Landscaping Inspiration? Run Away!

I spent the day looking around Lowe's and another garden center with my friend Wendy. She is doing some landscaping in the front of her house, so we were looking for ideas. We took a little trip around town, stopping in front of peoples' houses and really looking at their landscaping. It was really fun because although we've driven past these houses 100's of times, we never really LOOK. If you're looking for inspiration, I'd say try it. It really does help you know what you should or shouldn't do.

Now, I decided to send Wendy some pictures because although she's been to my house tons of times, I'm pretty sure she's never inspected the landscaping. I take NO credit for the landscaping at my house. Landscapers & the previous owners did it all...Thank the LORD! LOL!
I don't know what half of the plants are and I'm only really figuring out what to pull out for sure and what are weeds. I'm getting good at that part though. Granted, a lot of our shrubs and bushes are overgrown, but my dh assures me that bushes are this weekend's project. Of course... it is also 24 Hours of LeMans weekend, so I'm skeptical. So, ignore the big huge bushes and some of the bad weeds you see and look at this landscaping for what it is worth as inspiration. My favorite thing that they did was this; they planted colorful foliage. This allows us to have lots of bright pretty colors even when there are no flowers blooming to provide color.

Here are pictures of the backyard. I'm starting there because it is the most "done" when it comes to weeding and trimming. There is still a hedge row that needs to be shaped. I'm hoping to use these as before pictures and then I'll post after pictures when everything is completed.

This one is looking out the door of our screened in room (aka "The Picnic Room"). Lots of hosta and ornamental grasses and lilies. The grasses are great because in the fall they provide me with great "wheat" stalks for in centerpieces! See the layers of color I was talking about?

This is in front of the pool yard. Japanese maple and a pretty blue spruce shrub. The vine you see gets a pretty purple flower and I know the name, but can't think of it now.

This is in the backyard looking out toward one of the garages and the top of the driveway. I love the way they placed rocks here and there.

This is the same garden as the first picture. There is a huge blue spruce in the corner. It is getting really big. Yikes. The tree trunk you see is a ginko tree. LOVE it!

Same garden with my cuties in it.

And another with G. facing the pool yard.

The other side of that huge blue spruce. You can see the corner of the picnic room.

Check out that weeping pine shrub. We call it Cousin It.

The poolyard fence with a little rock wall border and some ground cover.

The wooded corner in front of the poolyard. We're lucky to have a beautiful wooded backdrop to our yard.

This old moss-covered picnic table was out in the woods and I had dh drag it out so I could feed the birds and squirrels on it and I put a picnic basket and a planter on it. I planted plants in both. I'll save the closeup of that for another day.

Japanese maples and some other shrubs and a pine tree in the front of the house an in the area behind the deck.

An area in the poolyard where we put our fire pit. It isn't there yet. This bush needs some trimming and I plan to change the color of that outdoor furniture this summer. Wonder what color I should go with??? Thoughts?

This is a weeping something or other. LOL! The bushes under it need some trimming as well.... more for the "After" photos.

The tree in the pool yard. It has a robin nest in it. Awe!

A crazy pine that I'm not so sure about. I want to rip it out. It may be dead.

Another tree in the poolyard with a birdhouse in it that bird actually use.

Wendy, here's the verigated yellow and green ground cover. It spreads nicely. Yes, those are weeds in the foreground.

Major hosta!

We have 2 acres of landscaped yard. It is a lot of work, really. I suggest smaller! That's why I said, "Run Away" in the title! They've created 7 or 8 different flower gardens about the yard and they get weeded 2 or 3 times a summer. You can tell I'm not much of a gardener. I did get the boys to help me and they really love it, so I hope it stays that way. I'll pay them $20 each to weed for me. I'm still teaching them what to pull and what not to pull and how to cut with the loppers, etc. V. gets bored with it easily, but G. loved it.

Is it considered child labor if the kid WANTS to do it? LOL!