Young House Love

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Digging Up A Dated Row Of Bushes

We did it! Over the course of two nice long Clara naps (and with a little help from a friend) we managed to open up our front yard in what we like to call “Phase Two Of Ten Million” when it comes to slowly transforming our front yard. Why so many phases? Well it started out looking like this:

Front Before

Much like our first house’s yard, we figure it’ll take a few years of tweaks to get it where we want it, so this phase was just about clearing things out for a you-can-actually-see-the-house-now effect (Phase One was limbing up the magnolia). In short: we dug up/transplanted/removed a ton of bushes (with the help of a friend of ours who took home some boxwoods in exchange for helping us get a bunch of them up). This post is full of photos, so I’ll let them do the talking. Without further ado, here are the before and afters (we tried to take photos from the same angle for comparison). First there’s the AFTER to the before above (don’t mind the black feather wreath out there on the door for Halloween):

Front After

Here’s another BEFORE for ya from the driveway:

From Driveway Before

And another AFTER from the same angle (a little further away):

From Driveway After

Another BEFORE:

Driveway Side Before

And the AFTER:

Driveway Side After

Here’s a side-angle BEFORE:

Side Driveway Before

And an AFTER from the same POV:

Side Driveway After

Another BEFORE facing more towards the street:

Corner Before

And the accompanying AFTER:

Corner After

Here’s a BEFORE from the other side (the bushes used to completely stop the eye so our yard felt way smaller):

Side View Before

And here’s the AFTER from the same angle:

Side View After

Yet another BEFORE:

Side Angle Before

And another AFTER:

Side Angle After

Here’s how it looked from the front porch BEFORE:

Looking Out Before

And AFTER:

Looking Out After

The only drawback? I got me a blister. So in that aspect it was exactly like Phase One (seen here). Totally worth it though. No pain, no gain.

Blister

As for where we put the bushes that we transplanted, we just dug them up…

Transplanted Bush

… and planted them in the naturalized parts of our side and back yard (and our friend who helped us dig made off with the rest of the healthy ones). Sadly some of the bushes were dead…

Dead Boxwood

Dead Bushes

… so those just got removed with a sawzall (aka this reciprocating saw by Skill). Which was probably more fun to use than it should have been (it was actually our first time sawzalling, so we took turns and grinned like fools the whole time). And you know we loved the fact that this big curb appeal makeover was f-r-e-e (well, I guess it cost us a few boxwoods in return for some helpful friend labor, but it was foliage well spent).

As for our future lawn plans, we’re definitely just getting started out there – so there are a lot more phases on the over-the-next-few-years agenda. We’ve got plans to:

  • dig out some ivy/monkey grass
  • lay down some grass seed in certain areas
  • layer in some low maintenance native (and less vinyl fence-like) plantings to soften things up around certain areas of the perimeter
  • landscape around the front of the house (there are hardly any plants on either side of the porch – so it’s just sort of a mud pit in those areas)
  • do a million other things that are slipping my mind at the moment (one big one: convert the carport to a garage)

So this step was just about clearing things out to make way for some less house-obscuring choices and opening things up to let the eye travel a bit further in certain places. Feels nice to let the house breathe a little. And the neighbors have all been saying such sweet things about the change. Whew! Has anyone else been up to a few exterior tweaks? Do you do them during baby naps with the monitor outside on full blast so you can run in at a moment’s notice? Do you hold your breath until the neighbors approve? We totally do.

Psst- We’re over on BabyCenter talking about a Halloween surprise that we discovered on Sunday night. Let’s just say Clara’s in love. Here’s the story.

