Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Show and Tell Tuesday - Yards and Outdoor Spaces

Today we're sharing our yards and outdoor spaces and I have to be honest, I wasn't super excited to share.  We had so much rain in April and May that yard work was almost impossible (if it wasn't raining than the ground was too wet to do anything).  All that said, we still have a lot of work in progress happening in our yard :)




For years, gnomes have been showing up on my doorstep with little notes about needing a good home.  She will deny it, but it's totally my mom :)  

My boys think they're hilarious and they love hiding them around the yard and their playhouse in the back.  I was creeped out by them at first, but they've grown on me.



Our house sits on a corner and we have LOTS of trees, which means lots of beds and gardening work.   It's neither Dave OR my favorite thing to do, but we make it work :)



On the left side of the house is this large bed filled with irises, hydrangeas, lilies and sage.  I'm currently fighting a losing battle against this weird ground cover that keeps popping up, but I'm determined to win.



 Through the gate is the side yard, and if you remember from last year - the big change is that we just removed all the lariope grass.  It was running rampant and was just a hot mess.  We're trying to make sure that all of that is gone this year and then next year I'll plant in the bed on the right.  It's A LOT of sun, so I'm thinking more sage.


So sad that it was overcast and yuck yesterday!  Here's the yard now and then last year.

 

 In this back corner is our little bench and flower pots.  At some point we'll probably replace this with a hammock.


I love y'all, but it was raining yesterday and so I didn't pull out my patio cushions... or have the boys pick up their toys :) 

The pergola used to have THOUSANDS of roses, but they became diseased and so we had to take them out.  I am DYING for wisteria out here, but I haven't done enough research to know whether or not it can survive in Texas.  Any tips, green thumbs???




And here's a picture from last year of the sandbox...





 Okay - so next up is something I debated sharing. But several of y'all asked about our lockers the last time I mentioned them, so I'm biting the bullet and sharing our garage. I've mentioned it before, but our garage is almost impossible to put cars in.  Well, you can put one car in the garage, and then before you can back it out you have to make sure there are no other cars in the driveway (our driveway has a weird bend to it because of a storm drain.... poor planning and not something you notice until you're living in the house. hahaha). 

Since it's not really conducive for actual parking, we've made it into a play area/storage space/work area.


Our office furniture from our old house and the armoire from Luke's original nursery suite are up against one wall and house coats, jackets, blocks, tinker toys, etc. in the pieces and then decorative items I'm not using at the moment on top.


Since we don't have a designated playroom, we store a lot of toys in the hutch out here.


The dresser from Griffin's nursery holds dress up clothes (hats are in the bins on top) and the PEACE sign from the boys room at Christmas is a fun addition :)  

And yes - one of the knobs is missing because it's in my purse so I can find matching ones for the drawers on her bed.


 The opposite side houses some yard tools, our easel, power wheels and bikes and such.  My kids LOOOOOOOOVE getting out the Fisher Price Little People on rainy/snowy days so they're in the blue bins as well.


They redid the locker room at the club a few years ago and we got three of the old lockers for our garage.


The kids each have one and it's where they throw their jackets, backpacks and shoes.  And yes... THEY put everything in there, hence the mess :)  #letitgo


The rugs are ones that I've had in my house over the years (or my mom has) and they're great out there because the kids are comfortable sitting on the floor playing trains or doing a messy craft or stuff like that.


So.... there are our outdoor spaces!  I wish that I'd had better weather for taking pictures, but such is life!  I can't wait to see your spaces and get lots of inspiration!

   
   

44 comments :

  1. I love your yard! It's so green and lush! I live in an apartment so I only have a small balcony so I'm envious of your beautiful yard! Have a great day!

    Lauren
    www.postgradinprogress.blogspot.com

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  2. Yes, wisteria *will* grow in Texas. I live between Houston and the coast, and it is plentiful here. It will take over if you don't train it and keep it pruned. We've cleared PLENTY of it off our land. My grandparents lived further north, in Marshall TX and they had it too - good coverage for a pergola, and it smells heavenly in the spring!!!

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  3. I've always loved your yard!! I think it's absolutely perfect sitting off of your kitchen like it does. Love, love, love it!

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  4. Love your outside and the use you made of your garage!

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  5. Andrea, happy to be joining you for the first time today. :)

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  6. Your backyard is amazing!!! I seriously want to drop my kids off every time I drive by!! Love that space!

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  7. Eek, my other comment got eaten. Hopefully this doesn't double post. I wanted to say that you don't have to apologize for your yard or your garage. I like that your house is so relatable each year. You guys work hard at it, bit by bit, and improve it. And that garage is so functional for your busy family and serves the best purpose it could for you guys. You always seem to keep your sights on the priority-- having it be a great space that works for your busy family and 3 active, creative children. I love that about your outdoor space, and that gate that opens into the yard is always magical looking to me. The backyard has so many play areas that it looks like a really fun place for kids to be!

