Hi friends!! It sure has been sad not touching base with you guys on a daily basis since posting my March Madness, 31 Posts in 31 Days Recap. I’ve been working like crazy on my ceiling and it is looking SO good y’all!! I can’t wait to share!
Many of you follow along for my thrifty makeovers and budget redos. Ha ha those two things are actually the same, but you know what goes on around here, and that’s why you come back. (Thank you!!) Today I am bringing something out of my archives that you might not know about. My gardens! You’ll see them in the background of my pictures a lot when the nicer weather moves in. If gardens aren’t your thing, don’t run yet, because I have some great before and afters of my landscapes that anyone will be able to appreciate. I mean you do want to see what happens to this back yard, right?
This! This is what we did to this barren wasteland of a back yard:
Not too shabby eh?
You can read about my whole back yard makeover with befores and afters here:
For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to tackle our front yard at the same time. That was a little ambitious of us. It took us six months. Of course this was before my blogging days.
Here is my front yard before:
And a year after our makeover…
Wow, right?
You can see my whole front and side yard with befores and afters (taken a year after the makeover) here:
Front Yard Makeover (One Year Later)
In that post, you’ll also see the sad before of my favorite spot for taking photos. Here it is at it’s best.
I built that circular stone patio out of old landscaping stones. It’s my favorite feature!
If you are thinking about starting a landscaping project, I put everything I learned into one complete post to help get you started:
How to Create a Landscape from Scratch
And when you get things going, here is the easiest way I’ve found to water my gardens:
The Easiest Way to Water your Garden
I figured sharing these pretty posts from the past are not only perfect for Spring, but they are much more interesting than sharing ceiling progress shots!
Hope you enjoyed a little something different from me. I was finally able to get outside this weekend and get it ready for Spring. I love seeing everything waking up again!
Hope it’s finally warming up where you are too!
XOXO,
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ColleenB. ~ Texas says
Beautiful. Love seeing the Before and After pictures. You done a great job in your yard make-over
It’s Amazing what a year can do. Rule of thumb when planting new plants; the 1st year they sleep, 2nd year they creep, and the 3rd year they leap.
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Colleen! You are so right. They sure did leap!
Heather @ Viral Upcycle says
Yep..wow. That’s fabulous! We’ve been working on our yard for five years. Ridiculous huh? With my husband only being at home half of that time, it gets put off a lot. Finally I’m progressing more in my back yard. Im aspiring for something like yours. Hope to share this summer! Thanks for the recap.
Christy K. James says
Landscaping can be a huge undertaking! I think that’s why we decided to do it all at once. I knew if we waited to do the next space, it might never get done! We used all our tax return that year to just bust. it. out!
Cindi says
Great job Christy! Be careful with mulch up against your house, some may carry termites and/or draw them … another option would be river rock.
Christy K. James says
Good advice!
Carolyn Price says
You. Can. Do. Anything!
I am tempted to move to your neighborhood so you can help me with my pitiful yard.
Besides needing so much help, we have a serious deer problem. They devour everything. I contacted Invisible Fence and asked if they made collars large enough for deer. I was only 50% teasing.
Your yard is so beautiful! You are just amazing, Christy. So talented.
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Carolyn!! We back up to a 55mph roadway, so we have traffic noise…I guess we all have our issues. You can’t see that in the pretty pictures. 🙂
Annette says
Your yard posts are what brought me to your blog! Beautiful work!
Christy K. James says
Oh that’s great, Annette! So happy to have you following along with me! XO
Marie@The Interior Frugalista says
Holy, what a transformation Christy! Along with your furniture and home decor makeover talents, you have a green thumb too! Beautiful flower beds.
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Marie! We did all of our landscaping long before blogging, and I am so glad I thought to take all those before photos back then! 🙂
Becky says
Your gardens are AMAZING. I’ve been in love with them for a long time! I have had those posts saved forever, even before I had a pinterest account. : ) I really like how real-everyday-person your plans were. You know, like something I could do!
