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‘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….

exterior home tour

 

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

 

chia pet on steroids

That would be Provident Home Design.com. I can spell.

 

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.

 

Reflection

 

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

exterior house tour

 

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

purple iris

 

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.

 

exterior house tour

 

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!

hydrangeas

 

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.

exterior home tour

And here are some

Afters.

exterior house tour

exterior house tour

exterior house tour

 

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.

Backyard

 

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?

blue chairs

 

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

white flower

 

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 .

yellow lily

 

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!

lilac bush

 

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!

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before and afters// budget decor// decorating// money saving tips// reflections6 Comments

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Comments

  1. Mary Ison says

    Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 9:52 am

    It looks so inviting, Tamara! You sure got some great deals on your furniture. I think the white blossoms are a type of dogwood.

    Reply
  2. Tamara says

    Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 10:32 am

    Thanks, Mary! I will look into dogwoods!

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Lippi (Decorating Delirium) says

    Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    I loved your title Tamara! You have so much space where you live. You would die if you saw our yard! Also, I would love to have a Pottery Barn outlet to shop at! Your yard is lovely. xo

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 8:24 pm

      Thanks, Jennifer! A lot of the space back there is owned by the neighborhood association. Which is great because we don’t have to mow it but get to enjoy it. There’s always the fear though that someday they would do something with the land. Hopefully that won’t happen!

      Reply
  4. janie hagmann says

    Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    /the white tree is a kousa dogwood

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      Thanks so much, Janie! I just looked it up and you are right. It threw me off at first that there are so many variations in it’s shape and size! But I have always loved Dogwoods and am happy to know now that I have one! :-).

      Reply

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Hello and Welcome!! My name is Tamara and this is where I share my tips and tricks to creating a beautiful home! If you are new, feel free to start HERE.

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