The Before

In this post, I'll try to document the house as it was in 2009 when we moved in. The pictures are from May. The photos don't show the gardens very well, but it's all I have of the "before".

The Front Yard

The front yard only has a few trees.  There is a oak tree in the middle of the yard and a few others on the sides (not sure what kind).

Facing West

Facing NW

Note the many overgrown bushes, such as the huge burning the the left of the garage. Also the grass is not very uniform. There seem to be many different types present, some of it crabgrass. There aren't very many plants in the garden beds. There are some daffodils and a few tulips that grow under the oak tree and the other small tree visible toward the left center of the second photo. On the North side of the house (right side of the photos), there are a few hostas of various varieties. On the left of the garage in the corner of the grass, there is a large decorative grass (dwarf fountain grass, I think), and in the bed on the right of the garage, there is another type of decorative grass (not sure what kind). Overall, it's not bad. I bet in the past when it was cared for it was very nice.

The Back Yard

In the backyard there is a small forest of fairly large trees. Many trees are on the lot as well.

Back yard facing SW

On the south side, there is a fairly large garden bed, currently hosting some hostas, ferns, pachysandra, and ivy. In the spring, there are daffodils. Not pictured, but somewhat visible in the lower right on the above photo is another small garden bed that goes around the perimeter of the deck. It hosts what I believe may be a miniature Japanese maple of some sort, another large hosta, daffodils, and some other flowers that I can't remember what they are. I hope to do some work on this garden this year.

Back yard facing N

There is not much on the north side. Along the house there is a garden bed with more pachysandra. Thankfully, many of the trees on the lot have had the branches trimmed up to about 10-15 feet. This allows enough light for a small grassy area, and hopefully some more plants in the future. The rest of the backyard was mulched. There are bricks separating the grass from the garden beds around the whole house. I think the shade will be the biggest challenge that I'll face in the backyard.