Wow, what a transformation…we’re impressing even ourselves!

Right off the bat, let me say that the big photo of our house that you see at the top of this blog is the BEFORE shot. I am chronicling the evolution of our improvements and posting updates here on Home at Last. I hope you will ride along with me on this shoestring budget transformation.

When we moved into our new-old house in 2013, there was no lawn to speak of, and just a few straggly looking shrubs. It was so weird to me and Peter (my awesome husband) that in the 42 years since the house was built, no one had bothered to landscape.

We started with the front lawn and turned a tundra into a lawn-to-be-proud-of. Check out the photos… Oh, by the way, my goal is to have evergreen beds that will look pretty in all seasons and, perennial flower beds that I NEVER have to plant again. This whole landscaping plan can get to be very expensive and exhausing. LOL!

APRIL 2013–YUCKY|

JUNE 2013–YUMMY!

 (How we did it: a bag of Golf Green fertilizer, a bag of lawn seed and lots of water. Period.)

With our lawn looking lush and lovey, we put up the window boxes I’ve been wanting forever and I painted the shutters, front door and garage door a nice clean black. I think it’s a big improvement over the original colours, which were several shades of mismatched blues. It all worked out quite nicely. (We have all new outdoor lights that will be installed as soon as I can find a reputable and affordable electrician).

Next, we began to plant more evergreen shrubs and perennial flowers. We still have a ways to go, but here are some recent photos of where we’re at… (I’m quite convince I will go broke before I finish landscaping this property LOL!)

I LOVE the colour of these peonies!

And, of course our shiny new lawn lamp…about $158 at Home Depot (remember, we’re still decorating on a shoe-string budget).

So, this is only June and the shrubs and flowers are growing like mad! I’ll be taking photos over the summer to watch the evolution–it’s so much fun.  Why not capture your own home sweet home with photos? It’s just amazing how your landscaping and decorating evolve over the years, and it’s so much fun to look back on it all.

Thanks for dropping by! There’s lots more to come!