Patio & Landscaping Update

Good morning friends and welcome back to my blog!  I’m so glad you’re here!  I’ve mentioned here and there how I’ve been working on sprucing up the landscape around my house and now it’s complete!  It’s nothing fancy, but it looks so much better than before.

Today, I’ll share the before with you and walk you through what we’ve done.  My landscaper, Jose Hoyos, has become someone I really enjoy talking with and we have great conversations about life and families every time he visits.  I love supporting his small business and I’d happily recommend him if you’re in the Houston area.  He’s super knowledgeable about his work and is always very fair with his pricing.

I wanted to make things look better without doing a total overhaul to keep costs as low as possible.

It was a pretty big job that took several days to accomplish these things:

1) Remove dead bushes right by my front door

2) Rearrange the two front side areas to look symmetrical

3) Fill in empty patches with grass in the front yard and back yard

4) Weed the area by my backyard tree

5) Plant flowers around the front two trees

6) Fill in with bushes the empty area in the side yard

7) Spruce up the front and back patio with accessories

8) Power wash under front window

9) Spray the yard with mosquito spray

10) Add a saucer swing for the kids

PATIO REFRESH 

Let’s start with the pretty part! I kept my existing rug and doormat and switched out the pink and red tulip wreaths for fresh white wreaths.  On either side of the door I added tall black planters and added lovely white flowers.

The planters came in a two pack and you could choose between 20 or 26 inch, I have the 26 inch here. They are made from durable recyclable plastic and natural stone powder, but the great thing is the planter is lightweight so you can move it easily. It’s also a weather resistant and has four raised drainage holes at the bottom.

So far, I have been watering the flowers every day and they are doing great!

Dress • Bracelets • Earrings • Buffalo Check Rug • Hello Mat • Floral Wreath • Black Planters

Buffalo Check Rug • Hello Mat • Black Planters

On the patio to the side, I kept my existing bench, but just added a little side table and some faux succulents as decor. I also brought in to neutral pillows with texture to soften things up.

Dress • Similar Wood Bench • Side Table • Geometric Pots with Faux Succulents • Potted Faux Eucalyptus & Rosemary •  Tassel Pillows • Square Stripe Pillows

Dress • Similar Wood Bench • Side Table • Geometric Pots with Faux Succulents • Potted Faux Eucalyptus & Rosemary •  Tassel Pillows • Square Stripe Pillows

LANDSCAPING BEFORE

I’m literally almost embarrassed to show you my pitiful BEFORE photos, but hey, it’s real life and it also makes for such a gratifying AFTER! Ha!  Note- some of the pics were taken before I power washed that area under the window.

AFTER

BEFORE

In my front yard, the two large bushes that flanked the door must have gotten a disease because they died, even though they were getting plenty of water. Those bushes cost about $100 each, so I decided not to replace them, instead, I went with adding more of the existing bushes to fill in the space.

One of the things we did to make things look much better was make both sides symmetrical.

BEFORE

AFTER

I left the taller bushes in the back in their wild, natural state because I liked that look, but we’ll prune them in the near future.  On the other side, the pruned ones are supposed to grow, so that they’ll coordinate.

BEFORE

We filled in these dead spots with sod, then added flowers and fresh mulch to the area around the tree.

AFTER

Here’s a closer look at my little owl! This cutie pie is supposed to keep the birds from nesting so you don’t get bird poop everywhere (which was a problem over here).  So far, it’s working well, you just have to move him every month or so, so the birds don’t figure out he’s not real!

Scarecrow Owl

BEFORE POWER WASHING

Yesterday morning, I got busy with the power washer and washed all that icky black stuff off of the stone near the front window.  The difference is amazing! I’m starting to love my pressure washer as much as I do my stick vac!

AFTER POWER WASHING

James also got in on the action, and now we’re power washing the sidewalk too.  It’s crazy how dark it had gotten and how light it’s looking now! I love that it’s easy enough for both of us to use.  Although, he only did about 15 minutes and I did the rest!

Pressure Washer

This pressure washer comes with a 2-year warranty and works so well!

SIDE DRIVEWAY BEFORE

Last year, I had planted hydrangeas in the side yard and backyard and they looked so pretty for a while. Unfortunately, it was so much upkeep and they needed me to water every single day and they ended up dying. 

SIDE DRIVEWAY AFTER

To save money, we just rearranged the little boxwoods and brought them forward and added a few more bushes to fill in the empty space.

BACKYARD 

I was already pretty happy with our backyard patio, I just added the pillows and some faux  succulents to my real ones. 

Similar Patio Chairs • Garden Stool • Rug • Faux Succulents •  Tassel Pillows • Square Stripe Pillows • Top • Shorts • Sandals • Bracelets • Earrings

Can you tell the real ones from the fake?!

Similar Patio Chairs • Garden Stool • Rug • Faux Succulents •  Tassel Pillows • Square Stripe Pillows • Top • Shorts • Sandals

BEFORE

Pulling all those weeds and adding fresh mulch made it looks so much tidier!

AFTER

I’m so happy with how things are looking now!  It’s definitely an improvement!

And Jordan LOVES her swing!!

Dress • Bracelets • Earrings • Buffalo Check Rug • Hello Mat • Black Planters

PATIO REFRESH | ALL ON AMAZON

I was happy to find everything you need for your patio on Amazon! So convenient and I’ve been super happy with my purchases!

Floral Wreath • Faux Succulents • Wood Bench • Buffalo Check Rug • Hello Mat • Owl • Garden Stool • Sidewalk Lights • Eucalyptus Wreath • Stripe Pillows • Square Stripe Pillows • Iron Bench • Black Planters • Table • Potted Succulents

BACKYARD REFRESH | ALL ON AMAZON

LED Cafe Lights • Herb Garden Pots • Outdoor Pillows • Footstool • Swing • Melamine Dinneware Set of 4 • Outdoor Placemats • Lantern • Outdoor Fire Pit • Succulent Planter Pots •  Serving Trays • Palm plant • Table and Chair Set • Unbreakable Wine Tumbler • Outdoor Rug • Bamboo Plant stands • Bench with Storage

Have you been working in your yard lately?  It’s something I needed to do for a long time, but it just wasn’t on the priority list.  Now that it’s done, I’m wishing I had done it sooner!  It’s lovely to enjoy our home, especially since we are here all.the.time!

Have a fantastic day friends!