Front Yard Makeover

Okay, so I totally do not have a green thumb...it is more like black. I kill every plant I touch. But it was time for action in my front yard and I did not have the dough to pay a landscaper...so I had to try my luck.

Here is a picture of the front of our house about a year ago.
Needless to say that it was even more overgrown a few weeks ago when I started this project.

First, I traded some sewing for some pruning help from a friend (Sylvia AKA Wonder Woman).
She was not afraid to jump into the mess of bushes and chop away. After trimming things down we decided it was best to take out the back row of tree like bushes (I am so technical, I know) that were up against the house. Then the palm tree got pruned too. Now you (and my labradoodle, Hershey, can see in and out my front window. There is alot more barking at passerbyers but I have truly enjoyed the new source of light and sitting in my chair and reading a book.

Here is the yard after the pruning. Then we headed to Home Depot where I got to pick out flowers that I thought were pretty and Sylvia would tell me the likelihood that I would kill it. Needless to say we went with some hardy plants.

Now, I know it is looking pretty bare...but stay with me...this was a huge accomplishment.
I had picked up this topiary form at a local craft show about 9 months ago. I had it in a pot by my front door. I decided to give it a new home in my mini flower garden. I planted a confederate jasmine beside it and twisted it around the bottom sphere. Hopefully it will climb it and fill it in beautifully (tune into a later post for the results). In front of the topiary form I planted some tall purple flowers and two batches of daisies.

Also on our Home Depot trip we found this great pot clearanced (I just love that word) for $12. We picked a pretty red flowering plant for the center and english ivy for the sides. I also put another small potted flower in the front of the pot. Then I put down 10...yes 10 bags of mulch...it is deceiving how little those big bags cover. But after it was all said and done it looks so nice and feels so welcoming. I can hardly wait for it all to fill in.
Hopefully, I won't kill it before it does.

Sorry these pics are blurry...it was rainy the day I took them.