Yard Improvements

First, can I just say that I love renting a house.  Yes, that is right, renting, its great!  Our landlord told us that our only yard responsibilities would be to mow (lawn mower provided) and shovel the snow.  Piece of cake.  No weeding, (although I have done some and the landlord has too), no planting, no nothing.

Our yard, while beautiful is also incredibly high maintenance, or at least it could be if we were more invested in this house.  Our landlord obviously loves plants and we have all varieties scattered in every corner of the yard.  For the most part, it is beautiful, but a little too much for my liking.  But, like I said, we don't own the house, we don't have to worry about selling it in four years, so I'm not going to stress myself out over trying to make this yard live up to its potential. 

That being said, we have done some minor things, so I thought I would share.  Neither Richard or I love yard work, so I must say, I am quite pleased with our accomplishments.

Below are pictures of my little flower bed in front as well as a pot.  A few weeks ago my sweet neighbor, who works at the local plant nursery and who has a gorgeous yard, brought me an entire flat of flowers and said she had changed her color scheme and didn't need these flower any more.  She told me where to plant them and how to take care of them.  This flower bed was originally full of weeds, grass, and dead tulips.  Beautiful right?!  :)  I weeded it, added some fertilizer, and got these little flowers in the ground three weeks ago.  I am happy to report that they are still alive.  After I planted the flowers I thanked my neighbor and told her it was perfect timing because my family was coming for a visit.  She exclaimed that if we had family coming we had to do something with that empty pot and immediately brought me this fern and four flowers to plant.  I have a good neighbor.  So, thanks to her, I have these little beauties.  

Nevermind that rosebush.  It is not doing well.  I wish I could just dig it up.

The next picture is Richard's baby.  For years Richard has dreamed of having a fire pit in the backyard.  Well, a few weeks ago he bought a weed-whacker to spruce up the hard to mow places in our yard.  This little spot was one of them.  There are three steps made up of rocks that are falling apart and then a little circle of rocks at the top of the stairs.  After he cut away all of the grass and weeds we discovered that it was a great little area for a fire pit.  Richard was thrilled.  

Well, last Saturday morning during breakfast he asked Marshall what he wanted to do that day.  Before Marshall could even respond Richard said, "Yard work?  Do you want to work in the yard?"  My jaw dropped.  Richard HATES yard work, and that is no exaggeration.  But, before I knew it those two were out shoveling the remaining grass and measuring the space.  They bought these stones and some sand and spent the rest of the day creating this little patio.  Marshall had the time of his life and Richard is pleased with the finished product.

On Friday Richard finally bought his fire pit and just set it up last night with his Dad.  We are planning on building a fire tomorrow night and roasting smores.  It should be great!

 And here's just a sample of what our yard looks like.  Lots and lots of flowers.  Beautiful, but also very overgrown.  :)

Oh yes, one more reason why I am loving just renting this house...
On Thursday we got brand new windows.  The existing windows were original to the home (1951).  It was so great to have the window company show up, put them all in, do a great job, and leave without asking for a penny.  :)  I am loving the new windows and love that I didn't have to pay a dime.  :)

Don't worry, someday we really will own a home, but for now this is perfect.