it was a jungle out there: part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, we also did some work to the front flower beds and the entryway. To refresh your memory, here's a before shot:

Let's start with the entryway. See those jelly jars to either side of the door? Yuck. They emitted a fluorescent-like glow at night (because you can see the bulbs) that was not very inviting. Then there were those generic house numbers mounted in diagonally...not my style. I wanted something a bit more charming, so I found these adorable black farmhouse-style sconces at Richmond-based Shades of Light. Dad was awesome and came over one night to help us install them:

I searched forever for the perfect house numbers. Everything was either too modern, too "mission" style, or just plain ol' generic. I just wanted something simple and clean. Then I came across this cute fixture at Pottery Barn and loved the house numbers.

Then I realized I could buy the numbers separately...AND they had little stands on the bottom...AND they were .99/pc!! I thought maybe I could get creative and spray them black (they were icky brass), then stand them up on the little ledge above the door. It worked. And amazingly enough, they have stayed up there with no adhesive. They have lasted through wind, rain and snow! Here's a shot of our house in the winter with the new light fixtures and house numbers:

Sorry, I'd like to zoom in, but for privacy's sake, let's keep some personal space, yes? Much better though, right? I love how the black ties in with the shutters and gives it more of a modern (yet still charming) feel. Now let's talk about the flower beds. To save you from scrolling, here's the before shot again:

See those scraggly low bushes to either side of the railing? And all of that liriope to the left? It needed to be cleaned up. We started with hubs diggling up all of that liriope (with assistance from little man, of course):

and got rid of the ugly black plastic drainpipe (surely there are better options):

We got a quote from a landscaper to do the front flower beds and he wanted $1000!! Um, no thanks. So I decided to try it myself. I worked on the flower beds everyday for a week during Calder's naptime. I started by digging up those scraggly low bushes. Then I weeded, edged the beds and spread some pine bark mulch. Now it looks like this (please note the new water collector, which blends in with the mulch...sort of):

We still need to work on the grass when fall rolls around, but at least the hard part is out of the way. Whew! Glad that's done!