Matt and I have been working on getting our yard back into shape this Spring.
Wait....let me rephrase that.
My sweet husband has been getting our yard back into shape this Spring, while I watch and complain about how I hate yard work!
The only part I like doing is planting the flowers. It's not hard, and you get to see all of your hard work in bright colors!!
Those are purple vincas, and I'm still trying to decide what I want to put behind them.
These are purple vincas and yellow marigolds!!
The previous owners of our house had some really good landscaping in the front, but the side of our house was just out of control. We decided to just wipe the majority of it out and start all over.
Let's do a little before and after pictures, shall we?
Before:
(this picture was taken last summer. Over the winter, our big tree was almost touching the ground and all the other stuff was even more out of control than it it in this picture.)
After:
(We also got our fence stained!)
Now we just need an "after, after" picture. Hopefully that will be coming soon. We have a blank slate to work with, we just have to figure out what to plant. It gets super hot on this side of our house, as it gets the afternoon sun. Any ideas??
One of our clients at work has a big energy efficiency campaign, so I actually know more about the answer to your question than I ever cared to...
ReplyDeleteThe best option for keeping that side of the house cool is trees--big ones, but that's not always the most cost-effective option. The next best thing is reflective screens (they come in white and black) that will keep the sun out of your windows.
The yard looks great by the way!