front yard remodel updates

We recently added more plantings to our front yard landscaping. We inserted more structure to the overall front yard remodel design, and we are excited to share the current design updates. Every improvement adds a little bit more charm and curb appeal to our home. We still have plenty to do, so come along for the ride.

To bring everyone up to speed we started the front yard remodel a couple of years ago {as 2020 unraveled}. We were able to work on much of it during Shelter in Place. I share all the progression posts at the end of this post, showing all the different stages of the front yard remodel project.

Plantings for the front yard remodel

⚜️ Little Ollie Patio Trees

We just added Little Ollie patio trees to the fence line in the front of our home. I love so many things about these trees, which add so much interest with a TON of personality. I love the provincial Mediterranean vibes they offer, but the topiary shape gives off a hint of a well manicured English garden. The juxtaposition of rustic and refined always appeals to me.

We bought these in 5 gallon drums, reaching a height of about 4 feet from the bottom of the root ball to the top of the tree. The name of the grower here in Northern California is Monrovia. I love the topiary shape of the patio trees and they provide great structure against the fence. I am always attracted to topiary anything, which I expressed in my {a great topiary mantel styling idea}.

We planted six trees in front of the fence, centered on each fence section. You can read all about the fence which the Masterpiece men built during shelter in place {the hog wire fence project}.

The plan right now is to plant lambs ear, white lantana and Russian sage along the fence in between the olive patio trees to fill in the space. We have run into some difficulty finding some of our desired plant options so it’s been a slow process. I will share an update when we fill in more of the plantings.

We also planted a little Ollie patio tree in front of each window, which flank the church pew and provide additional structure to the design. There are more details here {the church pew bench}.

⚜️ White Cottage Flower Cutting Garden

We are in the process of waiting to pick up these daisy varieties. These are only a fraction of what we ordered from this particular nursery. Like I said, it’s slow going.

My vision is to have a variety of white flowers on the landing spaces inside the fence at the top of our front yard. The majority of the flowers will hopefully be of the daisy family. My mother’s name was Margarita, which means daisy in Spanish. This flower patch will be in her memory.

I also want to include other varieties like dahlias, peonies, foxgloves, delphiniums, stock, salvia and more. All of them unified by color. This is part of my vision board for this planting area and you can see more of my garden inspiration on my Pinterest board here {for the garden}.

Hardscape for the front yard remodel

The front yard is divided in half down the middle by the slate walkway we built at the beginning of this project. Consequently, the top cottage flower cutting section is also divided in two sections and each one will have its own focal point. One side already has the vintage cement urn and the other section will hopefully have a birdbath.

You can read about the vintage urn here {birthday wishes}. I was not able to hunt for a vintage birdbath during SIP and beyond, since so many flea markets and antique shows were suspended. Everything is pretty much back to normal in that regard, so I will restart my search.

In the meantime we can set up the walkways through the cottage cutting flower gardens. We plan to use decomposed granite and line the walkways with brick rocks for a simple treatment. The walkways will mainly function for us to get the flowers for snipping and cutting, although we do need a walkway from the secondary driveway to the main path.

Maturing of the front yard remodel

The plants we planted initially for the front yard remodel have matured nicely. I love how everything has grown in and established itself. The Snow in Summer that flanks the main walkway has grown around the slate to give it all the cottage vibes.

The Blue Ficus and the Dichondra have also filled in nicely. The Blue Ficus lines both outer edges next to each driveway. The Dichondra cascades over the wall and has crept its way nicely into the planting areas. I love the look! I can not wait to see it when it’s all filled in with flowers.

The Dusty Miller and Artemisia around the {front yard sitting area} have fully filled in, and grounds the sitting area nicely. The Dusty Miller was full of yellow blooms, which Mister M diligently pruned before I was able to snap a photo. If you zoom into the panoramic picture above you can catch glimpses of the yellow flowers.

Miss M liked the flowers so much she created an arrangement. It was perfect to replace the dahlias in the front hall, which I shared here {summertime patriotic decor vignettes}.

Previous projects in the front yard remodel

You can see how everything looked like before, and the details on how we remodeled it in the following posts.

“Gardening is the art that uses flowers & plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.”

E;izabeth Murray

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linking with between naps on the porch