Welcome to my humble abode. ;) So this old house that we love so dearly...came with a lot of trees and some great established plantings. Several of which...are now GONE! We all five worked our fingers to the bone yesterday after church and the most notable change was definitely pulling the ginormous holly bushes out from in front of the house. Oh, and cutting down the 8 ft. monster bushes (I don't know what they are) from the right side. You can see how it looked before here (our Christmas pic 2008)...
The monster hedge is just covering the house up. I think some updated landscape could really do some anti-aging to the place (built in 1973). Ah yes, we've got our work cut out for us don't we!? We also removed a crazy jasmine vine on the back fence and cut down a dead tree in the back. It looks so much better...I'm sure our neighbors think so too!!! We are DIY-ers all the way. I've been perusing landscape and garden design ideas here to figure out what I'm going to do as far as a landscape plan for the house (where we removed the bushes in front). I probably should have done this last fall...but spring has my thumb turning green :) Anybody know of any good garden blogs...oh, and we live in the south. Or I'd love advice from you green thumbers out there.
I raked about a bazillion million leaves yesterday and the kids helped (a little :)...mostly just jumped in the leaves.
Scott had the bright idea to put the leaves onto a huge tarp we had and he rolled it up and pulled it (with his truck) to the compost pile we have. I wish I would have gotten a picture of that! It was about 7 ft high/wide and 10 ft long I still have tons of leaves to remove...at least it is awesome exercise and I'm trying to get back to that.
The back yard is a shady sanctuary...we just LOVE it. In the summer, it is shaded all day long with the monster trees that provide a shield from the hot summer sun. But imagine if you will all the leaves that get trapped inside this fenced area...yes, this is the downfall of the shady haven. This pic was taken last summer.
But I'm all about low maintenance with some container color! LOL! Our 3 acres is anything BUT low maintenance. Well, I guess it's as low maintenance as can be for 3 acres. Scott mows and mows and mows...and mows.
So about this front door. I have to be honest...I kind of like this pumpkin color. It was this color when we moved here and I just haven't gotten around to updating it. It needs fresh paint, and well, I'd like to change it now I think. I'm actually thinking something along this lines...
Is that crazy? I like the Mediterranean blue best. I usually like warm colors to "welcome" folks in...but with the house color...I just don't see red (my go to color) or burgundy's working, don't care for gold. Love a black door, but that is not an option. Trying to work with what's going on here...and I thought one of these colors might just look very classy and fresh...I could compensate with colorful floral accents in the soon to be plantings there in front and great wreath to the side of the door? I'd love some feedback here...suggestions welcome!
Oh gracious...I gotta get to work! Y'all have a great Monday!!!
xoxo jw
When I saw the first picture - I thought "that house needs a blue door" - and then I scrolled down and saw your swatches! :) I like Mediterranean Blue.
Posted by: Rebecca | March 15, 2010 at 12:48 PM
I love the two colors you have picked out! I'll let ya know if I come across some good gardening blogs! Hugs from Texas!
Posted by: Nancy Wyatt | March 15, 2010 at 01:02 PM
I can help you with suggestions but need to know what direction your house faces first to gauge the amount of direct sun you will receive. Do you know what growing zone you live in and what PH your soil has? I will email you separately with same questions.
Posted by: GiddyGardener | March 15, 2010 at 01:20 PM
I think the Mediterranean blue would work best with the tone of browns you have in the wood and brick. The other colour would look too washed out. As for flowers...lots of them and different varieties and heights. Having them at different bloom times will constantly change the colour in the garden. That is what I did and the neighbours are always walking past my house and commenting on my garden.
Posted by: Tina | March 15, 2010 at 10:06 PM
To be honest..I am not a lover of blue but if I had to choose one,it would be the darker of the two. I love the style of your home and your back yard is so inviting!!
Posted by: Jersey Girl Anne | March 16, 2010 at 07:02 PM
I would strongly suggest getting rid of the screen door...it really detracts from the look of the front door entrance. Also, I hired a professional landscaper to draw a plan for our garden and we were really pleased because we could then work on it progressively over the years. We did the DIY way but it never looked as good as I wanted it and we spent a fortune on plants and shrubs that didn't work out (even with advice from garden centers) so this was a great investment. Don't think either shade of blue works...I used the sunwashed blue in the '80's on my door so it feels dated to me! Sorry! Maybe more blue, less green, in the shade you pick?
Posted by: Karin | March 17, 2010 at 06:29 AM