The front of the house. It's a cute little house built in 1941 with 1970s or earlier landscaping. The bushes need to go, to be replaced by softer plantings. Only the back yard was fenced. The little picket fence and gate was the most picturesque part of the yard. I was sorry to lose it, but it was made of wood and ready to retire. This view is of the SW corner looking toward the NE.
The north side of the lot had a wooden picket fence, also rotting and ready to fall. It needed to go. This photo shows some of the original brick sidewalks of the town, circa 1900 or slightly earlier. Many have been replaced with concrete sidewalks that have buckled and cracked from tree roots. The nice thing about the brick is that it can be repaired when that happens.
The next view is along the north side. The greenery along the fence are the leaves of surprise lilies. They are the kind that put up the greenery in the spring and then die down completely; in July or August, lovely pink lilies pop up on a single stem, no greenery. In California, we knew them as naked ladies. I guess the Heartland is a bit more modest when it comes to flower nicknames. There were big flagstone walks in front and back. I don't know where this one led. It just sort of ended when it got around the corner.
This is the north side of the house, facing east. The overgrown bushes at left had just about taken over the fence and kept trying to grow into the screened porch. The carriage house in back was in our neighbor's yard. The line of greenery stretching toward the carriage house comprises more surprise lilies.
Just beyond the screened porch is the big oak and the stone carving we bought at Powell Gardens last year, when the Chapungu exibit was on display. The huge rock carvings from Zimbabwe were wonderful in that setting. We were pleased to be able to buy this one, called Precious Possession, by Brian Nyanhongo. Other sculptures can be seen at the Chapungu Gallery & Sculpture Park in Loveland, Colorado. It is of a young mother holding her baby. You'll see better photos later in the blog.
Here's another angle, looking NE, of the big oak, the surprise lilies, the ugly wire fence, and the carriage house. The bare spot under the tree is where I started to remove grass by hand digging it. The plastic back of peat moss made a great seat, but this project got old really, really fast.
You can see how the carriage house is leaning backward. The tree is a flowering crab apple, and the little reddish tree in front is a Japanese maple I planted last fall. It overwintered quite well, as did a couple of dogwoods of about the same size.
This view is looking along the east fence, toward the north. The carriage house was not only leaning backward, it was heading for a crash landing in our yard. Another view of the unlovely wire fence.
This is the SE corner of the yard with its Bradford pear, and our nice sturdy little shed. There are two rows of ornamental grass growing beside the shed. It will get moved. The small tree in front is the pink dogwood.
The view to the south, our neighbors' house. It is brick, with concrete flooring. If ever there is an air raid, their basement will be the place to go. In front is a garden I built last summer. All of the rocks were edging for the bushes in the front yard and the hostas by the screened porch along with some of the smaller flagstones. It was hard work turning over that much sod, but there was little cost for materials, just some weed barrier cloth and white stones for the part adjacent to the shed. The greenery is Stella d'Oro daylilies purchased for pennies at the end of last season. There are some mums and ground cover, also purchased last fall on sale that overwintered there and will be moved, offering a nearly clean slate for this year.
A view to the SW, showing the backside of the old picket gate and the garbage/recycling cans. Those were moved into the shed after we put a lot of junk on the curb for the citywide cleanup to make room for them. I didn't see them figuring into a pleasant landscape. That's the pink dogwood in the foreground and the trunk of a maple tree at the edge of the patio.
This is the south side of the house. The rose bush in the middle is an old one. It thrives on being pruned down to knee level. The two tiny bushes are raspberries, also purchased on sale last fall. We may get a dozen berries from them this year, but I have high hopes for next year.
This is the back of the house with the camera-hogging pink dogwood in the foreground. We use the screened porch a lot in the summer. The big pots came with us from New Orleans. The lawn mower is from some dear friends who gifted us with it when they moved away. When the fence crew discovered it, they treated it like a new toy. They'd not seen one, much less used one and spent some time taking turns running it over the lawn.
Here's the view of the shed & garden from the patio,, looking ESE.
This is the railing to the basement stairs. I have plans for those open spaces.
Unfortunately, there aren't many photos of the fence construction. The old fence was out and the new one in in four days, and that included a half day's delay due to rain. Here are the picket posts by the front sidewalk.
And so the adventure begins.
You can see how the carriage house is leaning backward. The tree is a flowering crab apple, and the little reddish tree in front is a Japanese maple I planted last fall. It overwintered quite well, as did a couple of dogwoods of about the same size.
This view is looking along the east fence, toward the north. The carriage house was not only leaning backward, it was heading for a crash landing in our yard. Another view of the unlovely wire fence.
This is the SE corner of the yard with its Bradford pear, and our nice sturdy little shed. There are two rows of ornamental grass growing beside the shed. It will get moved. The small tree in front is the pink dogwood.
The view to the south, our neighbors' house. It is brick, with concrete flooring. If ever there is an air raid, their basement will be the place to go. In front is a garden I built last summer. All of the rocks were edging for the bushes in the front yard and the hostas by the screened porch along with some of the smaller flagstones. It was hard work turning over that much sod, but there was little cost for materials, just some weed barrier cloth and white stones for the part adjacent to the shed. The greenery is Stella d'Oro daylilies purchased for pennies at the end of last season. There are some mums and ground cover, also purchased last fall on sale that overwintered there and will be moved, offering a nearly clean slate for this year.
A view to the SW, showing the backside of the old picket gate and the garbage/recycling cans. Those were moved into the shed after we put a lot of junk on the curb for the citywide cleanup to make room for them. I didn't see them figuring into a pleasant landscape. That's the pink dogwood in the foreground and the trunk of a maple tree at the edge of the patio.
This is the south side of the house. The rose bush in the middle is an old one. It thrives on being pruned down to knee level. The two tiny bushes are raspberries, also purchased on sale last fall. We may get a dozen berries from them this year, but I have high hopes for next year.
This is the back of the house with the camera-hogging pink dogwood in the foreground. We use the screened porch a lot in the summer. The big pots came with us from New Orleans. The lawn mower is from some dear friends who gifted us with it when they moved away. When the fence crew discovered it, they treated it like a new toy. They'd not seen one, much less used one and spent some time taking turns running it over the lawn.
Here's the view of the shed & garden from the patio,, looking ESE.
This is the railing to the basement stairs. I have plans for those open spaces.
Unfortunately, there aren't many photos of the fence construction. The old fence was out and the new one in in four days, and that included a half day's delay due to rain. Here are the picket posts by the front sidewalk.
And so the adventure begins. 
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