First Post!

The very basic goal for this blog is to share my experiences (good and bad) in the art of DIY gardening/landscaping. I will by no means, ever consider myself anything other than amateur gardener. My boyfriend and I moved into our first house about a year ago and while the inside of the house was beautifully renovated, nothing was done to the outside. Even before we signed the contract, I had paint colors and ideal plants I wanted to add. No one bothered to mention the incredible amount of time and physical labor it would take to get this mess of a landscape manageable. Not to mention the cost!!! Seeing that it has been a year since we moved in, I will let this blog post serve as a little review of everything we have done thus far. Our house prior to move in. A typical 60s split level with wood siding and recycled brick.

Our first major project was painting the exterior. We pressure cleaned EVERYTHING to make a clean surface for the paint to adhere to. We borrowed my Dad's industrial paint strayer and over a long weekend had everything but the window trim painted. (Notice in this pic the railings to the front door have started to come down.

Our next big project was adding a front deck and planters to the house. The planters are actually gutters for the roof that we added drainage holes to. They have worked perfectly for about 8 months (and 2 sets of annuals). You can also see the finished railing to the front door. We wanted something less bulky than what was there before.

Finally, our next big project, which is on going, is to remove the overgrown ivy from the hill and replace it with perennial shrubs. This has proven to be the most difficult and labor intensive aspect of our plan. After 3 Sundays of work, we are about 75% of the way done. I am keeping my fingers crossed we will be done next Sunday.