to put down a few flagstones!

Our work:

pulling grass/ thatch out of the flower bed- notice the large pile on the sidewalk behind me

Added corner edging

All edging in!

Still needing a little clean up around the edges, but all edging in AND some nice black mulch brought in

I LOVE the way all the colors, and especially the fox tail ferns pop against the black!

We are already loving it even more!!