My Backyard

Hi, it’s Allison!

Today I want to give you a tour of my backyard and take you through how I transformed this space from a blank slate to one of my favorite places to be. I moved into this house over 14 years ago, and when I moved in, there was really nothing here. The yard had no fence and lots of deer…everything was eaten!

I started off building this outdoor space by planting a foundation. I incorporated a lot of larger shrubs and trees around the perimeter to get a good, solid base.

From there, I started creating garden beds and layered in plants with varying heights, texture and color. I actually have over 100 different plants varying from evergreen shrubs to flowering perennials…I am definitely a plant geek! I get so much joy out of researching and experimenting with different shrubs, flowers, and trees. As a designer, home stager, and gardener, I love moving my plants around and finding them just the right spot in my yard. There are so many factors to consider when installing plants including sun exposure, soil condition, and mature size. Of course, other factors that reflect your personality like color, shape and texture are important as well.

Let me show you some of my favorite plants in this space. This first one is a Red Tip Photinia. It’s really stunning! When I first bought it, it was up to my knees, and now, it’s well over my head. The Red Tip Photinia is relatively low maintenance and provides a great, sturdy shrub ideal for privacy and landscaping purposes. Look at all of the red foliage…it’s a fantastic shrub to include in your landscaping plans and designs. I absolutely love it!

I also want to show you this sweet, sweet garden that I built for my kids when they were really young. I have a mini wrought iron set they used to use for tea parties that is still here. I planted a few Woodland Poppies which have naturalized and popped-up here and there.

Woodland Poppies are perennials, and they provide beautiful ground cover. These yellow poppies are growing like crazy right now!

Another one of my favorites is the Bleeding Heart. This is the daintiest little plant, but it cracks me up because of its blooms. Obviously, this plant is called bleeding heart for its heart-shaped blooms, but I think they look a lot like little bouffants. Isn’t that hysterical? Bleeding Heart plants also prefer shade, so they are ideal if you are looking for something to plant in a shady patch of your yard. The Bleeding Heart is one of my gardening favorites!

I hope you guys some have fun in your yard like I did today! Your yard is an extension of your house, and you can use it for a variety of purposes: to entertain, relax, get creative, or have some quality family time. So, get out there! I challenge you to experiment.

Have a great day,

Allison