Christy K. James says
I’m so glad you enjoy my garden posts! I created my outdoor spaces with little to no experience and found very few resources to help me along the way. (This was before Pinterest was even on my radar.) So I really wanted to put together a post that would encompass the whole process. Thanks for the positive feedback! 🙂
andi says
I’m in love with your yard…that may have been the post that originally brought me to your blog! Ours is still a giant mud/weed pit. I wasn’t intimidated in the least drawing up a house plan from scratch, but that yard puts me in total brain freeze. I have almost an acre and I’m completely overwhelmed. My bestie down in TX works at a landscaping biz (and is involved with the owner ooh-la-la) and they are going to draw up some plans for me. I feel like a total loser not doing it all myself, but I’m sooo overwhelmed! I should take a small chunk at a time I guess…
I’m blathering on.
If I don’t get a front sidewalk poured soon, I’m moving out. Not.
xoxo
-andi
Christy K. James says
Now see, there is no way I could draw up a house plan! When we did our outdoor spaces, my hubby was giving my the green light so I ran with it and conquered every square inch outside before he changed his mind lol. I think it helps too that I have a tiny plot of land. I mean TINY. I’m not sure what I would do with an acre of land, but it looks like you have a great resource to point you in the right direction! It will look fabulous one day. 🙂
Marlyn says
Wow! Your summary of how to plan and create a garden was spot on. I write the landscape design column for one of the state garden club magazines and recently wrote a series of articles on how to do just what you did. Kudos, Christy! Your advice and illustrations were easy to understand and if your readers follow your steps, they’ll have the same success with their garden project that you did.
I agree that one of the first steps is to locate the utilities, a free, one call service. It certainly puts a damper on an otherwise great gardening day when you plant your petunia and accidentally cut the gas line for the entire neighborhood all in one fell swoop!
Reader Jackie had it right. Once the utilities are located, you’ll know not to build the outdoor patio and fireplace smack dap on top of them so that if you ever need a repair, it won’t involve destroying your hard work and investment.
If possible, install any irrigation system and hardscape first, then the plants, garden artwork etc. Roses are moveable, not so much irrigation pipes or rockwork.
A great source for affordable, (dare I say thrifty) plants, suited to your climate zone, and knowledgeable people who are happy to give you hints on how to grow them, is any local garden club plant sale. They are usually held in the spring and also, sometimes, in the fall. Most of these sales are filled with bargains! A great place to stock up and oftentimes, many of the clubs use much of the sale proceeds to fund scholarships. etc. It’s a win, win event.
Love your blog!
Christy K. James says
Wow Marlyn, thank you so much for the positive feedback! Utilities is a biggie, and I love the idea to look for a local garden club as a resource for plants! 🙂
Tiffany says
Christy ~ I have garden envy! I love how green and lush your garden is, and the great color from your flowers. But what I love most are your Hydrangeas! My poor, pathetic plant is barely a quarter the size of yours. Maybe one of these days it will grow to its full glory?! Thanks for the great inspiration!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Tiffany! These are Endless Summer hydrangeas. They bloom on old wood and new wood, meaning they will continue to bloom all summer even on new growth! I have had great luck with them. Like older varieties, they also prefer a mostly shady spot, which they have on that side of my house. Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
Tanya says
Hi Christy, what a fantastic job you did…love the before and after pics along with the 1 year later…any chance you could post 2 years later pics? I think it would be wonderful to see how your garden fills in and it would give people a really good idea of how much and how quickly plants really do grow especially for those impatient gardeners like me who tend to spend more on larger plants…thanks again for your wonderful posts, they have been such a pleasure to view/read.
Christy K. James says
So glad you enjoy my posts, Tanya! I’d love to share! Believe me when I say they WILL grow! I might even allow a little more space between things than I originally did if I had to do it over again. 🙂
MaryJean says
I want your backyard!! I saved this post to refer to for spring and I think spring has finally sprung in WNY. Well, maybe . . . anyway I have 2 acres to contend with and I need help with getting started. My son constructed an island around my tree in the center of the yard and it is doing well. Just need to work on the rest of the yard!
Christy K. James says
Oh how fun to have a blank slate! Good luck with making it fabulous! XO