You might remember a while ago I admitted that I was overwhelmed by our 1.2 acres of land, which right now is a blank slate. I offered the task up to anyone who wanted to take a shot at designing something. Nikki from ViAnneli offered to come over and take a look.

I met Nikki through this blog. She was one of our first commenters and she has been a faithful reader and supporter of Hometown Perch. Nikki loves to garden at her own home and she is a hired gardener for a couple of local ladies.

Nikki and I walked around our property. I told her what key features I hope to have–a couple of fruit trees, chicken coop, vegetable garden, cutting garden, areas of shade, a fire pit. She had some good ideas for placement of the large items and she came up with a couple of creative solutions that I have been thinking about since her visit. She also had sage advice that were good reminders:

1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start small and add as you feel ready.

2. Don’t feel like you need to plant every kind of plant, tree, shrub, flower out there. So many times people put in too much, it’s too much maintenance and doesn’t look good.

3. Plant in multiples. If you like a certain shrub, plan to use several of them. It’s better to plant multiples of the same kind of items than it is to plant one of everything. Your garden will look more uniform and be visually more appealing.

4. It’s your land. Do what you want. Just because the previous owners had a flower bed in a specific spot doesn’t mean you have to work with it if it doesn’t work for you. Just because they used railroad ties as borders doesn’t mean they have to stay.

5. And related to the point above, if it looks dated, it will probably still look dated after you try to spruce it up. Instead, take it out and start fresh.

I didn’t realize it but I really needed to hear that last piece of advice. I admit, there are things in the landscape that I just don’t like. And I was trying to work with them, trying to fix them so that they would look better. But they are dated and they won’t look better. That was a mind block. Now that the block has been lifted (thanks Nikki) my ideas for our outdoor space are flowing much more smoothly.  Her visit was in October or November. I have walked the property numerous times since then and sketched plans. But nothing felt right. Finally it all came into view this week. I sketched a plan that I love! I know where all of the major elements will be. It will take time. We have a lot of work to do. But, in a few years we will have some of these beautiful spaces:

Raised Garden Beds–

Fireplace or Fire Pit–

Ample Outdoor Seating–

Fun Spaces for kids to explore–

Chickens–

And, if Dylan and the girls have their way:

Above-Ground Pool–

image via ebarah.com

For more inspiration and other ideas, check out my Pinterest boards.

You can follow me on Pinterest here and follow Mandi on Pinterest here.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a 1-ton truck with a hydraulic lift sitting in my driveway waiting for me. We are off to get some topsoil to even out some patches that badly need it.

Have a great weekend!