Bits and Pieces: Sprucing up the Outdoor Spaces

 Well it's official, after another long, yucky winter, spring is here! 

May long weekend is always the official starting point to me for Spring as the weather here can be so wishy-washy. As usual, this past weekend did not disappoint and while I spent most of it at a friend'a cabin, I did get out and work on the yard quite a bit on Monday. 

Here's a bit of what I managed to do so far:

First up, I got working on the front yard. The grass up there never seems to grow that green and lush so I definitely want to see if I can improve that this year. I got the rake out and took off as much dead stuff as I could. Unfortunately my neighbours aren't so concerned about their grass and get a lot of weeds so I pulled as many as I could out of my lawn, but it's sometimes a never ending battle when others don't care...

The crabapple tree already has some shoots so there wasn't much a need for pruning thankfully. The biggest work needed up here is for the small flower bed. While I do have some tulips that are coming up and should start blooming very soon, the 4 shrubs look a little worse for wear. I will definitely be trimming those up this week. I cleared most of the dead leaves out of here by hand and added some new mulch. It really helps make the space look a ton better! 

The little owl planter I got last year didn't fare so well over the winter- the metal flaked off in a few places and he was starting to rust; so he got a quick little makeover. I thought I had some hammered metal spray but all I had was black. Since the damage was mostly on the inside, I simply did a quick coat of that and popped a new pink Gerbera Daisy pot inside, and we were good to go! 

Up on the porch, I added two new hanging baskets. I'm sad to say I had a really bad time at Garden Centres this year- I visited Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart and just didn't really like what anyone had. Plus, no one had a big selection. But since I'm impatient, I still ended up buying and spent much more than I wanted to for these babies, they better last throughout the summer! 

Sorry, it's tricky to get a nice shot in this covered space! 

I also picked up some new "refills" for my step pots. I haven't potted them yet cause I'm not sure if I like them as is/ want to get new pots or will just keep my old ones...

I already swapped out a bit of the season decor on the porch just after Easter, so the front door has been sporting it's Spring "wreath" by way of this cheerful butterfly hanger. 

The chair has been put back up here with a brand new turquoise trellis cushion ( I bought 4 last year and 3 found homes so this one was found hiding). 

The little table has it's regular lantern and the same bird as last year. I think it could use some sprucing up in the styling department so I'll be making some changes. I'd also really like to add something to the wall above, whether that's a chalkboard or a plaque or little wall shelf/basket, I'm not sure yet. 

While the whole exterior still needs a good pressure washing, (my hose bib needs repairing before I can hook my hose up again) it's already looking a lot better out there.