kitty: one summer goal complete with a new front yard landscape

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with knitting, but I thought I would share my outdoor project. I am pretty proud of how the front yard looks, though I had very little to do with the actual work.

The summer nightmare of finding someone to put in a new low maintenance landscape design is finally over and I couldn't be happier. At the beginning of May I started looking for someone to rip out the old landscaping and to start over. I would have thought that in this economy people would have jumped at the opportunity to do the work.

I talked with 15 landscape people, with some of them taking until the beginning of July to get back with an actual quote. Most of them didn't listen to my budget constraints or just didn't care that I didn't want to spend a small fortune on the work. When you are told a range and come back with something 10K over it is not likely that the homeowner is going to go with the design.

But it has all worked out. M and I have ended up with a garden that is really east and west in concept. Or more like southern and eastern with a mix of traditional Asian plants (Hostas, asiatic Lilies, Japanese Pine Tree, Asian star junipers, and Zen dry pond) and Southern ( Sweet Shrubs/Carolina All Spice, Virginia Sweet Magnolia, knock out roses, azaleas, and hydrangeas.) I really can not wait for the sweet shrubs to bloom. Growing up we has sweet shrubs the lined the wooded area of the fields.

I didn't get my Dainty Bess Rose, but there is a spot for her in the garden. We did end up with these lovely fragrant knock outs.

Here is the design that I ended up coming up with to have the landscaper quote. It didn't end up exactly like the mock up, but the things that were moved I feel were for the best. Now to just find someone that can actually get rid of my weed problem in the back yard. I promise a crafty post tomorrow...