What a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Today was a nice day for a ride in your horse-drawn buggy. It was also a nice day for....

Yardwork!!!

We got our landscaping in!! Yea!! Hoooray!! Yipee!!
You know, we get by with a little help from our friends. Allen and Todd provided the "truckage" necessary for hauling all the goods: 2 scoops of dirt, 1 scoop of mulch, 8 bushes, monkey grass (variegated liriope), a crepe myrtle and a silver maple tree.

From bottom to top: Dwarf Buford Holly Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana', Nandina-Fire Power, and Lochinch Butterfly Bush Buddleia davidii 'Lochinch'.

Carl and I have been working, working, working on getting the area prepped. We removed the grass (and replanted some of it in the back yard), lined with newspaper (it's eco-friendly and FREE) set edging, loaded and unloaded dirt in a wheel barrow. Then the MEN came in and rigged the drainage from the gutters and moved more dirt and dug holes and planted plants and laid mulch and much much more. Allen was the aesthetic master. Even though I had a plan made up, he helped it become perfect making sure everything was in exactly the right place.

Variegated Monkey Grass, aka Liriope. I like the purple flowers.

This is a Crepe Myrtle Catawba. It's going to have almost purple flowers blooming on it. I kept seeing these everywhere around here and LOVED them. I HAD to have one in my own yard.

We've got a bit of a drainage problem between us and the neighbor. We put in some Arctic Blue Willow Salix purpurea 'Nana' to help soak up some of that water.

The side of the house where the willow bushes are.

Last but not least, OUR TREE!!!! It's a Silver Maple Acer saccharinum. It's over 9 feet tall and was $32!! Can you believe that? We had budgeted for $150 on a tree for the back. We were able to use the savings for the butterfly and willow bushes.
Thanks to Dave and Todd for digging the hole and giving our tree a place to grow grow grow!

The total bill was just over $400.00. And yes, this was budgeted for. Even though the charges went on the Credit Card, we have the cash to pay for it. Ahh, landscaping debt-free. I'm so happy to have this done. We still have some azaleas to put in, but I think Carl and I can handle that on our own. I would have liked to get my hands a little more dirty, but I had motherly duties to attend to. Oh! I almost forgot! I want to thank Cousin Tyrza for playing with Brady while I was out working. She has definitely earned a "video game playdate" at our house. Thanks, Cuz! And thanks again to the men that made it possible. Without your gracious service we COULD have done it, but it would have taken a long time and we would have been VERY VERY sore.