Wednesday, March 22, 2006

A New House

No, not really, it just feels that way! We've lived in our house for about 6 years and one of the things I've always hated has been the front yard. We can't grow grass very well, too many trees, pine needles, a high water table and very sandy soil. (That's what happens when you live in the Pine Barrens!) Our house was also built on reclaimed swamp land, which means if we get the teeny-tiniest amount of rain, it floods. Since we're now staying in the house, we decided it was time to do something about it. We called on the experts at a little bird store near us called "A Wild Bird Oasis". We love this place and were so happy that they reopened after our floods 2 years ago...they were completely flooded out after having only been open a few months.

We decided we wanted to go with lots of perennials, virtually no grass (we have lots of moss though!) and a very natural landscape, that would hopefully reduce the flooding during rainstorms. We had the paved driveway ripped up and replaced with stone. Then Dan came with his crew and did his magic. I'm thrilled with how it looks (especially my new walkway and dry creek bed!) I can't wait until the perennials can go in and to see how it will look come summer.
So, the top picture is the "before" and the two below are "afters". Enjoy!

11 comments:

Cher said...

wow! what a huge improvement! I wish we could afford a similar transformation...it really looks so wonderful...

Tracey said...

oh what fun, carolyn!! it looks beautiful! enjoy. :o)

Finn said...

Carolyn, it looks absolutely beautiful!! I love it..*S* And just between you and me? I'm sooo glad you didn't move..*VBS* It looks like such a perfect spot for you..*S*

Pam said...

nice! we re-worked the yard last year, mostly the backyard where we gather with family and friends. How nice to come home to a wonderful new entry way, thanks for sharing your photos.

Laurie said...

WOW Carolyn...what a difference! I like the new yard!
Hugs
Laurie

Darcie said...

Am I next???

Your landscaping project looks very successful. Lovely! Good luck with it.

Mary Johnson said...

How exciting to *fix* a problem and have it look great. We lived in Florida for years and had that same swamp thing going on when it rained!

Nines said...

What a great solution!! I love gardening, but I don't seem to have enough time to do what I want to do! Make sure you post a mid-summer picture!!

Holly said...

Yes, I want to see it when you get the perrenials in and in bloom. Looks great!

Jeanne said...

The landscaping looks wonderful, Carolyn! Will look forward to those perennials!
Jeanne

Patti said...

Wow Carolyn! What a difference! That really looks great!