What ever happened to...

Take a look at my front yard! It is overrun with crab grass, wild flowers, broad leaf weeds, dandelions, and many more of the wrong kind of weed. It's impossible to keep the clover alive.

It's green, and pretty in a way. If only it looked the same as the first summer it was planted:

It's over. 

I will mow it bi-weekly to keep it short, and eventually rip it up and try something new. 

RIP clover.

ps. I've written about how great it looked initially, crab grass taking over, muddy in the spring,  accidentally adding dwarf seeds, a source for seeds, and my denial that the yard was doomed.

pps Changed the post title from "Clover yard looks awful" to "What ever happened to..." because I am a softy

Curb Appeal: Before and After

Here's the front of the house today, and a few years ago. We've done it all: windows, trees, paint, porch, bushes, shutters, light...

I wanted to go dark...once I settled on a window colour, the rest of the woodwork was done up to match. I hesitated over the door colour. It had a fresh coat of black for a heartbeat, before I decided to paint it out the same as the rest. 

The brick porch was rebuilt and new limestone caps replaced the concrete caps. We still need to get the it power washed. 

Originally, the house had louvered shutters. They were tossed out before we bought the place so I was free to try something new. I sketched these out and my contractor made them.  

The peak was rebuilt, and the original detail was scrapped in favour of  wide straight boards. I know the new clean lines will not please everyone, but I felt the original was dinky and oddball. I didn't want to be the one to destroy (change) something that has been around for 80 plus years, yet who's to say they were right? We are looking at faux tudor style here...and this embellishment was a bit much.   

The dirty white aluminum fascia board was removed to reveal the original dental molding. An awesome surprise! We had it stripped and restored. Also, the portico was stripped and restored.   

What do you think!??

Clover Yard

 
Every spring we question our decision to put in the clover lawn. The lawn looks patchy and sad, like an empty weedy mud lot.  This year I bought a jumbo bag of clover seeds to help it fill in. Only thing was - I bought dwarf clover seeds*. 

So, I am back to my starting point (3 years ago) of nagging the landscapers for a source for the seeds they used.

Small annoyance, because the clover we have has sprouted up and looks wonderful!

I don't want to mow it this summer...as an experiment.  A few more seasons and I will be able to create a city dwellers guide to clover lawn. I am determined to get this right. It is definitely not as carefree and easy as it seems....or maybe it would be, if I had the right seeds!



*I've used at least two small bags of clover seeds on my lawn already, but it never seemed to make a difference. That's why I went for the jumbo bag this year - and the description on the jumbo bag says "dwarf!" The website and the small bags don't mention it.

ps. you can see how other weeds have taken over in several areas around the edges. This is where I over seeded with the smaller clovers. They are there, but tiny. You can also see them in the bottom photo in the bottom right corner.

Another Reno

A few weeks until we start another renovation.

The job:
1) Front wood trim & other details, plus restore brick porch to structural soundness
2) Upstairs bathroom gut, enlarge, new everything
3) Upstairs back bedroom (the office): enlarge, addition over kitchen
4) Brand new second bathroom (with ensuite)

The job started out small: curb appeal & update bathroom. Then it snow balled - you know how it goes. Extra square footage and a new bathroom - ¿Por que no?
 
ps. we love this street. This is our forever home.
pps. the contractor that we wanted to work with finally had an opening and we got in! Otherwise we wouldn't have considered items 2-4 at this time.

A source for Clover Seeds

The lawn was looking pretty great, then when the flowers started to dry up and turn brown, we decided to cut the clover (with a brush breaker tool, like a whipper snipper on steroids). We left the clippings since we wanted to retain the seeds from the flowers. Just common sense, you know? Except, what a mistake!

The long stringy dead clippings matted down new growth, and the choked lawn looked yellow and sparse.

I tried raking the dead away, but it was too tangled. I got out the mower and cut it at the highest level. Still couldn't get the dead out. I cut it again two notches from the highest level - no go! Screw it! I dropped the blade to the ground and scalped the sucker.  


I then had no problem raking away over two yard waste bags full of hay... but what were we left with? Dirt! Embarrassing.

What you see here is a week later, with a light coating of some white clover seeds from Rona.  I am not 100 percent confident in these seeds, since we put down 2.5 buckets worth in the spring, and the clover that resulted was tiny. Stunted? Or is this micro clover but not labeled as such?

Anyways, today I pulled out the weeds. THE WEEDS! There were spots where the weeds had completely taken over. Say goodbye you rotten buggers!!

Now I need to do something about the bare dirt patches...and really, we need to reseed the entire lawn...I am not beneath begging, so I called the landscapers we used three years ago to get their source. You see I asked them for it three years ago, then again two years ago when they came back and topped up the lawn...I figured they would still shut me down, but ... BUT!! They came through!!!

Here is the source:
CLOVER SEEDS

And they are cheap!

Apparently 500gs ($10+ $8 shipping and tax) can do 3000 sqft...

When the seeds arrive, I will mow down the lawn (maybe not scalp it again) and try again! I feel invincible now that I know where to buy the seeds! No matter what I do, I can always toss more seeds on and watch it come back to life!!!  Nature rocks!

Clover front lawn - in bloom

Clover and weeds...
...as the clover patches (good weeds) get thicker, the bad weeds should diminish.



ps. robyn, I drew your name for the giveaway of the photo! I haven't heard from you!

Establishing a clover lawn - second spring

In 2011, we removed at least two dump truck loads of dirt from the front yard and seeded a new clover lawn.

This is what the lawn looked like last summer - lush!

Spring is a different story. In the spring there is more mud than clover. Only one section of the lawn looks thick with growth. Until we get the clover to fill in, we can expect weeds! Last summer, a huge section of the yard was over run by crab grass. I ripped it out by the roots, and it didn't grow back.

