My Front Yard

I figured it was high time that I showed you my yard and gardens. This post will feature the front of the property.

Our home was built in 1997 on farm ground that became a one street (cul-de-sac) subdivision (14 houses). The builder built this home first and it's on the third lot in. The beauty of this lot is that no home can be built across the street in front, because it belongs to the builders family and it's the beginning of the lake (large pond) that is in this area. And  no one can build in the back because it is a 5 acre farm ground that is land locked (sandwiched) between two subdivisions. That's probably more information than you even cared to know. We bought the house when it was five years old.

Newly purchased, in 2002...all white upper story, young landscaping.

Here's the story...Hubby and I came to see this home on a new-house-tour.  I remembered all the crown moldings and the built-ins. I told Hubby that it was the closest thing to my dream home that I have ever seen. I knew that we couldn't afford it, so we went home to our tiny ranch house.

Five years later after paying off our ranch, Hubby said, "Okay, now you can have a bigger home." We went to a couple of builders for bids and got sticker shock.  We went to some open houses too. Hubby wanted a geo-thermal home which are big in our area. Very cheap living for heating and air conditioning.

Finally Hubby said, "let's go drive by your dream home." I was fairly new to the area at the time we visited this dream home and I didn't even know where it was. As we approached the house, a small red arrow was in the yard that said, "For Sale"! I couldn't believe my eyes. I knocked on the door and the builders wife answered. I said, "How much is the house?" She told me and I hand signed the amount to my Hubby who was still in the car. I told her that we would take it! Needless to say, she was shocked and said, "Don't you even want to look at it?" I said that I already had five years earlier when it was built, but made an appointment to come back the next day.

Twenty-eight days later and with interest rates in an all time low, we became the new owners of this lovely home.  The part I didn't tell you was that I listed our ranch house for sale in the newspaper on my own. I sold it the first day, third showing for CASH!  We took that cash and put it into this home. The other beauty of this home is that with it being geo-thermal, our monthly electric bills (geo-thermal is all electric) are the same as our previous ranch of gas and electric and this house it twice the size. Sweet!

I painted the 1801 on the rock. I wanted it to look artsy!

See the rock wall? This wall was built by the builder. He said that when they bought the land, there was an original farmhouse across the street. He said that he could not save that house because it was too damaged.  But he did save the foundation rock and the original red barn is still standing across the street from our house. Our rock wall was made using the rock from the foundation of the original farm house! Cool history. We have one of these rock walls in the back that I will share with you in a later post.

We love to garden and putter in the yard. So we ripped out some undesirable landscaping. We painted the upper story. Basically we went to work putting our personality on our place. I even painted 'bricks' on the sidewalk!

Plants had to be changed as the trees grew larger and there was more shade. Finally, here are my front gardens you have been patiently waiting for.

The front rock wall with day lilies and lambs ear.

This wagon is 73 years old. My grandfather bought it for my mother when she was one year old.

Tree name: Harry Lauder Walking Stick

When we bought the house, the trees were not included in the landscaping, but I connected them because I could not get my riding mower between the tree and where it was landscaped.

Potting bench on the front porch, now sold...do I ever keep anything?

Before the new glass in the front door was added. Sold this furniture too!

After, with the new glass in the door

You can see across the street...no house but a lake beyond the trees.

The sugar maple turns this beautiful red color in the fall.

Hosta's called Francee, loves the east facing sun.

Hope I wasn't too long winded for you and you enjoyed your tour of the front. As with any garden, it changes from year to year, but has grown and filled in nicely in our 9 years here.

Soon, I will post about the back yard with much more to see.

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab

Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle 
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff 
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @  Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Cottage Flora Thursday @ Fishtail Cottage
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal 
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn 
Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party @ I love Nap Time 
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick