Spring Updates!

Like the rest of our house, the front landscaping was very dated when we bought it with each shrub shaped into a ball and "variety" consisting of azaleas, rhododendrons  and hydrangeas  Don't get me wrong, these are great shrubs, but when they are 50 years old, woody, and clumped together, it is not a good look.

My mom and Aunt Nancy ripped out one of the azaleas and my mom and I tackled a second one. This opened up the front landscaping next to the house and now you can see the trunk shape of the rhododendrons that were hiding. We headed to Al's and Home Depot and picked up some fun new plants for the space. I was on the hunt for color and texture to add interest and curb appeal.

The Plant List:
1. David Viburnum - has glossy dark green leaves and metallic turquoise blue fruit. 
2. PJM Elite Rhododendron - I know another rhodi...but this one blooms super early and has beautiful purple flowers.
3. Madrone - there are different varieties and I wanted one with dark cinnamon bark with mini deep pink flowers.
4. Dwarf Japanese Skimmia - shiny leaves with red berries.
5. Forsythia - bright yellow flowers in early spring. This plant reminds me of my grandmother who would make a large indoor display of these branches each year.
6. Kaleidoscope Abelia - beautiful orange, red, and green leaves with white flowers in the summer through fall.
7. Sweet Flag Ogon grass - variegated white and green low height grass.
8. Popcorn Drift Groundcover Rose - Light yellow, as the name suggests, roses that are low to the ground and self clean.

Here are the before and after pics:

BEFORE - shrub balls!

Spring craft! My mom and I also updated the built in dining room china hutch by adding fabric to the back wall. We picked up some tag board and cut the pieces to fit inside the hutch. Then we used spray adhesive to mount the fabric to the tag board and folded over the fabric to  create a clean edge. It is easy to change and I think it gives it a more modern look.

BEFORE

BEFORE