The Knights who formally said “Nii” said that I must bring you more shrubbery. Or bring it to my yard.
So here it is – the shubbery – only slightly larger.
(My apologies to those of you who have never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It’s quite a shame that you are living an existence without being able to quote it on demand.)
According to the plan that I had devised for the front yard, the Forsythia, Hydrangea, and Nellie R Stevens would go on the left hand side of the island…along with some azaleas, a japanese camellia, annuals, and limelight hydrangeas.
What are limelight hydrangeas?
Only one of the most spectacular plants in existance.
Why is this plant so ridiculously awesome?
Well, it basically should be called the Chuck Norris of flowering shrubs. It is hardy. Can you say Texas Ranger?
And pests and diseases don’t bother it. See – totally Chuck, right?
And it changes colors from light chartreuse in the summer to deep pink in the fall. Just like Mr. Martial Arts can change fighting styles easily according to his opponent.
Basically it kicks butt.
Almost as much as Crepe Myrtles do. Speaking of which, we wanted a few lovely crepes to incorporate in the bed in front of our garage. Remember this scenario before we started our full-blown yard renovation?
And after we planted a few bushes, it looked like this and then grew a little bit to the situation below:
…and now….(drumroll please – just tap your fingers softly on the desk or laptop – one hundred points if you do)
TAH DAH!
The roses really took off runnin, huh? God bless slow release fertilizer 🙂
And I think that the crepes give the area much needed height. We are just gonna have to be careful to prune these suckers so that they don’t get overly huge. Here is the transformation from another angle:
I just can’t wait till next year when the shrubs get even bigger. Like Arnold’s guns.
What’s up with the manly movie star comments today, Katie?
I don’t know. I do feel as though the “ugly” in our yard got a quick punch to the family jewels. Highya!
Moving on the limelights. My little chuckies. My kick-other-plants-where-the-sun-don’t-shine hydrangeas.
We just followed the plan for shubbery placement.
And then mulched.
More specifically, Jeremy mulched.
Wonderful boyfriend with a wonderful father.
See what I mean about wonderful? Pastor Dad was a champ helping us get the mulch spread out. And putting up with the paparazzi 🙂
And my family really helped out too. My sister, my little brother, my dad, even Cole (my five year old nephew) came to assist with the plantings project.
My mom came over several times to help out and dig holes. What a dole-higger she is too! Seriously. This woman could win a contest. She could do three for my one. I tried to tell her that when I call her ‘a beast’ it is a VERY good thing…she is unconvinced. Dang old-fashioned-lady. With the beasty holes. And the ridiculously awesome attitude. Who could out-dig a dozen grown men. Dang, I hope I can do that when I grow up. while entertaining a five-year old.
So there it is – one shrubbed yard.
Just as a forewarning, this project is nowhere near complete. I do have a few little updates to share with you but for the most part, this Georgia heat is getting too hot to finish the other side just yet. Me thinks that the shrubbery on the right hand side will have to wait till fall when it cools off a bit. So stay tuned for future updates on plantings (and maybe a little limelight hydrangea update!) come Autumn.
In the meantime, share with me about your current yard situation. Have you ever planted a limelight? Or any other shrub that in your opinion kicks serious booty? How bout your helpers – do your in-laws or parents pitch in with a shovel, an axe or the know-how on design? Or are they like the Governator – muscles turned management?
Happy Gardening!
Yay! It looks beautiful! I love plants and flowers, makes all the difference. Bonus points for family gardening, good times.
ya’ll are always up to something! It’s fun though, rather than sitting around doing nothing! 🙂 Looks awesome Katie
I’m going to need to find some Chuck Norris plants! Mine don’t seem to take care of theirselves very well and die easily (ok, I don’t actually help the situation by not watering…).
bahaha love the Monty Python reference! The shrubberies look fabulous, of course…”Come back! I’ll bite your legs off!”
How gorgeous! My husband has never seen Monty Python, and I even bought it on dvd, but he still hasn’t watched it with me. Tis a shame, I agree. Also: the broadway musical based on it: Spamalot? AWESOME.
Wow! The change is so dramatic! Love. It. Your pictures are fantastic too!
Sadly we don’t have a yard, just a little patio which is currently home to 2 tomato plants, 1 pepper plant and mint. I guess it’s something though 🙂
My front yard is all green. It desperately needs mulching and I’d love to add color to it but have no idea where to start. I don’t want to mess it up, considering I know nothing about plants and gardening. We do have a beautiful crepe myrtle on the side of the house, at least.
