Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Updates around the house

I'm excited that spring is finally here. Let's hope it stays around, I love that all of my plants have sprung back to life.
Tulips coming up in the front yard! 
Over the past few weeks, I've planted a new rose bed in our backyard. We had an empty spot along the left fence that gets full sun, so it was the perfect place for new roses.  We started by removing all of the grass that was there and building the area up with dirt. Then, I planted two knockout rose bushes that I moved from another place in our yard. We added about 6 bare root roses from Home Depot as an experiment. They were pretty inexpensive, so I wanted to try to grow them... so far 4/6 of them have done really well and have lots of new growth!
New rose bed

This weekend, we made a trip to Witherspoon Rose Culture in Durham. This place is like heaven if you like rose bushes and like to collect them. I had to restrain myself but wound up getting some great ones! I was especially excited to get some David Austin roses, which are the type of large old English roses that often get confused for peonies. Here are the ones that we got.


Heritage®
David Austin's Heritage
Abraham Darby®
David Austin's Abraham Darby
Gertrude Jekyll®
David Austin's Gertrude Jekyll
Fame!™
Fame Hybrid Tea
Legends™
Legends Hybrid Tea

Other than gardening, we have also had some updates made to the house! We had a new roof put on yesterday. I love how much it updates the house. The old shingles were a gray-ish brown and just looked tired. Now the architectural shingles match our shutters and just look so much nicer! Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone yesterday. 
First thing in the morning, tearing off the old
shingles.
Sneaking a picture in the afternoon while they were
still working
The finished roof, this morning! 

Before (Christmas 2012) and After... what a difference!
So, what have you been up to around your house? Are you planting anything new in the yard?

6 comments:

  1. I followed your tutorial for making an ottoman. I didn't have a coffee table, so I had my husband build the base and then followed your upholstering steps. It turned out awesome! Thank you posting it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Riley, that's great! I'm so glad it turned out well :)

      Delete
  2. That's great y'all have been getting a lot done lately! I fee like such a slacker... haven't done much at all since beginning of March. I've been wanting to plant some rose bushes in our backyard, too. I need to get a move on it, because now is the time to plant. Yours are going to be so pretty! Definitely take pictures when they start to bloom.

    Your roof turned out great, too! What a difference it makes! We had our roof done a year after we moved in and we are so glad we did.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have a gorgeous house and the new shingles made it even more beautiful. It's amazing how a little alteration and matching of colors can do wonders with the overall appearance of the house. It looks really nice. And I love your roses too!
    Brook Daily

    ReplyDelete
  4. I adore your blog! And I LOVE the shutters on your house. Making me consider adding some to mine! Thanks for the shares.
    XOXO
    -Amanda
    coleandamandapeterson.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just dropping by to tell you that I'm in awe with the improvement of your house. I do lots of renovations in our house too, and I am always surprised at how much a color can give each room a new identity. You did great with the color of choice with your roof shingles; it gave your house a royal look. I like it! Noreen Saint

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips