Ah, summer

Most of our plants are coming back after a couple of particularly hard freezes we had during the winter months, and we're enjoying the beautiful colors of summer. There's nothing like it.

Sneak peek at new yard

The house we're buying has a very well established yard. The property is heavily wooded with live oak trees which have probably been around since the house was built in 1950, judging by the size of them. The lot is close to a half-acre, but it's on a bluff, so part of that is outside the fenced perimeter. Within the fence, I'm guessing there are at least 15-20 mature trees, although we haven't counted yet.

All flower beds are decently landscaped and are watered either by the sprinkler system or an additional drip irrigation system. They need new mulch, a few more large landscaping boulders, and more river rocks, and we plan to add a few more plants and shrubs here and there for additional color and variety of texture.

In addition to the large patio/pool area, there is a separate patio at the far edge of the back yard that we will use when having guests over to watch fireworks. Part of it will have a rug and outdoor furniture, and we're planning to have a raised deck built on the other end to use as a grilling area to cover some strange, uneven concrete which we haven't quite figured out.

Here's a sneak peak of the yard as it looks now.

The low branch touching the ground will be removed. (So will the bars on the porch.)

Chairs will be replaced by large landscape boulders, and plants will be added.
The two Japanese maples will be coddled.

Our To Buy list includes lots of patio furniture.

Pots will be removed, and we'll add to the existing plants in the ground...yuccas and grasses.

We'll add a few more plants and rocks in this bed. The big red R will come off the storage building too.

Far end of the back patio will have a rug and furniture; near end will have a small raised deck.

We expect to do a lot of living in the back yard, and we're eager to get started on the transformation.

Note: Moving day is June 2, so I probably won't have  a chance to post until we're settled. 

New house: Who's Superman?

The landscaping saga continues at the new house. After yesterday's work in the yard and the family photos posted on Facebook and Instagram during our recent Cinco de Mayo celebration dinner, I think it's only fair to answer the question we posed.

Entire family taking turns sporting Clark Kent glasses
(with Superman emblems on the side!)
at a local Mexican food restaurant

The real superhero at our house is my SIL, who he-manned these 200-300 pound landscaping rocks boulders across the yard by hand while my daughter and I stood by watching and making suggestions...and Grandsons #1 and #2 tried to "help." (Yes, he's the guy we call on when anything heavy needs to be moved.)

Huge landscaping rocks
surrounded by newly emerging inland sea oats.

A few weeks ago we saw similar large rocks with small plants growing out of holes drilled in them. We need to make a trip to our favorite local nursery to find out what plant choices we have. Moss rose will be planted in the spaces between rocks for lots of color. The perennial plants coming up around the rocks are inland sea oats, which were cut back to the ground a few weeks ago. The bare spots will fill in soon, and they will form a compact mound around the rocks that reaches a height of about 24" (although they can get much taller in shadier spots). The plants will be covered with graceful seed heads like the ones in this photo.

picsora.com

Here's a look at another part of the front yard beds.

NOTES

1) No, my daughter hasn't relented on the issue of the small tree in front of the house. She thinks we need it for privacy.

2) And for those of you who come from other parts of the world and are unfamiliar with Cinco de Mayo, it's a celebration held on May 5 that commemorates a major Mexican military victory. In Texas, in addition to attending more traditional events, many of us go out for Mexican food and drink lots of margaritas, which we certainly did last night.

Low bowl planters

I recently discovered several collections of modern fiberglass and resin low bowl planters at Plant Containers, and it was love at first sight. Finding an attractive modern planter can be a challenge, but this store has several.

We had a mix of coleus and kalanchoe in a low bowl on the patio this summer, and I think we'll be adding a few more next year, some for decorative plants and some for herbs. These are definitely being bookmarked.

Barkly fiberglass low bowl

Neometrics resin low bowl

Neometrics resin platform bowl

Meditation bowls

Changes at the Modernist Nest

For those of you new to Mid2Mod, I built a small house behind my main house a little over a year ago. My daughter and her family moved into the larger house, and I moved into what one longtime reader lovingly called "the modernist nest." One reader after another started calling it that, so the name stuck. (If you want to read my chronicle of the build process, Google "mid2mod construction saga" for the whole story.)