Comments

  1. Colleen P. says

    It looks fantastic! I don’t think I noticed before that it’s such a pretty house on the outside as well! You guys must really have seen the potential there, I think I might have driven on past once I saw the jungle closing in on it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah- there were a ton! The first day it was just John and I (we only got around 8 of them up in a two hour period) but the next day with some friend help we go into a groove and probably got 18 up that day (for a total of around 26 plants!).

      xo,
      s

  4. Liz says

    Amazing job! The first thing I thought when I saw it was how the house could breathe finally, just like you said at the end! I even felt myself take a nice deep breath! I have to say, though, that you missed the opportunity for a pretty good “green” pun …. e.g. giving your neighbor those shrubs was a good way to spend your “green” … that kind of thing. I know you love a good pun as much as I do :)

    Reply

  5. Allyn says

    Well done!
    I’m sure you guys have some really sore muscles after all that. We did some gardening (TINY amount compared to yours ) on Sunday and we’re both groaning. Sigh. Old age.
    Oh, and sawzalls are the jam. I think Josh had a permagrin after the the last time we borrowed one from my sister.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We did! Not huge holes or anything, but all across the yard we have little sunken spots now that we’ll have to fill before trying to seed or anything like that.

      xo,
      s

  7. kaycee parker says

    Time well spent! Looks great!

    The house I just bought has a few bushes I’d like to get rid of. I’m going to do that once the inside is done & the weather is (even) cooler here in Orlando

    Reply

  8. Alyson says

    Huge difference, this is me giving you props. *props* Do you ever wonder if the old owners drive past and think, “Why didn’t we do that years ago?” I wonder that about this house sometimes. Because of course, I think I’m improving the heck out of it. ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, the old owners are actually really good friends with our neighbors so they come back for visits (and also read the blog). Here’s hoping they’re not too sad about all the bush rearranging!

      xo,
      s

    • Mel says

      We just moved and I drived by our old house the other day. The new owners pulled out so many overgrown bushes and plants. They seeded over some of the empty flowerbeds. It loos SO MUCH BETTER! I was like, why didn’t we do that? Then I remembered that we have 2 small kids. :-)

  9. Dee in BC says

    Wow- That is sooo much brighter & more open. Looks great! We just bought a builder spec home, so are adding shrubs, bushes , trees & a lawn.

    Reply

  12. Darcy says

    HOLY MOLY!!! What a transformation! Its just amazing how different a yard can look after a few bushes are removed!! Nice Work — even with the blister!! :)

    I wonder if the neighbors are getting confused driving down the street, saying to themselves, “Wait a minute – whose house is that – Where am I?!?!” LOL!

    Reply

  14. Loren says

    This looks amazing! No wonder your neighbors were all complementing it. I was wondering if people might ask you about the ‘lack of privacy’ now, but I absolutely thing you made the right decision, there is only so many bushes one little yard can take.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re happy that our bedroom and the living room and the kitchen are all rooms that aren’t on the “front” of the house (the dining room and office are up there) so at night when people could potentially see in, we’re towards the back of the house- so there aren’t any peeping tom opportunities there!

      xo,
      s

  20. Alexis says

    It’s amazing what a difference just removing bushes makes. BTW, is that the first shot from your porch that we’ve seen? I remember lots of pictures of the porch but not any from the perspective you guys have when you look out from it.

    Reply

  24. Carolyn says

    It looks so much better! Amazing! I think you should run (not walk) to your local Lowes or Home Depot, and buy a bunch of daffodils. The yellow from the daffadils will tie in with the front door…TOO CUTE! Plus they are the easiest no maintence flower ever! If you plant them now…should see lots of blooms in April!

    Reply

  26. Kim Dunn says

    Wow!! It looks great! It’s amazing what taking a few (or a lot) of bushes out does for your property! I almost thought it was a picture of your old house for a second! :)

    Reply

  28. Jess says

    Looks fantastic! This past summer we busted out the reciprocating saw ourselves to do some landscape surgery prior to getting new siding/roof/chimney, and months later we’re still just thrilled to look at our house. Our neighbors are, too. (And? We also spray-painted our exterior and interior door hardware and exterior light fixtures with the Rustoleum ORB. It’s been about 4 months and it’s still holding up beautifully.)

    Reply

  29. Molly says

    Wow wow wow! What a huge difference!

    For some reason I always thought your front yard was gigantic, not being able to see it all that well. But now that I can see the true size of it, it must have been a little postage stamp of grass (with a giant magnolia in the middle) inside all those bushes.

