The Yard...Almost Done!

We finally finished our front landscaping! I actually should say we finished ripping out the existing landscaping (about 40 bushes - and only broke 3 shovels in the process) and we simply planted some knockout rose bushes. We were so overwhelmed with all the different types of shrubs before that we just decided to go with plain jane and plant one type of bush all along the front of the house. This picture is actually just after we had a heavy rain shower, so everything is a little soggy, but you can get an idea.

We also have been working on our side porch. What a nightmare!!! Before we bought our house we didn’t realize what exactly was going on here. It was very overgrown and covered up. With the help of my family, we took out most of the trees last summer and Derrick removed a few more this spring. I have tons of pictures of this area to show true horror...

There is actually two air conditioning units under that mess...

Christmas lights...hmmm...this was July.

And the (somewhat) finished product...

Derrick and I love, love, love to cook so we decided this year we would try to grow our own herbs. We really just wanted to start small and try our hand at a few things, but I will admit I got a little carried away. I had to put back a few different items (one of which was a tooth ache plant – my justification was that I might need it since I am growing stevia). So here are a few pics on our side porch, which is now being used for herbs…

The other night we decided that we should make some pesto with our new herbs. We have basil, but we also have a newer type of basil called “Pesto Perpetuo”. We wanted to try both and see which we preferred. We were (as always) a house divided. We did agree that we liked the pesto with asiago cheese instead of parmesan for something different. Either way, we really enjoyed our fresh herbs.