(back) in it to win it

spring popped ’round last weekend, got us all excited about the house again, and then laughed in our faces. (and by laughed, i mean snowed.)

we had just enough time to cut down the big bushes that were crowding the front yard…

once things warm up again we’re going to get going on landscaping the front yard. since it’s such a small space, every detail will count; so we’re meeting with landscape architect lois grimm of greenspace inc, who comes highly recommended on angie’s list.

not only is it a bitty patch of land, but there are a lot of factors to take into account:

• the house faces north, so that area is always shaded.
• we’re going with native plants, but it’s hard to figure out which ones they are.
• should we stick to plants native to illinois, or will any old nascar-loving, deer-hunting midwestern plant do?
• which plants play well together?
• we want to have a tree that will fit the scale of the house—so probably 15 to 20 feet tall. it also needs to be pretty skinny.
• we’re also going for “winter interest,” so the place doesn’t look dead half the year.
• beyond that, it’d be good to have flowers that bloom at different stages during the summer.
• and, oh yeah, we want all perennials that need little watering.

of course, we have no problem with the design itself; we know exactly what shapes and overall look we want, which i’m sure lois will be overjoyed to hear. she’s coming over on saturday to take a look and talk to us. hopefully she won’t run off screaming when she sees our mound of dirt. (yep, still there.)

(ps—it’s good to be back.)