    Well done, Youngsters!

    You totally have me itching to dig up—let me rephrase that—to have my husband dig up the “gold dust” bushes that we have protecting some cypress trees we planted a year ago. It was on the agenda for spring, but might have to get moved up now! The trees went from 3 feet to about 9 in 18 months. Not sure they need protecting any longer.

    You can see ’em here, if so inclined:
    http://thenestinggame.com/nest-tour/

    Will stop rambling now. :)

    Reply

  30. denise says

    Holy cow! What a huge transformation! It really looks so much better. And I’m sure you’re relieved to have that giant project behind you.

    Love the black feather wreath!

    Reply

  33. mribaro says

    It’s like a good “brazilian” :) On a serious note, I think you have rejuvanated the garden and it’ll look awesome in spring when the grass fills in. Good progress!

    Reply

  34. Aubree says

    Isn’t it funny how we all are? It’s like hair (if you’re curly you want it straight and if it’s straight you want it curly…) My front yard is pretty naked right now, and I love your huge magnolia and all the plantings. I do agree that your bush fence was less than inviting though. I’ll have to think about that as I refine my front yard approach.

    We were taking advantage of the last of the good weather before it gets cold to girdle and round-up our Chinese Elms in our backyard- they are a horrible weed tree that will send up little baby elms from all the roots if you cut it down outright. My 5 mo old decided naps were “so last week” and so I put her in a backpack and followed my husband (with the Chainsaw) at a safe distance, and painted roundup on the cambium he exposed. She had a blast pulling my ponytail and looking at Daddy with Furrowed brows for the loud noise he was making and how funny he looked in a hard hat and goggles.

    Happy Yarding!

    Reply

  37. julie g. says

    It looks fantastic! Removing all of that actually makes the yard appear like you added more appropriate sized landscaping. When we moved into our home our whole cul-de-sac was lined with the tree-hedge fence. You could not see anyone’s homes. We were the first ones to remove the fence and the rest of our neighbors follwed suit shortly thereafter. We like to think that we started a trend on our block!

    Reply

  39. Chrissie says

    The difference is amazing!

    I started clearing our side yard last week, got about halfway and started getting dizzy (vertigo with low blood sugar – all the “fun” of being drunk without the alcohol!). We’ve got a whole bunch of little things to do in our garden that all add up to a really big task, so I’m hoping to break it down (rapper style) and take it one job (or half a job…) at a time.

    Reply

  40. Meaghan says

    Amazing transformation, I love it! What a difference it makes. You must be so excited. I bet you will get more trick-or-treaters now :)

    Reply

  41. Elizabeth says

    I did some clearing work in the yard this weekend as well! And then for the next two days my body ACHED! Such fun getting old!

    Piece by piece I have removed almost every plant that was here when I bought the house 7 years ago! Next to go may be a huge bougainvillea that attacks me every time I trim it! It is also attached to an arbor on the house and I think it may have to go when it is time to paint the house.

    Reply

  47. Jenny says

    You guys make me smile! The highlight of my morning is drinking my coffee and reading YHL. My husband and I also recently moved into our second house (Dec. 17). We also have a big, house-blocking magnolia out front. And we also have a ton of monkey grass that we are planning to rip out over the next few years. It never occurred to me to wack some of the lower limbs off our magnolia until I saw what Sherry had done! Thanks for the great ideas, you two! Your yard looks great. That is a LOT of work!

    Reply

  49. VickiP says

    Looks amazing! And so excited to hear that you’ll be incorporating some native plants in the future! They are such a beautiful and low maintenance way to landscape, show some local character and feed wildlife!

    Reply

  50. Melanie says

    WOW your yard is so much more open! Looks really great.

    Also – I read this post through my google reader and this was the (related?) google ad at the bottom. Maybe they were going with the landscaping/manscaping theme… it cracked me up!

    http://i51.tinypic.com/14kxtp1.jpg

    What!! hahaha

    Reply

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