Not Every House Belongs in a Magazine

My house won't be featured any time soon in a gardeners magazine. They won't be coming to take pictures of my "spacious yard" or my "inviting garden." Fact is, I live in town. On a simple street, with a simple yard and in a simple house. I love looking at the magazines with the fancy houses, and the huge back yards and all the trees for shade, but I don't have those options.

I've always felt that "common" folks like myself get left out of the garden magazines. Rarely have I picked one up and found a house with faded siding, a cracked sidewalk by the street and houses in the panoramic and back view of the pictures. Doesn't happen. In fact, I have to work hard to take a picture in my yard, unless I'm aiming straight down, that won't include a car, asphalt or a neighbors house. However, that doesn't mean I can't have nice flowers and make my place look nice.

When we first moved into our current house, evergreen shrubs had been allowed to grow, never trimmed, all around the house. It was bad. Expecting Tarzan to swing on a vine bad. I'm not an evergreen fan any how, but these things were ridiculous. Full of wasps, mosquitoes and poison ivy. This was the extent of landscaping we had.

So, early in the Spring, I pulled all the bushes out, leaving wide open space around the house and several places around the yard. It was simply deciding what I wanted and going with it. As you will see in the photos, and as I've already said, my house isn't magazine worthy, but for an "in town" house, it looks pretty good. Here are a few suggestions on how you can do the same.

1. Don't be afraid of change.
A lot of people would have been afraid to pull all those bushes and would have tried to trim them up and live with them. But any thing small, i.e. bushes, shrubs, plants etc, can easily be removed. It took some labor, but our city offers to bring a dumpster ($10.00 for two days) and hauled away all of the bushes. Check with your city and see if they offer something similar. Once the bushes were gone, it was a simple matter of tilling the ground and preparing the dirt. Virtually over night the house looked completely different.

2. It doesn't have to be done all today nor take a lot of money.
I know people are impatient, and nobody likes to wait. However, I let the new beds sit for an entire year. I mulched them over, and let them sit. Why? Two reasons. 1. I didn't have the money to spend on landscaping. 2. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. It's always a good idea to know for sure what you want. Again, if your house is simple, then grabbing the newest magazine may be pointless and frustrating. The best thing to do is go to your local store where plants are sold and spend some time just walking around. Pay attention to growth heights and sun/shade needs. Get an idea of what you will spend and then shop around some more. You can always find them cheaper. Don't be afraid to wait until late summer to plant as that is when things really go on sale.

3. It doesn't have to look great, you just have to like it.
So what if your neighbor doesn't like marigolds. If you like them, plant them. i never decorate according to style, but always to taste. I like perennials, simply because I don't have to plant every year. It may cost a little more in the onset, but it will pay off big in the long run. I have many perennials that come back yearly and I love the way they look. Here's the good news. If I don't like a plant, I can move it. Many people seem to forget that these things are transferable.

4. It's all about relaxing and enjoying what you do.
Landscaping is very therapeutic to me. I love to work in the dirt and I love to watch the plants grow and mature. I enjoy gardening, not because I want mine to be the best looking in town, but simply because I think flower and the creations of God are beautiful. I believe each flower has it's own life, color and purpose. They are to be enjoyed. I love taking my simple chair, into my simple yard and watching my simple flowers.

Sure, I'll never be featured on the front of Gardeners weekly. But my neighbors love the new look of the house. They have made several comments about how much "better" it looks and how "beautiful" everything is. My wife loves it. The family enjoys it. That's good enough for me.

Just call me simple.