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We've finally been getting a ton or work done around our small Texas ranch. We had redone the skirting/foundation around the bottom of the house in March, but had never gotten it done around the deck to completely close off the underneath of the house so we wouldn't get any more critters under the house. (Especially skunks, which always seem to choose the middle of the night to spray under my bedroom and wake me up.) We restacked the rocks around the deck and then I finally got to replant my flower beds. I had some Rosemary that was supposed to be prostrate rosemary and sage there before, but nobody had told them they were supposed to stay fairly small and it had become a jungle. I transplanted it all, but alas, the Rosemary didn't survive. I suppose after being in the same spot for about 15 years, they had a right to be a little upset. I will now have to get some more Rosemary and plant out by the yard gate into the pasture, because I love my Rosemary. I chose to replant with some Drift Roses that I know will stay fairly small, some Guara for the butterflies and hummingbirds and some daylilies. I had found 3 at my local nurseries that weren't just your run of the mill daylilies like everyone else has, but couldn't find anything else, so I turned to E-Bay. I found 3 fantastic ones that hopefully will be gorgeous when they bloom next year. I had only wanted one more, but couldn't resist the other 2. I got everything planted, found a large clay saucer for the top of the cactus bird bath (the original bird bath saucer had gotten broke), composted everything with some great compost from Bell County Regional Compost Facility and some mulch. This is my newly replanted flower bed. I wanted to make sure it didn't get too full and I didn't want to cover up all the great rock we put around the bottom of the deck. It was a lot of work, but I'm really happy with it and can't wait to see it as it matures and all my daylilies start blooming next year. The roses are already settling in and blooming. Enjoy the pics. This was before.
And this is after.
I'll try to post more pictures as it matures. I love the way it turned out. I make Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass kreationz for your Home and Garden, so if you're looking for that unique piece for your garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.
Remember the song, 'I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it'? That's how I feel right now. We've lived on our small ranch in Central Texas for 17 years and in all that time I've never had a sidewalk to walk on to get to my car, the end of the house, out the back door or anything. Well, this week and last we'd reserved to do a bunch of work around our house. For several years we've had a problem with 'critters' getting under our house. The worst are the skunks. I can't tell you how many times we've been woke up in the middle of the night by the smell of a skunk spraying because they got scared, mad or whatever. And it's ALWAYS under our bedroom. :( Back in March our friends came up and helped us redo all around the bottom of the house with new skirting to keep the main part of the house unaccessible. However, we still had the bottom/around the deck open so critters could still get under the house. So last week, we took down all the rocks around the bottom of the deck, built framework, attached aluminum flashing down to dirt level, then restacked the rocks around the bottom to give it a more finished look. We also built some new steps out of 250-300 pound limestone rock we had to replace the old wooden ones that kept giving and were actually trying to come apart. But, to redo the front of the deck involved moving my Sage and Rosemary plants that had been there for at least 10 years. Now these were supposed to be Prostrate Rosemary, but as you can see from the pictures below, no one told them that. They were at least 3-4 feet tall and wider. I had started out with 2 Rosemary plants and dug up at least 5. I replanted them out by our yard fence and hoping they all make it. 3 of them look pretty good, but not sure about the last 2. We'll see. The hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other birds love them when they bloom, so really hope they are ok. While we were at it, we decided since the front of the house and yard was already torn up, we ought to go ahead and make a sidewalk from the deck to the end of the house and across the end in front of where we park our trucks. I had checked out stepping stones and we decided the red brick looking ones would match everything the best. It took 60 stones to make this and we'll be going back this week to get about 30 more so we can go ahead and carry the walkway/sidewalk around the back of the house to the back door. That way we can get all the way around the end of the house on a walkway instead of in the grass/mud. That way my high heels can stay cleaner and I have less of a chance of tripping/stumbling over the uneven ground and rocks in the yard. No matter how much I rake, we still have rocks. Seems to be the only thing I can 'grow' well with all the grasshoppers around. So here's a couple of pictures of what it looked like when we started and what it looks like now. I have plant to replant the front bed with some drift roses that actually do stay fairly small, some daylilies and guara for the wildlife and that way it won't cover up all the rock work we did. I'll post pictures of the finished bed after it's done. Now I need to work on getting my pots planted so I can put them up along the front of the house and my flower bed in the back around and between some cedar trees. I'm trying to eliminate some flower beds to make it easier to take care of the yard.
Stay tuned, I'll also be posting another book review for Kalmbach, 2 video reviews for Interweave and some Sea Glass blog hop/challenges I'm participating in for ZNETshows, plus a Seasons blog hop for Pine Ridge Treasures. Got a lot on my plate right now. If you're interested in any Stained Glass, Mosaics, Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden check out my shop, KayzKreationz. I'm working on getting more listed, plus my Beaded, Wire-wrapped Jewelry. I've also had a little help on the grasshopper front this week since we've done this work. This guy's been visiting the yard every night for grasshopper dinner. Yay!
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