I have three limelight hydrangeas in my front yard and I love them – their blooms are gorgeous! Let us know if you learn how and when to prune them – still unsure on that.
Wow. The transformation really is amazing! I can’t wait to see it as it progresses.
Love the remake of your yard. We are in the process of completely re-doing our backyard. Old redtips have been removed – stumps included, limbs from two large oaks have been trimmed and now we are waiting on the privacy fence to be installed. Then we’ll begin on the landscaping. I want one of those limelights 🙂
I’m loving following your yard transformation – it’s looking awesome!! While I make landscapers want to cry with my lack of gardening skills, my hubby and I have tackled laying sod and my brother-in-law recently landscaped the front and back yard of a house that we just finished flipping – he was amazing, and I can’t believe he survived the Texas heat! He did an awesome job – http://itsgreattobehome.net/2009/07/14/our-flip-backyard-oasis/. Can’t wait to see the rest of your transformation!
Katie – do you have a coconut tree in your plan? Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? (gosh I love that movie!!! – I’m waiting for you to break out some Zoolander one of these days)
LOVELOVELOVE everything you picked out. You have my favorites in there! And I’m so glad there’s a camelia in the bunch.
I have 2 limelight hydrangeas in my yard and they are the bomb.com. Just SO pretty! My mom has about a million at their house and they are enormous – you just wait! (make sure to read up on how to prune them! – important!!!) And you have a great family to help out…my manual laborers (aka parents) also helped me overhaul our front yard…which is about 1/50th the size of yours so only took a day, but was hard nonetheless!
Can’t wait to see it explode next spring!
Hi Liz, I checked out that oasis makeover – and HOLY COW! loving it…I realize it was just a flip but can I come over and take a dip?!?!
Leslie – a privacy fence – J to the ELL to the US!
Hey there Lauren! Pruning techniques recommended by the nursery was that it was best to do it in late fall or early spring…since these take well to hard pruning – don’t be scared to reduce the plant by 1/2. Good LUCK with those sheers!
XO – Katie
Wowza, that’s gorgeous! Love Crepe Myrtles and roses!
Wow! I cannot believe how much your plants have already grown. Totally impressive.
#1 – I must join you in the Monty Python quotes. It’s like a magnet… when you hear someone quote it, you must do the same!! So here you are: “Is it behind the rabbit?” “It IS THE RABBIT!!!” and of course “Come back here – I’ll bite you off at the knees!!” *sigh* I heart that movie.
and
#2 – Please can you explain to me how you are able to save up and pay for all of these awesome transformations? How long have you lived in this house, exactly? My Mcstudly and I (husband, that is) have lived in our townhome for coming up to a year, now, and we haven’t done diddly compared to you all. We’re slackers, and all, but I have SO many ideas!! And to be fair, McStudly was gone or a few months right after we moved (thanks to the mighty Air Force for stealing him away) and he’ll be gone again starting in October for 6 months+ (thanks again for that, USAF!) Anywho – I guess what I’m REALLY saying if you’reever in the MD area and have a bit of free-time, I’d LOVE some helping hands this fall and winter!!! My teenie little two aren’t going to be quite enough for all that we need to get doen around here!
*sigh again*
Hi Sarah –
Your question was “How do we save up?”…Well, to give you the condensed version, we both work full time and don’t have any kids. And the majority of our disposable income gets rolled into a savings account. Besides that – we haven’t spent that much money on the house in total. Take for example this yard transformation. The plans for a lanscape designer can cost from $300 – $2500!!! Since I did them, they cost us $0. We figured that the cost of our yard plan (with the retaining walls, grading, sprinkler system) generally would go for about $17 a square foot. With about 5000 square feet in our front yard…this was completely out of question. But with doing our own labor, shopping around for the best prices, finding rock for our wall and of course, enlisting friends and family to help out, we managed to do our yard for the total of about $3K (vs. $85,000 of a pro coming in). Sure we still have a ways to go…and we have to wait for our baby plants to grow up a bit…but we feel that the return will be worth it in the end. I alreadly feel happier every time I pull in the drive!
Hope this helps answer your question!
Good Luck saving your pennies!
XO – Katie
I <3 your Python references. There's nothing like some well placed British humor.
I <3 Python references. There's nothing like well placed British humor.
I just commissioned my bestie’s mom to be our landscape designer (she does it as a hobby). Our patio is boxy and bland, and I can’t wait to spruce it up! I love hydrangeas – I wonder if limelights will roundhouse-kick up in New England as well as they do in the ATL.