Front Yard Makeover, Part 1

Before I get to the yard makeover, remember when I wrote about the most amazing weekend getaway we've ever spent? Well, look what Matt and I found in our email yesterday:

#1 resort in the U.S. and #11 in the world?!!! 

People. I don't care where you live. You have got to go to this place! 

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Two weekends ago, my mom met me down at the Grower's Outlet in Loganville, GA to help me pick out plants for the front yard. And one hour later, I had 51 plants ready for purchase. (They counted. Okay, I did too.)

I wish I knew about this place sooner! You will never guess how much I spent on 51 plants. $400? $300? ...you would think, right?! 

The total bill came to $171! Unbelievable. Seriously. If you live around the Atlanta area, you definitely need to check them out! 

I made a pit-stop by one of my weaknesses- I figured I was gonna be sweating in the yard all day and wouldn't want to stop to eat... so I justified who-know-how-many calories in one sitting. And oh man was it worth it- those new DD biscuits are deLISH! 

When I got home I laid everything out to see if I like it.

Plants in this sections:

Back: 3 Mock Orange (low-growing shrubs that bloom an orange flower)

Middle: 5 Encore azaleas- also low-growing shrubs that bloom an pinkish-orange flower

Front: purple pansies

Side: This plant:

A phlox that is a ground cover and blooms a light blue flower- the hope is for it to do this:

But for now, it will look like this (well, minus the containers):

This section has 3 Mock Orange in the back and three mums in the front...

...and then 2 more of the Phlox Blue and 3 plants in front that are ground covers. I also added three yellow snapdragons, but that will be in the finished product post tomorrow.

The left side of the house has 5 Japanese Boxwoods and 1 Gardenia that blooms pinkish orange flowers.

Tally and Hagen (our next door neighbor's dog) had a play date in the backyard while I worked. :)

Then Tally got out and tried to help.

My mom taught me the trick to move the hose to each plant after it's in the ground- that way each plant gets a little water as you go... rather than having to do a big watering session at the end. Genius!

After the paint, porch, and now the landscaping, the front yard is looking SO much better!

Tomorrow, I show the finished product!