My House & Gardens ~ Part I

I know for my followers that it seems as if I have fallen off the face of the Earth.

I promise you that I am still here and feeling a bit guilty for not posting.

So what have I been doing?

I have been spending as much time as possible with my new granddaughter...


and doing a ton of my favorite thing...YardWork!

Can you believe that I love it? Well it shows and I thought I would share the front yard with you first, then in Part II, I will share the back.

Here is our property from Google Earth so you can get a feel of how it sets. The neighborhood street is in front but on this picture to the right. Across the street is a treed lot and behind is a land-locked six acre field, so we are blessed with not having a home in either of those directions. We do have homes on each side of us. You can also see that my garden edging is mostly rock that shows up white in this picture.

Our home is 19 years old and we bought it when it was 5 years old from the builder. We have updated everything...inside, outside siding and all landscaping. People are often amazed that our house is almost 20 years old, but if you want a home to stay up with the times, first you must pick a style of home that is timeless, then you must update every few years or more often if you are me, and even pull out overgrown plants and replant with something that works to your homes advantage.

Our home sits on a small hill and it seems more grand because you view it upwards from the street instead of level. It is only on a half acre...just enough for me to landscape to the hilt and just small enough that it is fun and not too overwhelming to keep up.

The Sugar Maple and Ash trees mask a lot of the front of the house this time of year. The stone wall in front (and there is one in back) is made with rocks from the original foundation of the razed farmhouse that sat across the street when this area was farmground.

 This picture was taken down by the mailbox looking up towards the south side edge of our lot. You can see the garage of the neighbor. The lattice fence Hubby built is to hide the electrical box from view and we are lucky to have all the lines buried.

 This vintage wheelbarrow was planted with sedum using soil from our compost.

 The arrows show that in that soil must have been seeds of a squash and tomato plant from last year that are now growing in it. There is not enough base soil for these to thrive but I thought that I would leave them to see what they do.

 I won this concrete urn at a garden center open house and it has an angel atop with an orb.

 I creatively painted our house number on this rock. Looks like I need to touch it up a bit.

 The lower wall is edged in old brick. That was back breaking work but will last for years.

This wagon is planted and was a gift to my Mother from her Father on her first birthday. Mom is now 78 and for some reason, Grandpa gave this to me when I became an adult instead of giving it to Mom, his only child. I cherish it.

 Another vintage wheelbarrow planted by the living room windows.

This same wheelbarrow but looking out across the yard.

 A much used birdhouse in the corner.

 A new ceramic birdhouse that you can tell is being used.

 Two of our 4 garage bays are side entry, so you see large windows towards the front of the house that is really part of the garage.

 Here is a shot of our four car garages. It sure is a luxury having this space to use for vehicles and hobbies.

 Looking down the driveway, you can see that we have an empty treed lot across the street.

 When our contractor built the new two car garage addition, he connected it to the house with this small roofed walkway. You can see a peek of the back yard that I will be showing you in the next post.

At the north side of the yard, towards the back, we have a small vegetable garden. I will show more of it in the Part II post. Also, we experienced a very long hail store in early June that lasted well over 20 minutes! It tore all the leaved up on my hostas that you can see above.

These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Creative Link Inspire @ The Crafty Blog Stalker
Your Designs This Time @ ElizabethJoanDesigns
Show and Share Party @ Coastal Charm
Tuesday
Show & Tell Party @ Flamingo Toes
Project Inspired Linky Party @ Cupcakes and Crinoline
The Inspiration Board Link Party @ Homework
From Dream to Reality @ The DIY Dreamer
Tweak It Tuesday @ Cozy Little House
The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life 
Tuesdays at Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home 
Awesome Things Tuesday @ Sowdering About
Be Inspired Party @ Elizabeth & Co.
Wednesday
Vintage Inspired Link Party @ Knick of Time
Fall into Fall Wednesday @ DIY by Design 
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Work It Wednesday's @ The Happy Housie
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters 
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts
Thursday
Link Party Thursday @ Bloom Designs Online
Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch To Yours 
Create It Thursday @ Lamberts Lately 
Wildly Original Wednesday @ I Gotta Create!
Home Matters @ Life with Lorelai
Share Your Style @ Common Ground
Friday
Handmade Hangout @ From Gardners 2 Bergers
What To Do Weekends @ Crafts A La Mode
Fabulously Creative Linky Party @ Jennifer Rizzo
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Creativity Unleashed Link Party @ One Project Closer/The Better Half
Freedom Fridays @ My Turn For US 
Shabbilicious Friday Link Party @ Shabby Art Boutique
Junkin Joe @ The Cottage Market
Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life
Fabulous Friday Party @ Simple Nature Decor

Saturday
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello 
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events
That DIY Party @ DIY Show Off
So Darn Crafty Party @ Sew Many Ways