Redoing the Front of My Cape Home

I don't know why I keep telling you guys what I'm going to write in my next post,

 'cuz I always change my mind.

I was going to start showing what I've been doing to my niece Miriam's chairs.

I even told a really nice fellow blogger, Lisa, who shared some great tips with me that I would write about the tips and show her blog here....

BUT THAT IS FOR THE NEXT POST, or the one after that.....

 (unless something else comes up.....)

However.....

I've had several requests to show the outside front and back of my home up here in the north.

Now that I think about it.

This is going to be a multi-post story.

Let's start with the front.

'cuz that's what you see first.

Unless you're breaking in, 

and then maybe you'd be coming in the back.....

Below is what it looked like when I bought the place.....

I had the stoop enlarged so I could place a bench next to the door.

This is important.

You needs a place to set your groceries when you comes home from the market.

Also, 

being the klutz that I am.....

there was a good chance I was going to fall off such a small stoop

 one of these days.

Then I had the front re landscaped.

Then, half the stuff died, so I had to do it again.....

The first time, I had Shamrock Inkberries planted as the main foundation plant.

That was (I think) 3 years ago.

Then we had a hellacious winter with tons of snow, and they were annihilated.

As were the euonymus planted along the path.

And some of the boxwoods.

And then 

the perennials that I thought were nicely behaved started spreading and taking over the planet.

Watch out for Fake Indigo!!!!!

It turns into a massive garden sucking hog.

Sooooooo.....

It's now at my brother's house, where there is room and it can stretch its legs.

I replaced the inkberry with rhododendrons which have been very happy to come and live with me.

I edged the path with hosta, pulling out the dead euonymus, which I never liked to begin with, but allowed someone to talk me into it.

I know, I know, there goes my rep for being a hard @$$

In between the rhododendrons and the hosta I filled in the space with pink and white knock out roses. 

If you want a no fail rose bush. These babies are the ones to choose.

I decided that I was not around early enough in the spring to control perennials, so I set a variety of annuals around the roses, and they filled in nicely.

So that solved my problems for the front flower beds, and created the English cottage garden effect I wanted.

Next, I got permission to change the color of my front door.

Oh, yeah, and I changed my front door,

The red one was metal and dented and crummy.

The green one is fiber glass and not dented and not crummy.

And I changed the screen door to one that closes, and works, and all that good stuff.

And I added a door knocker.

I am now going to go take a picture of it, and it is night, so the picture is going to be crummy......

See, I told you it would be a crummy shot. Check out the shadows.....

I put a nice new door handle and lock from Baldwin on my nice new door, too. 

Then,

I added a trellis to hang next to the door for the Clematis vines I planted.....

The vines are there.

I see them in the spring.

They grow a couple of feet.

Blow me a Bronx cheer, and disappear.

Oy, OY, Oy, OY.

But I like the look of the trellis, even without any plants on it.

So there!!!!!

This past spring, I splurged and had a drip irrigation system put in.

Then I had new know out roses and annuals put in.

WOWZER!!!!!

Water is just amazing.

Who knew plants needed it?????

So that's the front of my home in Massachusetts.

I still have the back to show.

There's actually stuff to see back there.

Weeds.

Bugs.

My parents.

Latah, Gatah