The little "yard" behind the Modernist Nest just underwent a redo. I put down black mulch last year after the construction was complete, primarily because it was a cheap, quick fix. I didn't put in grass, because the entire area is in almost constant deep shade from 60-year-old pecan trees.

The pecan trees turned out to be the culprits that made Plan B necessary, because mulch didn't hold up well to the constant blowing and raking of leaves and those pesky male pecan flowers called catkins...nasty little caterpillary-looking things that make a horrible mess. (If you have pecan trees, you know exactly what I'm talking about!) By the end of a year, most of the mulch was gone, swept away with pecan debris. On the other hand, we were able to use the leaf blower on the rocks in front of the house and keep them clean very easily.

As a result, I decided to replace the mulch in back with rocks, and the job was finished today. Here's a before and after of the yard.

Before: Loved the contrast in colors, hated the mess

After: Rocks!

After: Edging around my flowerbed
and vintage Russell Woodard outdoor furniture that may be going for a powdercoat soon

Exemplary exteriors

For those of us who live in a part of the world where it's winter, I know it's a little early to start planting, but if your yard needs some upgrading, it's not too early to start planning. Here are some fantastic mid-century homes with equally remarkable lawns, flowerbeds, pools and spots to lounge when warm weather arrives, which it will...eventually.

And if it's summer where you live, maybe these homes will inspire a weekend project soon.

atomcindy.com

tclf.org

buildllc.com

tomtarrant.com

dwell.com

flickr.com - Curtis Locke

topweddingdecoratingideas.com

honeybadgerhome.com

houzz.com

houzz.com

houzz.com

lglalandscape.com

Mid Century Wood Shop

If you're looking for cool, mid-century inspired outdoor furnishings, then look no more. Etsy seller Paul from Nevada City, California, has created some for his store Mid CenturyWood Shop that are guaranteed to fill the bill.

He builds what he calls "atomic age cultural artifacts" out of a number of woods, including reclaimed old growth redwood and reclaimed cedar, saying that he likes "repurposing old timber in a modern way." He takes his inspiration from 20th century furniture and architecture and creates something for everybody...from a plain $25 succulent planter to a $1675 Eames style Adirondack chair. (He also makes beautiful, unadorned redwood and cedar planter boxes for indoors or outside and is happy to take custom orders.)

Atomic Age planter box

Apollo Space Age raised trellis

Starburst trellis

Domino trellis

Rest Stop feeder

Brasilia feeder

Space Needle feeder

Diner feeder

Cliff May inspired birdhouse

Custom picnic table

Eames style Adirondack chair

Modern landscaping: Garden orbs

For several years, glass garden orbs have been popular landscape decor. While you might think of them in the context of more traditional yards, they've been making an appearance in modern landscaping too.

Glass orbs in a planter
karlgercens.com

Glass orb fountain
pinterest.com

Many mid-century homes in my area have been using old bowling balls to brighten their flower beds, as in these photos.

Painted bowling balls
pinterest.com

Ceramic orbs with bowling ball edging
pinterest.com

Large ceramic orbs are also popular, as seen in combination with bowling balls in the previous photo. Fellow blogger Rebecca of Mid-Century Modern Remodel recently posted about her trip to the Bauer Pottery Showroom and her purchase of ceramic orbs for her newly landscaped garden. Be sure to check out her post to see her beautiful photos.

Ceramic orb in bed of grasses
pacifichorticulture.org

Bauer orbs
debraprinzing.com

Lately, I've become enamored of concrete garden orbs. I love their texture, durability and the possibility of such interesting color variation...or no color at all.

Concrete orbs
earthandvessel.blogspot.com

Concrete orbs
pinterest.com

I found a great tutorial on Design Sponge for making concrete orbs. It's so simple that I'm surprised no one had thought of it sooner. I'm going to try making some for my own yard.

Concrete orb made from light fixture globe mold
designsponge.com