HOME TOUR

It’s finally that time friends! Garden dreaming time with the landscape design and the start of installation! Our yard is starting to become greener, nights are cool but days are becoming more mild. Though still technically in that possible frost window (I’m shaking my fist at you Old Man Winter) I’m tired of waiting and we are hard at work planning our new backyard. You might have watched our yard get some lovely about a week ago on Instagram. They dug up our old poor excuse for a lawn, brought in good soil, planted shrubs, several new flowering trees, white poppies along the house, hydrangeas along the walkway to the garden and new sod. The landscape design has started and it’s been a true joy to watch unfold.

Last year we deemed it “the year of the yard” but we neglected to realize that landscape designers begin working on projects during winter and are already fully booked by the time the weather gets nice and your mind goes into landscape mode. Sooo, all that to say, even though we worked on the yard ALL last summer (hubby built the CedarWorks playset and deck) it wasn’t until almost October that our landscape company, Terrascapes Landscape Design started the stone walkways around the old lilac tree (the only thing in the yard I was adamant about keeping) and patio.

By that point, we needed to hold off on actually planting the pretty things. Big bummer but fast forward through a New England winter and it’s finally for real, “the year of the yard.”

Our old home sits in a classic New England neighborhood in a Boston suburb on a larger, 1/2+ acre lot. We bought a big time fixer upper historical home and have been restoring it as best we can. It feels honoring to do that to old homes when you’re able.

But the history doesn’t just stay inside. We learned this first hand when the men came running to our door after finding a hidden well we didn’t know existed. Only about 10′ deep and with no water, it was mainly a “baby catcher” so we had it filled in for our kiddos’s safety. It was on the side perimeter in the plans below.

We are hoping to fence the backyard perimeter so we can get a puppy but within the fenced backyard there will be a smaller fenced in section, my vegetable/flower cutting garden. I want to grow vegetables without munching foes. The good folks at Walpole Outdoors are putting in a 5′ Sag Harbor fence with a beautiful side gate and a Hampton Gate and Arbor combo that I’ve customized a bit. The plan is to dig the fence wiring a good foot down into the ground to try and ward off the burrowing rodents although the fence will probably not be high enough to prevent the most desperate of deer, we don’t get them often. This little garden has been a dream since I was a little girl. Don’t even get me started about the she shed. Oh it’s going to be good. And judging by the number of design boards I currently have going for it, it’s going to be a lovely space. More on that to come.

So now you can help me decide on outdoor furniture. I threw this together quickly to present the options, I’m not sold on the particular ones below, although I do like them or the idea of them. Here’s what I’m thinking for the small stone patio off the deck.

Either two chairs with pretty side table between or one loveseat for the stone patio off the deck. It’s not a big spot. I could technically do a loveseat and a chair but it would be a little crowded, especially with a coffee table. What’s your vote? Keep the area more streamlined with just two chairs are try to go with a full grouping effect?

Now for the deck off the kitchen. A full matching patio set sans the umbrella (like possibly this one) feels a bit matchy matchy for my liking but trying to pull all the pieces together– a table, a couple chairs and possibly a bench feels slightly overwhelming. I’m not sure why, it could be all the different lead times patio sets have right now. I’m leaning towards a dining bench on one side because I feel like it may allow me to push the table closer to the wall creating more walking space around one side to better access the grill. The bench is TBD, maybe a upholstered one, definitely a different material. So many patio sets I like right now have a long lead time, like this one. I don’t want to wait until almost fall to finally get the darn thing. This one is on Wayfair and available now, I like the color of it, it’s classic without feeling dated. But do I want a little more modern like this loveseat? I’ll let you know what I go with. Until then, look how pretty the yard looks with mulch and new grass!

Since we’re not allowed to walk on the grass for two weeks, we made a little bridge to the play area. Which of course the kids love. Not picturesque but it does the job.