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  8. Had I not done a post on my new simple joys I would not have been able to participte. Everything about your posts is real, alive and looks like a happy place for a family. You have rain, which means green grass. Here at our end, hot, sun, no rain, equals brown grass and continues to brown as the summer goes on. The garage and all your rugs, fantastic idea for little ones. My grandchildren would love that.

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    1. Thanks, Michelle!!! It is most definitely a happy place ;)

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  9. I love all the trees and green! We live in Colorado and we have the worst time getting anything to grow and it's so brown! (except right now because we've had a ton of rain this spring) :)

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    1. Thank you!!! So much rain this year has been GREAT for the plants!

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  10. I am not sure if this is true, but I have always heard Wisteria is poisonous to dogs. Just check it out maybe with your vet for the sake of JBM. I love it though! I want to plant it in our backyard but I have two dense dogs that would probably chow down.

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    1. Oh no! I'll have to do some research - although he's not out there alone really ever and when we're out there together he pretty much wants to be in our laps.... even when we're standing :) hahaha

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  11. Your yard is so fun and warm and comfortable, just like your house! And your garage arrangement is genius! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

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  12. Love your ideas! I live in Longview, just about 2 hours east of you, and YES, wisteria does really well here! Plus, it smells heavenly and I love when it blooms in the spring. :) It would look great on your pergola! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. YAY!!! Looks like Fall planting is in my future! EEEK! :)

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  13. I love that you posted your yard "as is" - it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. :) Happy Tuesday!

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    1. Amen!!! I would have loved to at least pull out my patio cushions, but it was raining and I had just blow dried my hair. hahahaha #priorities

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  14. I love the garage space! We are in the process of trying to kill some ground cover too. It is a labor of love that is for sure!!

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    1. Ugh!!! Between the ground cover and the monkey grass I'm almost willing to just let them take over :)

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  15. I really love your outside space! And the garage, it looks great to me, what a great way to repurpose something that probably wouldn't have had much use besides holding cars. Makes me wish we had a garage.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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    1. Thanks, Liz! IT really wasn't serving it's original purpose so we made it work for us :)

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  16. Your yard is absolutely gorgeous! I live in Arizona now and so miss the lush green yards and shade trees I grew up with in Ohio!

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    1. Thank you, Linda!!! We'll see how lush it looks in August :) hahaha

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  17. I love how your life seems so well "lived in" meaning everything you post is so relatable and real. It's not perfect or manicured like some blogs try to portray and I love that!! I love that your yard has toys everywhere and your garage has reused carpets and furniture. Your family seems so down to earth and natural - it helps me to feel more proud of presenting my life exactly as it is. You enjoy what you have, make the best of everything and you embrace it. It's refreshing!! Thanks for sharing

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  18. Love your garage space! I should show everyone our garage, it's every organized persons dream. My husband organized and labeled everything! Really handy when we need to find something actually :)

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  19. Andrea, I'm so excited to be joining you for the first time today :) I love your idea of utilizing the garage as additional play space. Ours isn't used for parking cars either, so it currently just sits as additional (messy!) storage ;)

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  20. I love how you turned the garage into an additional room! Such a great idea, but my husband will never go for it! Haha!

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  21. Your yard is amazing and that sandbox... so fun!

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  22. You can absolutely grow wisteria in Texas…the problem is it grows too well. My backyard in Dallas had a large tree that was absolutely beautiful. However, despite my mom constantly pruning it, it managed to grow under our next door neighbor's driveway and seriously disrupt the concrete. My parents eventually gave up and decided to remove it, and that proved to be an even larger challenge. It took several months to kill and remove of all the vines and roots. It was really pretty though and smelled wonderful…

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    1. Oh no!!! Is the tree the same as the vine?? I need to do some more research. Thanks for the info, Tori!

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  23. Love your garage! Seems like such a great space! And your yard is cozy :) I love the little bench and all of the plants.

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  24. Wisteria will absolutely grow in Texas. I'm 50 miles South of Houston. It will grow like crazy so you will need to keep it pruned or it will cover your entire pergola. If I were still in the same house, I would share a picture of the swing I had my trained to grow around. It was almost like a canopy over it. Very beautiful and smells wonderful in the Spring!! Good luck!! :)

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  25. Andrea, I have a name for Wisteria...Devil Weed!!! We had it at our last house and it was very invasive. It covered our pergola and headed up the roof. My husband had to trim it all the time. It would also pop up in random places around the yard. Even though it's gorgeous, I'd say don't do it.

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  26. I live just down the road in Ft Worth, and we've had a non-invasive wisteria growing on our pergula for almost 15 years now! So easy and we've enjoyed the cover it provides. I would research Evergreen Wisteria as well, it is a little different than what you probably have in mind- but might be just the compromise!

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