RFOA Joint Post: Dirty Jobs: Big Landscape Reveal!

Today my pals at Real Farmwives of America & Friends are doing a join post on Dirty Jobs.  




Well, I didn't get to help as much or get as dirty as I had planned, but we have Phase 1 of our landscaping done!  WOOOOO!  Big thanks to Brock and Heidi for all their hard work.  I am more than happy to share contact information with anyone wishing it!

This might be picture heavy, so get ready to roll the cursor!

First, the ingredients.... Oh this isn't my Gooseberry Patch post is it?  DANG!

Ok, field rock.  One of the culprits that aided in my back going out.

Plants bought while I waited on results from my back going out.

Don't you just love hydrangeas?   I'm sure you green thumbs out there know that the color of this blossom can change from pink to blue by changing the alkalinity of the soil!  How cool is that?  

This is a lady red berry bush.  This is not her real name, but she is a lady because she has berries.  Can you see the picture hiddenin the branches?  She, two of her best girlfriends, and one boy friend will grace the front of our house.  The berries don't get red unless the boyfriend hangs around.   Must be some serious blushing going on!

Some smaller plants like bleeding heart, columbines,  coral bells, salvia, cone flowers, phlox, and a couple others whose names escape me.

 Every good job needs a diligent supervisor, and Sadie was up for the job!

See?  Heidi is feeling the stare!

Ok ready?  First you take an old hose and outline the shape of your new flower bed. 
Before

 Outlined. Brock used that lovely blue-wheeled edger to make fast work out of the edging part!  AWESOME MACHINE!

Add mulch, HOWEVER... to avoid anxiety about losing your dearly paid for mulch, check for impending high winds before laying it!  We didn't lose any from the storm with winds at 40+ mph that passed through, but I though sure I would be picking mulch out of the wheat and bean fields and off the semis the next morning!  Sheesh!

 Add BIG rock!  Yep, we have several of those around here!

Add flowers, and.....

Ta Da!  The front yard has a new flowerbed!

 

Here are a few extra cute things we did with edging, mulch, and a few flowers:

Now, for some reason I never took a true before picture of the front of our house, but here is the before side and the after:

Next up, the messy edge of the old garage:

 

Underneath most of our landscaping we put this heavy cloth to keep the weeds at bay as much as possible.  To plant on top of it, Brock and Heidi pushed the mulch aside, and cut an X in the cloth so they could dig the hole and put the plant in the ground.  We added some extra good dirt in areas where we had some clay and rocks.  Fold the flaps back around the plant and cover with mulch.

Use a tractor and chains whenever possible to move heavy rocks!

 Poof!

The last flower garden!

 

 Whew!  It was almost as much work putting this post together as it was pointing to all the places I wanted things. ;-)

I am not finished with these beds, and we still have the south and west sides of the house to do, but I think for now we will call this Phase 1 done!  Thanks for all the ideas everyone sent me.  I still have them and have plans to use some of your suggestions on Phase 2.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to see what other dirty jobs my bloggy pals are talking about on RFOA!