‘Baby’s got Back’

Okay so I couldn’t resist the title.  Thought it would be fitting since I’ll be sharing the backside of my home today.  🙂  Last time I posted the front of my home and based on the nervous feelings I felt after I hit “Publish” you would have thought I was sharing my most embarrassing moment ever.

As I reflected on why I was feeling so vulnerable after the post I realized it was because for the past 4+ months you have only known my home by it’s inside.  Perhaps it’s kind of like when people get to know someone online before meeting in person.  You wonder if  you are what they expected??  But now that the ice has been broken, I’m over it, and I’m already on to showing you my backside (my home’s backside that is). 🙂

We will go to the back of the house around this corner….

 

On the side of the house is a ginormous outdoor chia pet named chi-chi-chi-chia.

 

 

Anyways, that’s what is looks like when it’s not in bloom (which is most of the time) but when it is in bloom it is gorgeous (1 week out of the year)!  It’s bloom this year timed perfectly with the Powder Bathroom Reveal so I was able to cut some off and enjoy it and it actually dried nicely so it’s now a permanent fixture.

 

 

So after our Chia pet on steroids you will see this view

 

We have some more mulching to do but let’s not talk about that.  🙂  What I really wanted to show you were the garden bricks (in the photo above).  When we bought our home the flower beds were super over grown and weedy.  After we weeded we were happily surprised that some of the beds had been landscaped.  We hadn’t been able to tell before hand because of all the weeds.

I used an electric edger I acquired from a garage sale (for $8) to edge all the flower beds and then I found thirty-three large garden bricks on Craigslist for $15.  I lined the entire length of the backyard flower bed and can’t say enough about how much better in looked after that, not to mention that it has helped the grass stay out of the beds.

 

After you pass the purple irises which are sadly dying

 

you will see our back patio.  More on that later but first let me tell you about this flower bed.  It is lined with about 7 Hydrangea plants in a row.  We aren’t sure if the previous owners had something in the blank space above it that bit the dust or what but we do know that we have a space that needs to be filled.  Not sure what to do.  I’m guessing we’ll put in 3-4 small to medium flowering bushes but if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them.

 

 

Just so you know that blank space was not always so blank.  It had a serious grass (not sure what kind of grass) infestation.  The first Summer we were here my husband spent hours weeding it out only for it to return full force the next year.  I didn’t want this to happen again so I researched what to do.  Most of the advice I read was to use some kind of grass killer spray but I was too worried that it would affect the hydrangeas.

  So I literally took matters into my own hands and tilled the whole space with a shovel and my hands.  I made sure I got every last grass root system in there.  It almost took the whole Summer but it worked!  And as an added benefit I went into to labor 3 weeks early!:-)  I had the shovel out working in this flower bed the morning I went  into labor.  Could de-rooting grass be the new labor inducer? I’m sure they’ll be some desperate women willing to try it.;-)

The Hydrangeas are getting are just starting to bloom!

 

So onto the patio.  Thankfully the previous owner’s had this patio built.  However, it hadn’t been well maintained or decorated.  Here is the

Before.

And here are some

Afters.

 

There are still more things I would like to do with the back patio but I am happy with how it’s coming along.  In case you’re interested here are the sources for the items on the patio.

Sources:

Chatham Pottery Barn Table- $100 at Pottery Barn Outlet

Umbrella Stand- $30 at Pottery Barn Outlet

9 ft. Umbrella- $42 on Wayfair.com

Chairs- $11 each at Walmart

Bench- $5 garage sale Sofa Table that I turned into a Bench

2 Seat Glider- Free- gift from In-Laws

Houndstooth Rug- $25 from Overstock.com

Blue Planters- $25 each from Homegoods (my Mother’s Day gift last year)

2 Tiered Metal Flower Basket- $2 from a garage sale

 

Here is a Before shot taken from the patio.

 

And here is the After.

It helps that it is Summer doesn’t it???  I also added a couple of blue wooden outdoor chairs that I found on a curb for free (I made sure they were getting rid of them before I took them).  The little table in between was a few dollars at a garage sale.  Isn’t this white blooming tree delightful?

 

I don’t know what it is called but it’s pretty petals remind me of something I’d see in Hawaii.

 

And did you notice the one yellow lily that has bloomed in the photo above.  Soon that entire area will be filled with an assortment of yellow and reddish lilies .

 

Last but certainly not least is our lilac bush.  I don’t know whether to be proud or embarrassed on it’s size and girth.  If they had lilac bush contests at the fair I think mine would win and the script on it’s ribbon would declare ‘Baby’s got Back’. 🙂

For reals though I’m going to need to prune it back about 1/3 of it’s size once it is completely done blooming.  Note:  I highly recommend planting a lilac bush in front of a main level window.  It is so nice to open the window and have it’s intoxicating fragrance drift throughout the house when it is in bloom.  Mmmmm, if it could only bloom all year!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to tour my home’s backside! 😉  Now if we could only transport you here and enjoy a glass of lemonade together.  We’d sit in those blue chairs under the shady tree and talk for hours I’m sure! 🙂  Enjoy your day!