How Our Yard is Looking One Year After Updates
About a year ago I shared how to make vinyl shutters look brand new. It was supposed to be a series of ‘curb appeal’ posts about small things we did in our front yard. But best laid plans…?
Old Plants
One of those small things was updating the plants in the front beds. We originally planted gardenias there. And slowly over the 6 years they were there, they lost their leaves and didn’t look very healthy.
After treating them for bugs and fertilizing them, I did a little research and learned that afternoon sun is basically just bad for gardenias. Hmm..that’s exactly what they got every single day…so it was time to replace them!
New Plants
But you know what loves sunlight of any kind? A fun plant I’d been eyeing for some time called Sunshine Ligustrum!? So my parents gave me 5 for my birthday last year. (2 are planted on the other side of the yard.) And it was immediately so much better and prettier out there!
They mature to 3-4 feet tall, which still keeps them under our window. And that’s important to me for safety’s sake! If perpetrators can hide behind bushes it’s easier for them to break into windows unnoticed!
One Year Later
But this post is about how those ligustrums are doing 1 year later. The answer: AWESOME!
They’re thriving and growing in nice and full. It’s discouraging sometimes to buy plants because what you can afford is so small and looks puny when you plant it. But you HAVE to account for their mature size. So it’s very fulfilling that they didn’t take very long to look this good!??
Shutters
You can maybe see in the pictures above that the shutters I polished up in this post aren’t looking quite as good. They look better than they did before I worked on them, but not as good as right after. It’s still worth the $6 bottle of Armorall and 30 minutes of elbow grease! And maybe something I’ll have to do every 1.5-2 years to keep them, and our house, looking fresh.
So there you have it, a quick update on how our front yard is growing this summer. Of course we added our annual pine straw in the beds earlier this summer and I try to edge the grass once a month during growing season. It’s the little details like those that make the whole yard look sophisticated, polished, and loved! My favorite!?
Let me know in the comments if you’ve made any changes in your front yard this year! What’s your favorite way to update the curb appeal of your home? Please share!
Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea
Have you thought of spray painting your shutters with paint that is made for plastic? There are a few manufacturers out there. It may hold up better and it has UV protection for color fading.
Hey Elaine! Painting is the last resort for me! To do it right I’d have to take them all off of the house. And then put them back up! And that seems like a lot of work!?Ha! ~Chelsea
Chelsea I tried your Armour All and my shutters look 100 times better – love the bushes. Thanks for all your tips!
Awesome Judy! Thanks for letting me know. ~Chelsea
Chelsea- Re: Painting Shutters…As a last resort sev. years ago..atleast 7-8 years ago..I spray painted my shutters (plastic) that came with my home..I used a spray paint for plastic .. Went from faded green to black.. At the time thinking if they only looked good for a year ..until I could afford to purchase new..anything was better than what I had…NEVER In my wildest dreams did I think they would look good this long!!..just now after all these years am I seeing a few places that need touched up :o. …I’m pretty sure I used rustoleum brand spray paint. And actually they were very easy to get on and off of house!
Great to hear, Viv! Thanks so much for sharing! ~Chelsea
Your front yard looks beautiful, Chelsea! And, I agree about keeping bushes low. We had an elderly neighbor who had a camellia bush near her front door. One evening when she walked out of her house & took a few steps, a man jumped out from behind the bush & robbed her! All of that bushes around her house became mulch after that!
Looks better. I would add window boxes under the front windows.
Great idea with the armoral.
I would love some window boxes! ~Chelsea
I have used armour all on my shutters for 114 years now to keep them looking great and to keep the color .I use it on my plastic chairs also and on plastic flower pots .The more you do it the better they will look
Shutters look great + on windows but maintaining them is not great-
I think oh I’ll do this then oh why did u do this, what were u thinking, u gave yourself more work not less.
I have garden issues. In my head all my ideas r great, then when I incorporate them into landscape not so much my idea is not so great. Any ideas on getting vines & weeds gone(I have dogs can’t use chemicals)? The renters don’t upkeep their yard, weeds, vines, overgrown plants, help!
Even the other side of my yard not good I cut, trim,weed & it comes back. Was thinking of buying a tiller cultivator, which I believe will help. I was looking but which ones stand the test of durability easy to handle & electic, & also under or around 300.00?
Thank you Chelsea for your time
Barb
I am writing this down because I have the same full sun issue and I also badly need to do a little landscaping! Thanks for the tip!