FLOWERS!!!

Today marks the last day of my vacation, and these last 10 days have been great!! Originally Brad was going to take off last week as well, but he started a new job about a month ago, so asking for a week off right away probably wasn't the greatest idea ever. Therefore, I was home alone all week... well, for some of the week. Mom wound up driving up late Tuesday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. We had a great time just hanging out, doing a little shopping, eating out and working in our flowerbeds.
I had been itching to get out there and brighten up our flowerbeds with a little color for a while, but since this is the first spring that we have been in our house, it's the first time I've ever had to work on flowerbeds and I had no idea where to start!! I'm a girl who has to have a plan, so on Wednesday we started searching through the garden centers at Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. It was a pretty nasty, rainy day, so we knew we weren't going to be able to plant anything just yet. Mom helped me figure out if I wanted annuals, perennials, etc. I also had three dead bushes that I had to replace, so I found some ideas for that as well. I took notes as I noticed things that I liked, then we went home and mapped out a plan as we looked over the flowerbeds. I figured out which flowers I wanted to put in which spot. Like I said, I HAVE to have a plan. I can't just put random things here and there... that's just not how my brain works. OCD? Maybe!! :)
Thursday morning we went back to Lowe's and Walmart, picked up the items on my list and went home and got our hands dirty. A few hours later ....... TA DA.... we have COLOR!!! I love it!!
This is the front flowerbed. The two new bushes are on each end. I decided not to add any color to this bed just yet. I want to wait and see what it looks like after we get those two geraniums in the background hanging on the porch above these bushes.

I LOVE these geraniums!! SO pretty! I have two hanging pots that are going to hang on the front porch. We don't have the hooks up there quite yet though.

We potted these two dahlias. They are sitting on either side of the front door, so they bring color to the front porch area as well. I LOVE the vibrant colors of these flowers!!





This is an overview of our larger flowerbed in front of the office window. I've added a little color throughout with knockout roses and azaleas.

Here are some close-ups of the roses and azaleas.

Here's hoping I can keep everything alive!! Only time will tell. I'm so excited about watching everything grow!! Now we have to mulch both beds to kind of pull everything together and make it look a little nicer. I'm loving everything so far, and I'm so thankful to my mom for helping me figure out what I wanted or didn't want because I definitely would have been lost otherwise!!