The area that we fixed up for my granddaughter consisted of a small flagstone "courtyard", roughly 20 X 30 ft., surrounded by flower beds that had been neglected for some time. She had found several really nice ceramic pots and planters in various sizes hidden under the deck that she had cleaned up that we were able to use. She had already used some of those to plant some herbs in a sunny corner of the deck. She also had a couple of cherry tomato plants and a few strawberry plants growing in one of the flower beds.
After pulling all the weeds (a full days labor), we found several plants and shrubs that had been practically hidden. We also found a beautiful ceramic birdbath complete with pedestal that had been taken apart and almost buried in the dirt under the weeds. She has a large jasmine which perfumes the yard, several large geraniums, calla lilies, ferns, camellias and a few other bushes that I didn't recognize. Someone has obviously loved and cared for this yard in the past.
We made a couple of trips to the garden center and came back with a Meyer lemon tree to plant in a huge, cobalt blue ceramic pot she had found, a fuchsia to hang on the deck, some striking foliage plants that we put into white ceramic pots that we placed here and there in the flower beds. We also got an assortment of annuals to fill in any empty spaces and to put in window boxes and hanging planters. We also put some sweet peas on a trellis we found hidden behind some bushes. We bought some trays of Scotch moss that we planted in clumps between the flagstones which will really look great after it fills in the gaps.
We didn't do much to the front of the house. There are several large roses which bloomed gorgeously this spring, some hibiscus and some other plants that I didn't know, but it had been better maintained than the area around the deck. We did plant some foxglove, snapdragons and daisies to fill in some blank spots and give it an old fashioned garden look.
All in all, we got a lot of dirt under our fingernails and some achy backs and knees, but the transformation was almost unbelievable! She's thrilled with the way it looks and we are quite pleased with our efforts.
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