Cottage Garden Before and After

Yay! I finally have some before and after photos of the cottage to show you today!

Or to be more accurate, these are probably the Before and After Part One photos featuring our evolving landscaping in the front garden. After Part Two will happen when we do some landscaping and hardscaping and lay some new mulch. But this is a start.

The front of the house had some really overgrown barberries. We pruned them hard after moving in, but they only seemed to grow more thanks to the hair cut. They were pokey and not so pretty, and they had to go. The thought of doing this job ourselves seemed huge, so we hired some tree trimmers to get the job done in short order.

And as long as the tree trimmers were here, we thought it was time to remove this half dead evergreen at the sidewalk. There used to be two evergreens side by side, but one fell and the other remained. We referred to it as the Leaning Tower of Treeza.

I tried my best to make it pretty over the summer with some annuals. But I knew we could do a lot better.

And here's the house after the finished tree and bush removal:

Oh my goodness. It looks better already, and I haven't even planted anything yet! The front porch used to look hidden and unwelcoming. Now, it looks open and friendly and inviting. Yay!

We plan on planting one or two ornamental trees at the front. One tree for the corner right, and possibly one at the left where the sidewalk begins. Maybe a dogwood or Korean Maple.

This area looks a little naked now. We plan on fixing this with some nice bushes, and possibly adding a bit of decorative picket and maybe a cute birdhouse or two on a pole for a focal point. I also have about 300 daffodils and grape hyacinth to plant in this spot for some spring color.

Here's the boss supervising the job.

Just standing at my front door, the view is so much prettier now.

I spent four or five hours cleaning up the leftover debris. Raking, digging, yanking, pulling. Ugh. But I know the end result will be worth it.

We are hoping to do a little planting this weekend, and if weather permits, we might even get our front door painted. I'm thinking of painting these wooden hand rails, too.

The curb appeal is improving a little bit every day! With a few tweaks, I think I can turn this modern ranch into the cozy cottage I've been dreaming of from the start.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!