Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Craigslist Garden

Last May the company my husband worked for let more than half the employees go. He was one of the unlucky ones. Even though this was a stressful time for us, we tried to make the best of it and enjoy the time we had together. We ended up having one of the best summers.

One day, my ants in his pants husband decided he wanted to use some of his new free time to cut the beds in the front yard for a bigger garden. Of course I thought he was crazy because our budget was a big zero! If the beds were in place, of course I would want to plant something. It turns out craigslist is a great place to find avid gardeners giving away their extra plants.


This is the way to the front door from the driveway. The previous owners wanted a very low maintenance yard so they used rocks instead of mulch or plants. Imagine rocks on both sides of the sidewalk and how much work it was to remove them.
Our first spring here we planted the Japanese maple tree and the ground cover next to the sidewalk. The river birch you see in the distance was next. Our house and yard has been a work in progress over the years. We have done so much work here and there and finally the front has a real garden.

This picture was taken the other day; it has already filled in quite a bit since last spring.


We inherited the stone border when we bought the house and kept it. It had a very narrow bed that ended just past the front steps. The whole thing was filled with a row of daylily and hosta plants that we removed and used in the back and side yard. The rest of them were sold on craigslist and given away to neighbors.


About eighty five percent of this garden was given to us for free or bought for next to nothing at neighborhood plant sales and craigslist.


We still have some empty spaces that we are just getting to this year. The pink azaleas under the tree were recently bought at Home Depot for ten dollars each.


The exterior of Sixty-Fifth Avenue needs a complete makeover...the plan is to have it done next spring. I'm ready for the outside to match the inside.

Sharing with diy day  the thrifty home

31 comments:

  1. I think the front of your house looks fantastic! We're learning a lot about landscaping right now... I think it takes a little time, but we've been getting quite a few compliments on the little work we've done to spruce up our front yard so far!

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a great way to recycle and meet neighbors! my mom gives me all of her plants that need separating and our yard looks all the better for it and our pocket a little fuller. i am so glad to hear you and your husband had such a great summer despite hard financial times. just goes to show that it is not what you have, but what you do with the resources you do have, and the love you share.

    ReplyDelete
  3. THis is just beautiful and gorgeous!!! I love it...and to imagine to find things off of Craig's List is great...I would have never thought:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The yard looks so pretty. You are right about people giving away plants...I just never remember to ask. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your yard looks fantastic! Landscaping is something that intimidates me but I've been shown time and time again that it can be done cheaply and look beautiful. I'm going to keep an eye out for deals on CL for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very pretty and lush. Anyday now, our flowers and grass are going to be wilting from the Arizona heat. Not good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How pretty! I live in the land of complete rock yards (not just the beds, but the whole yard; in fact, it's illegal to put grass in the front yards of new homes here).

    So, as you can imagine, there aren't too many people getting rid of plants on Craig's list, unless you want palms (scorpions included for no extra charge ;)).

    Garage salesare rare around here; a plant sale woud be AWESOME! I've thought about doing one of those myself, but I don't know if I would have many buyers.

    Another idea for flowers to fill in the beds is to buy seeds in bulk from a place like Wildflower Farms. I have thousands of Johnny jump-umps from a small amount of seeds that I ordered through them.

    I love your urns; they are so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I love this! And definitely can use some of these ideas for our own front flower bed which is totally plain jane right now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is absolutely gorgeous! I love the ground cover and all of the varieties you've planted. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful job. I love flowers by the front door. Yours look amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely lovely!! I lvoe how everything ties together and looks so nice!

    ReplyDelete
  12. hi london,

    what a great make-over. i love japanese maples. was that free also? they are very expensive here in california. everything looks amazing. i love those pink azaleas too. and i love the urn on your porch. the best part is that you did this on a zero budget. yippeee!

    ~janet

    ReplyDelete
  13. That looks gorgeous and on such a cheap budget. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I seriously don't think I use craigslist enough. I need some plants. And huge planters. I could also use some outdoor furniture. I just know craigslist would be a good source...I gotta get on that!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The yard looks gorgeous! You guys did such a great job! I had NO IDEA that you could get plants on craigslist, that actually makes great sense! Good for you, and thanks for passing along the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  16. So pretty! In the second picture, there is a bright green, low growing plant to the far left. Do you happen to know what that is? I would love to know!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Everything you do is so lovely. If this was my welcome home every day, I would be like, "tee hee hee!" Just beautiful. Can't wait to see what you do next. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Just stumbled across this wonderful blog! what a great idea craigslist huh? love it! have a fabulous day!
    luvs and glitter
    ~jen

    ReplyDelete
  19. Did you husband start a gardening career? I think he should.
    Do you need any hostas?
    pve

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good Morning! I gave you an award. Check back to Webster's Updates :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Absolutely gorgeous! Really a wonderful design sense. I am soooo impressed!

    ReplyDelete
  22. it looks FAB!
    landscaping is no easy task. everything is filling in so nicely.

    i must check out craigslist for plants. great tip!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Your beds are filling in beautifully! Nice choice of plants. It's going to look terrific this summer.

    ReplyDelete