In 2011, we had a library addition built on to the west side of our house. This required removing two large silver maple trees from the yard west of the house, and some grading work on the levels of the yard on that side of the house. After the construction was finished at the end of the summer, we laid edging bricks around the addition to make borders on all three sides of it, and also had the ground to the west of the addition terraced up with a retaining wall.
We also had to rebuild our front porch (every part but the roof). When we removed the screens that had enclosed it we discovered that the whole thing was rotting away and sagging. Another discovery was that the white picket fence around our house had been constructed of some kind of inappropriate wood, and was also rotting away, necessitating total replacement too. The porch was nearly 90 years old, so the rotting was understandable, but that fence wasn't even fifteen years old. Grrr. ($$)
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| The new library addition is at left, on the west side of our house. The white picket fence has been removed but has not yet been replaced. The front porch has been rebuilt without the screens. |
ajh
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| We replaced the sod in the small front yard while we had the fence out. It sure looked nice without any weeds.... |
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| More freshly laid sod, and the William & Mary Bed looked great with Sweet Williams and David Austen Mary Roses. |
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| These 'New Dawn' climbing roses flowered beautifully on the wood arbor over our front walk. The arbor had been attached to our fence, and when the fence was removed I asked our builder (who was already there working on the library addition) to brace it against any high winds we might get. |
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| This bed in front of out front porch had pink flowers in it: bee balm, lilies, delphiniums, roses, and mums. |
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| The other side of the porch had mainly purple flowers in it. |
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| The same bed as two images previously, later in the year. Four o'clocks and mums put on a show. Those dark pink mums were perennial even in our Iowa climate, and they came back for a number of years until I moved them. The cultivar name was 'Beth', which is easy for me to remember. I wish I could find them to buy again, but I've looked online and in stores for years and never found them.... |
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| The front border after the new fence was installed, but before we painted it. The Shasta daisies (probably 'Becky') looked great there. |
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| The new border around the side and front of the addition. The new fence around the front yard can be seen at the top of the photo. |
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| The back, north side of the addition, with the edging pavers laid out but not yet installed. Hostas have been planted in the border, and the new retaining wall and west terrace are beyond. |
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| A flowery scene at dusk |
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