I apologize for Wednesday’s missing post, we had a special family birthday celebration on the 17th that had my undivided attention – our little love bug turned seven!! I can’t believe it and have so many mixed feelings about it. I thank God every day for having her in our lives, for her happy, funny and curious nature. But with each year that passes I wish I could somehow slow down the minutes and days so we can cuddle a little more, and she can be my little girl a little while longer… I also wanted to thank everyone who left messages after last Friday’s post, I so appreciate your kind words, advice and encouragement. In fact, I’ve gotten Margaret Roach’s revised gardening-primer book – A Way to Garden and I’m smitten and highly recommend it to anyone in a similar predicament – that is having the garden but not a clue what to do with it.
We moved three weeks ago today and have been slowly making decisions on the inside ever since. Like furniture layouts for the living room and study, color schemes and whether or not to replace some of the windows. I still haven’t made up my mind about all of the details and I have a feeling it will be a while before I’ll have all the answers but I feel like we’ve made some progress (more about that in a future post). What I did know right off the bat was what to do with the front yard. The house looks quite charming as it is and has a storybook feeling that I knew I wanted to enhance. But it also had an unkept front garden that needed some immediate attention. I agonized a little over this and felt bad to remove what someone else had planted over the years but honestly, I had no idea what plants were in, none of them had flowers nor looked familiar so I replaced the little patch with something more structured that I could, in time, learn to care for and control.
It was a three-day job for the three of us. We first leveled the grass and plants and then I spent a whole morning digging up hundreds of bulbs at all depths. I kept most of them in hopes of replanting them someplace else (probably at the back). After days of deciding, I went with pink hydrangea shrubs from Walmart and so far I’m glad I did. Like many of you mentioned, hydrangeas will change color based on the acidity of the soil so although they went in pink, they might turn blue -purple by next summer. I still don’t quite understand how it works but apparently there’s a way to control the color by adding aluminum to the soil to turn the blooms blue.
I know many of you suggested I got blue ones originally but I had several reasons to pick the pink ones instead – the greatest one being that I had no choice 🙂 In the three weeks that passed from when I first saw them (a week before we closed on the house) and the moment we were ready to plant, the blue ones at the Walmart nursery had completely wilted! I didn’t want to plant wilted hydrangeas so I got three of the best-looking pink ones and later returned for a fourth one. The other reason is that I found a source claiming that it is easier to turn pink blooms into blue ones than vice versa. So I thought I’d give the plants two years to acclimate with the soil and reevaluate then whether or not a change of color is in order.
Another thing that’s different is the front door. Ours was in good condition but I did not like the semi-circular glass at the top. I wanted something simpler and we found just the right door – a Craftsman style with 6 lites that we have yet to paint. Replacing the storm door is not in the budget this month – it’s fine but really not my style so instead I’ll get some exterior paint and paint the shiny brass portion at the bottom.
We also removed the screens from the front windows on the ground floor and gave them a good clean, removed a decade of dust and cobwebs and oiled the hardware. The picket fence was a lovely feature but unfortunately is now down. The middle pole was rotten and the entire structure was defying gravity, threatening to crush the hydrangeas we’ve worked so hard to plant. We intend to replace it with a similar one but so far we’ve had bad luck. Our contractor didn’t show on three distinct, agreed-upon dates so we’ve decided to look for someone else or just DIY it. On the inside, I’ve chosen a paint color for the living room and my husband is painting as I write this. I better go and help! I’ll be back next week with our usual blog schedule and some fun home tours, I promise!
It’s so inviting!!
Author
Thanks, Janet!!! Glad you like it! xoxo, Eva
Hi Eva – just wanted to say that I love your blog! Yours is only the second one I follow, as most seem to have interchangeable cookie cutter designs. I love English Home magazine, and the houses you feature have the same feel.
I also wanted to ask where you found your front door. We retired, and have been restoring a 1945 cottage in West Virginia. The existing front door is obviously a later replacement, and also has the half circle window. The one you chose is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Thanks, Gail.
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Hello, Gail!! Thank you so much, that is so sweet of you, thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoy the blog. As for the door, I found it at our local Home Depot (link below). It is a Craftsman door with 6 lites and comes primed so needs to be painted on all six sides for the warranty to kick in. I liked that it has very clean lines and minimal (zero) embellishments. I’m looking at paint options right now and In time I’ll add an antique brass knocker when I find one. I hope this helps 🙂 xoxo, Eva
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Feather-River-Doors-36-in-x-80-in-6-Lite-Clear-Craftsman-Unfinished-Smooth-Left-Hand-Inswing-Fiberglass-Prehung-Front-Door-GK3190/204487446
So glad you got Margaret Roach’s book! You will love it and appreciate it as a source of ongoing inspiration and advice. Your new home is looking great already.
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Thank you, Linda! I love Margaret Roach’s book, so much to learn!! xoxo, Eva
Eva,
What a nice transformation with the front landscape, already. Just take your time to enjoy what you have completed already. Happy Birthday to your precious daughter!
Keep the pictures coming!
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Hi, Jane!! Thank you so much for the Bday wishes!! Taking time to plan and enjoy the process is exactly what I intend to do these days, thank you!! xoxo, Eva
Love the color and storybook style of your home! I am also in the process of restructuring our foundation plants. We moved into an older home with a row of tall boxwood bushes circling the house, all grown together & pruned into a continuous trapezoid shape…not pretty and yet very high maintenance. Your color choices are great!
Author
Hi, Cindy! Your home sounds lovely, boxwood can do miracles for a cottage’s curb appeal but I do get it being high maintenance. Maybe there’s a way to reshape them/ replant them as a backyard live fence and replace them with new ones that can be trained in a different shape? We have two massive yew hedges at the front and I find myself wishing we had boxwood instead 🙂 xoxo, Eva
Yay for progress! Welcome to the world of home-ownership!
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Thanks, Katie!! Love it so far!!! xoxo, Eva
What an adorable house, and I really like what you’re doing to the yard so far. I think the pink flowers look great with the color of the house. I’m looking forward to the changes and improvements you share in the future. Truly enjoy your blog!
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Thank you so much, Paula! I’m glad you enjoy the small changes we’ve implemented so far. We have more things planned for the summer so stay tuned 🙂 xoxo, Eva
Agree with the previous poster. The pink hydrangeas were a better choice. They look very pretty with the colour of your house. And belated birthday wishes to your little darling. She and my Mom share a birthday!
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Thank you so much, Mary!! Glad you like the pink hydrangeas! xoxo, Eva
I had a cement front porch with age that looked just like yours. A rented power washer took all that gunk off. Spectacular results for a $30 rent charge. Love your blog. Ann
Author
Thanks for the tip, Ann! It does look kind of dirty, doesn’t it? 🙂 xoxo, Eva