Here is what I have learned about clover lawn maintenance so far:

1) Cut back the clover in the fall! Two years ago, we left the clover long over the winter. It trapped a ton of windswept debris. In the spring, when raking up the dead clover, leaves, branches, candy wrappers etc, I uprooted the delicate plants. Last fall, I used the lawn mower on it's highest setting to cut the clover. It helped, but there was still a lot of debris to deal with. This fall I will scalp it.

2) Mowing the clover when it's long mattes it down.  Clover stays wet and gets stuck in the blade of the lawn mower. We haven't bothered cutting it much since a few hours later, it springs back up. Besides, it looks better natural.

Have you considered a clover lawn? Have I considered getting rain boots?

New Windows

Last week, Fieldstone installed our new vinyl windows.

Now that I see how great new windows are, I wish we had updated them five years ago when we bought the house! We waited (I was ok with them). We waited (can't we restore the existing windows?). We could have changed them when we did the basement, but we waited some more (I am tired of messes, no more dust!).

Once we ruled out restoring the wood windows, I stopped dragging my feet. I wanted to find an installer to take care of us in 2012. We found Fieldstone on Aubrey and Lindsay's blog, and honestly, that was good enough for me*.

Sure there was a bit of dust and mess, but only for three days. Fieldstone vacuumed and cleaned up at the end of each day, and it was easy enough to wash the floors and move the furniture back. The baby was able to nap through the noise. There was plenty of room for us to play in the kitchen, basement and outside and stay out of the installer's path. 

I am only lukewarm on the colour. Wait-let me revise that! I adore the colour on the back of the house, the front of the house is only so so.  Now I see how desperately we need to find yet another contractor to come in to paint the peak and to change the eaves. There is a tiny chance we can pull something off this fall. I am not going to get my hopes up! (Who are we kidding, my hopes couldn't be higher). Otherwise, we will fix up the rest of the exterior next year. 

Of course, I wouldn't be posting this if I didn't want to know what you think!!! I am all ears!!!


 *We met with two other companies, referrals from neighbours.
ps. Not a sponsored post.

Taupe

The windows have been ordered. I finally confirmed a colour. It is similar to this shade of taupe. Lighter and warmer than the dark grey I was leaning towards. The colour works with the brick, and it compliments the stucco on the back of the house.

The salesman came over on Friday to help me finalize the decision. He brought with him an additional set of colours that I hadn't seen before. I went with my gut - it said this colour was the one!

Hopefully, in 6 to 8 weeks, I will be able to show you the real thing!

I think this is the last major upgrade! We have nothing left to renovate after this!  We are also officially done decorating, but that won't stop me from making small improvements*.  I guess it's time to move onto the next stage...what is the next stage? We want to stay in this home another 5-10 years before we pack up and start over! Let's see where we go from here!
    
*I still want mirror inserts on the front of the closet doors in the master bedroom. I have tried to get the two glass guys we used before to give us quotes, but the one only works with contractors, and the other never called us back. I also want to paint the basement bathroom vanity black. I actually can't wait to do this! I would love to change the stubby kitchen shelves.  I still want a reclaimed wood shelf in the bar area to cover up the seam.  Black out drapes are a must in the nursery (they have been ordered). We also have to paint the front exterior, garage, deck, and seal the driveway. 

Door Colour

Before:

After:

Going dark!!! I don't have to pick a door colour, yet...but that hasn't stopped me from testing some colours out!  

ps. I don't think we need to add back the shutters.

(All colours are approximate, because this is a computer and because I am working with an aluminum colour sample.  I am very happy with the sample I have in hand held against the bricks, and this is a pretty decent mock up!  For the door, I need help picking a colour family, then I will get sample pots and find out the exact shade that works best!)

UPDATE: Added more colour tests...based on your comments! It is starting to look candy coated!

Window tips from neighbors

Top left: I love this shady house. Off white and grey.  Her brick is redder than ours
Top middle: What about sandy brown and grey? This house is rocking it! Their brick is more of a solid shade than ours.  More brown than orange
Top right: Same brick, black roof.  Loving the sandy brown and black shutters.  Different roof though, and soffits match the window colour.
Lower left: painting the detail and the soffits out a sandy colour
Lower right: Same brick, off-white trim and windows. 


Advice from the neighbors:
- Be careful with white, some manufacturer's white has blue undertones
- Benjamin Moore can give you a colour recommendation....get them to come out to your home (approximately $100), or even take a photo into one of their stores (free?).
- Everyone is going vinyl...

Advice from Benjamin Moore colour consultant (over the phone):
- Exterior colours will always look lighter because of the sun.  You need go to darker than you think.
- Always go for more contrast than you think, because colours that are close really just look the same outside.

I will be taking photos of our house into a Benjamin Moore store next week and see what they think!

ps...our brick is the exact same shade as the bottom right - a real rusty orange with dark browns mixed in

Exterior Paint Colours

Our brick is quite orange...

We have white windows now...they were white in the 1920's...I think I like white the best.

We will add back shutters...They were originally white.  I like black the best...BUT...

We have a brown roof, brown eaves, and the top of the portico was painted brown.  Can I mix black and brown? (I can paint the top of the portico black, the rest stays brown)

Door will stay black. Because my head will explode before I can come up with a perfect complimentary shade.

I like the idea of grey shutters, to tie into the grey walkway...but grey is not looking so hot on the computer...(please click to enlarge...I wish I could supersize these all for you! And I don't know why they house looks so dark!)

What do you think!?

I need to walk around the neighbourhood with my camera and see what is working on other houses.  I stare down houses everyday, it is not making my decision any easier! 

ps. The house in 1973

  one LAST LAST one....sandy brown shutters and sandy brown accent in the peak