Monday's Tale of a Metamorphosis...

When I was showing some photos of the evolution of the front porch ...I did a distance shot, (below) to show you the VERY overgrown shrubbery and landscaping of the front yard. I am guessing these are all original plants from the 60's and they have done the monster expansion over the years and are now way too close...too crowded...and really there is just... TOO MUCH.


right side of the sidewalk going straight in.(there were tulips in that bed this Spring, but you could NOT even see them.



Left side of the same sidewalk. We got to feeling sorry for the mailman trying to make his way through this jungle path every day...

I have been churning plans around in my head for the right space, for a while, but  (like everyone else) we have NOT had much rain.... and when you start trying to dig up 50 year old bushes, and YOU are also in your 50's....you REALLY want to have that soil softened by some H2O to help out your poor knees...(okay...Da Man did the digging!...I pulled)

We had a storm blast through this past Friday, and I was ready to get the "removal" stage DONE!





The time was RIGHT! The tools came out. The JOB was begun...


From the porch...Look at that crowded bed...POOR strangled hostas...


Cut...Trim...STUFF in yard waste can. (thank goodness we have 2 of these). In Charlotte, you could just pile your brush at the street in neat piles...as much as you had!  Here in Cedar Rapids...only what fits in a bin will be picked up...so you have to plan the  removal part of a project so that what is dug up will NOT be more than what fits in the bins.


First one ~ OUT of THERE!! These are the purple colored spirea. They are NUMEROUS - around the ENTIRE house...somebody liked these TOO much for my taste. The remaining ones on the left side of the front will be cut WAY back this Fall.


We had a spectator who wanted to come out and watch...STAY  Gideon!!!


All three spirea out. ( Our house sits on a hill.) Now when you are down at the street level, you can actually SEE the front porch...Amazing!! That leaves the two evergreens in the back that are overlapping...


ONE of the spirea on this left side is going... and the other two will be severely cut back. (or maybe removed) This is going to be an ongoing project, I am sure... The poor hostas are crowded out. Those schrubs actually detract from the beauty of the Pee Gee when it is blooming.



GONE! Still have some thinning out and transplanting to do with the hostas that are hanging out too far on the sidewalk...Then this bed will get the new red mulch.



In the mean time...here is the transformed right side. (photographed from the porch)



I'm not sure what the purple hanging basket plants are but I hope I can keep them blooming...



The birdbath from the back yard came to the front.


There are two of these statues. I call them my Dorothy/Toto figures...I got them years ago with Mother's day $$ given to me by the four kids. LOVE them.



And I call this little dude my slinky doggie. Love him too. He's getting a little weathered! But this photo is REALLY to show you TWO TOMATO plants right there to the right....SEE THEM??? RAH! (I'll get my 'maters yet... Ganky!!) :-)

So that is what happened this weekend on Thunderbird Road... *once more,


Before


After

YAY...I can see the front porch. I am happy. And you all know me..... I am not finished...things will be moved around and maybe a couple of little tiny sparkleys or a few pretty annuals, possibly a bird feeder, or a pot added...

A HUGE thank you to DA MAN for doing the heavy work on this bed in this heat. It was not easy - but with the recent rainfall, I knew it was now or possibly wait another month for more rain...and it would be TOO hot to transplant...



HUGS to my Hard Working Guy.

So...the Exterior transforming has begun...a little bit here...a little bit there...


Do you know why I liked this piece of art placed on the front porch??...Because there is a piece of paper and a pencil in the picture...a list!...Things to do....plans, always dreaming, and thinking of pretty flowers and whimsical touches.



Like a Sentinel rooster in a window box... AND....

I shall record it here, in my e-journal blog...you know.

Thanks so much for popping in today!

It's another MERRY MONDAY...so don't forget to flash your smiles to everyone you pass...Make their day. If you NEED a smile...get outside and dig some dirt, or smell some roses or a tomato plant, or touch some veggies... that should bring a little smile.



It's the FOURTH OF JULY week...



Thanks to all of those serving here at home and abroad. I salute you.
And to JUSTIN....
We LOVE you...God BLESS you. OOO-RAH to the 1/2....Almost HALF-WAY!!!  RAH!!!!!