Landscaping Overhaul

When we first looked at this house we were thrilled that it has a wider lot (almost 1 1/2 sized) than most of the other homes in this area, which is full of 100 year old houses build quite close together.   And the other bit of good news was that it's mostly a blank slate-- other than those enormous grasses and a few trees, there wasn't much to love or hate about the back yard, and the openness made it easy to imagine what we might want to do with the space.

Both of my parents are knowledgable and enthusiastic gardeners, and they have worked together for 30 years in their own yard.  The result is probably the most breathtaking, special, happiest garden I've ever seen at someone's home, and my sweet parents use their outdoor haven constantly for parties, luncheons, dinners, etc. to honor friends and family.  Their graciousness in hosting, both indoors and out, is one of their loveliest shared traits.

With all of this gardening expertise in the family, I naturally asked my Mom for some help designing our new back yard.  She and her landscape architect in NC came up with an amazing plan for us that shields the yard from the neighbors (priority one), provides a clean, tidy structure and good bones to the layout, and creates a beautiful retreat of a yard without requiring too much maintenance (since, let's be honest, I'll be distracted by some other project when it's time to prune:)).

Here's our yard now (the first photo is pre-deck):

And here are the plans for the radical transformation of our whole back yard.  The first image is the whole overview, and then each section is broken down into more specifics.  

Once the holly hedge grows and fills in, this back square section of the yard next to the garage will be tucked away, with just a hint of it showing through the "doorway" in the hedge.  We'll have benches in there and tons of pale pink and white flowers... Doesn't it sound fabulous??  I'm already planning on spending the summer back there, so you'll know where to find me:)

Today is a big day, since this afternoon we will have tons of trees and plants delivered to the house, and things will be officially underway!

I woke up feeling like it's Christmas morning!

xo

Liza