Fixer Upper House: A Weekend Landscaping Project

As many of my blog readers already know, I'm not a fan of this house. Never have been, never will be. It isn't just the house itself that has me less than enamored. It's also the corner lot that gives us the feeling of living in a fish bowl. No privacy. And to make matters worse, we are fish living in a bowl that looks out upon our neighbors' overflowing garbage...day in, day out.

So this weekend we worked at Operation: Privacy Hedge. Something tells me Luke had not planned on spending his day off this way. Love ya, Luke!

In many areas relating to this house, I am a bargain shopper. I patiently waited for these arbor vitae to go on sale. And finally, they did! Marked down to half off of their original $45 price tag at Home Depot. Yea! We did have to drive to two stores to get the right amount, but in the end we saved quite a bit.

We have been blessed with pretty mild weather this late in the season. It has made it an optimal time for planting. Ed and Luke dug the holes, added some amended soil and mixed in the original soil, then covered the area with fresh mulch. I will continue to water until the beginning of December, just to help them get established.

We opted for the Green Giant variety, which is a super fast growing specimen. And as you can see in the above photo, we need them to grow...fast!

We also installed some plastic deer screen to protect them, not from the deer, but from the giant Yeti that roams free in our yard.

This wild beast has been known to chew branches, trees, shrubs and plants, while using her huge shovel paws to dig her way to China.

These bushes will not block our view any time soon. Our hope is that they will grow and present themselves as a future privacy hedge for the next owners. That is, if Miss Shovel Paws will let them be. That remains to be seen.

Another project crossed off our To Do List! I would love to have this house market-ready by early spring of next year....just in case we have the opportunity to relocate...to my Urban Oasis home in Ann Arbor...just as soon as HGTV calls to tell me that I've won.

Hey, it could happen! :)

Blessings, cafe friends!