New Foundations, Lil' Front Garden

So pulling into our driveway on the first, we found that the carcass of our garage had been carried away during the workday (well, most of it, some being around the backyard).

And we now understood the sign we saw hooked onto our back door the day before.

We quickly decided to take their advice and have been using the front porch for the last week. Then, in the past week, the crappy old foundations for the garage were beefed up. One side was knocked down and wholesale replaced. The other two foundation walls were built up half a foot or so and all of them now have rebar to strengthen the bond.

Last in the backyard, the men have also started on the french drain.

Then, starting last weekend, being blocked from easy access to my backyard maintenance, I decided to finally start digging up the front yard. Last Sunday:

Just about the very first thing I did once the house was officially ours was clean up the grass and weeds in the front sidewalks and growing in the little hole for the street tree. But until last week I hadn't done anything except try to deeply water it once a week or so (we still don't have a front hose bib so I've had to drag the back hose around or use a bucket). But last week I finally got out there and saved the tree from it's ugly weedyness. I've put in all plants that I started from seed at the end of July, not even 2 months ago.

My pretty little lambs ears. They should spread out over the whole area eventually.

Then, Chamomile. It seems a bit of a sensitive plant, don't know if it will do well in the low water street planting but they've been bursting from their little 3" pots. And I love the way they smell! And Patrick will like the little white daisies.

The last bit of the planting, they're hard to see but there are two tiny little blue fescue clumps on this side. I think I'll move the one that's farther back over the the chamomile side soon - that's probably not enough room for two clumps of grass. There are also a bunch of Gazania but I've decided since they bloomed about two weeks ago, that I don't really like them. They were listed as an annual though so I put them in anyway as by next year the lambs ears will have taken them over.

Anyway, this weekend we started digging up the front "lawn." You've seen it before in pictures like this.

Now we have this!

It looks teeny and insignificant BUT we spent hours and hours getting all the grass out of those two beds and out from under the concrete. We had to pick out all the roots you see below until the place was clean. It certainly wasn't quick, but I don't want to get this horrible grass growing up through our mulch and into my lil' baby plants.

But isn't it pretty for all of it.

It's mostly symmetrical, for this part. After the rocks, each side will be different.

See our new pretty little Cuphea and Yellow Lantana.

My Catmint from Seed.

More Blue Fescue. Just another two or so small pots of it that still need to find ground.

And Lavender Lady. It's supposed to bloom 3 months from seed but I guess in a month it will be too cold for it to flower, so next year.

Sadly, that's all we had time to get done this weekend but at least the change is quite dramatic. We have more than half a dozen more plants we wanted to get to but they will have to wait til next week I guess.