Peonies & Landscaping

Since we bought our house, I've started getting more interested in flowers/gardening/landscaping. Lucky for me, previous homeowners had left lots of perennials that I've been able to enjoy. I've also added a flower bed to our back yard and added perennials to that. And I always get some annuals to add more color to the yard.

Today, I just wanted to share some photos of the flowers that have already bloomed...my spring blooms. My absolute favorite ones are my peonies. They are so big and pretty and smell SO GOOD.

A few weeks ago we spent a good chunk of our weekend taking out a giant bush/shrub in our back yard. I haven't liked it since day one, and over the past few years it has just gotten so big and out of control that I couldn't stand it any more. So we cut it down and then dug up the stump...it was a lot of work but SO worth it. 

Some BEFORE photos:

Looked so much better after it was cut down:

 After the stump was dug out. And then I planted a small forsythia bush that I hope grows and blooms next year!

And a little Before & After:

I really love doing yard work and can't wait to do more projects this summer. Do you enjoy yard work? What are you favorite flowers?

Our Yard/Outdoor Space

Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals to show my yard/outdoor space.  I love seeing home tours, yards, rooms, etc., so I was really excited to join this fun linkup and check out every else's yards!

So here we go.  I'm starting with the back yard.  We spend a ton of time in our back yard and we really love it.  We have a deck and patio area where we grill and hang out.  We are working on getting the lawn looking a little better, so hopefully over the next few years it will be fuller.  Admiral LOVES playing in our back yard (you'll see him photo bombing a few pics).  Also, all of these pics are what our yard always looks like.  I didn't do anything extra before taking the photos, since you'll see a dog water bowl and the chuck it on the ground in some of them :)

Now to the front of the house.  Like the back yard, we are working on the lawn and flowers in the front too.  I didn't do anything special for these pics either, this is what our front yard looks like on any given day.  I need to weed the flower beds...don't judge me :)

Can't wait for the lillies to start opening!!

Anyone know what this is?  I've heard hydrangea, but it's never flowered before.  But I see some little flowers starting on it finally!

And of course our basketball hoop in the driveway.

Make sure you head over to Momfessionals to check out all the other yard and outdoor spaces!

Lately...

Lately I've been...

- Obsessing over my peonies that are blooming.  I wish they could last all summer.  I have pink and white ones.  A few more open every day, and there are tons of buds left on the plants, so I'm excited to have my house smelling like peonies for the next couple of weeks.

- Getting excited for Birthday Bash this weekend!  You can read about past Birthday Bash's HERE and HERE.  Basically it's a free two day country concert (you pay for parking and food, but the tickets are free) that the local radio station puts on.  This year's artists on day one include Dierks Bentley, Colt Ford, Jerrod Niemann, Parmalee, Eric Paslay, and Lucy Hale.  Day two is Justin Moore, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Chase Rice, Will Hoge, Danielle Bradbery, and The Cadillac Three.  

My Aunt Liz, me, my mom, and my sister at last year's Birthday Bash.

- Enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having here in Michigan!  It's a little chilly and rainy today, but we've had some gorgeous temps and lots of sunshine.  Admiral has loved spending more time outside and playing is his pool...but he gets the water really dirty, really fast.  It's kind of gross.  But he loves it, so I'm ok with it :)

What have you been up to lately?