I finished up my first gardening attempt last week in our back yard..however, our back entrance is more of our main entry since our parking is in the rear- so this is what we see all the time. It was important to "decorate it" now that the area had been painted.
In our front yard, the old planter boxes will be changed with new shrubs since they look terrible now but that meant, FREE shrubs to move to the back. I moved a few Schefflera arboricola plants ito the porch area. I tried to pick the best ones but even they are pretty ugly. They got really leggy in the front instead of bushy & they really aren't that pretty. However, they were free, which means they were for me. I also bought 4 litrope plants at $1.75 each and 6 little polka dot plants at $.77 each. I din't want to buy any annuals, however, somehow they were cute & the price was right. I'll pay the price later when they die. Speaking of dying, on a daily basis they look dead because they get full florida sun & I don't think they are supposed to..but they always come right back when the shade comes around. The border was also recycled from a stack of blocks found in a corner of the yard.
In our front yard, the old planter boxes will be changed with new shrubs since they look terrible now but that meant, FREE shrubs to move to the back. I moved a few Schefflera arboricola plants ito the porch area. I tried to pick the best ones but even they are pretty ugly. They got really leggy in the front instead of bushy & they really aren't that pretty. However, they were free, which means they were for me. I also bought 4 litrope plants at $1.75 each and 6 little polka dot plants at $.77 each. I din't want to buy any annuals, however, somehow they were cute & the price was right. I'll pay the price later when they die. Speaking of dying, on a daily basis they look dead because they get full florida sun & I don't think they are supposed to..but they always come right back when the shade comes around. The border was also recycled from a stack of blocks found in a corner of the yard.
We now have this round concrete thing that remains and I thought about a fountain but that requires electric and we don't even have a plug out there. Now I am looking for a giant pot & I found one that would look really good with the color of the house but its $169 from Lowes, so still searching for something a little cheaper. The other option is to just break it up & take it out & plant some more of the Schefflera plants from the front...that would be the cheapest option.
Here is the before:
After:
