• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • SHOP
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT CATHY
  • CONTACT

CZ Design

I never promised you a rose garden

June 13, 2011

I never promised you a rose garden

IMG_0464

As construction on our remodel has officially wrapped up, it's time now for us to a) try to recreate some semblance of a yard and b) finish the interior painting and c) get a dang couch already.

So far, the interior painting is about halfway there, and the yard project is in full swing thanks to Dan, my Dad, a few shovels, some grass seed and a lot of manly muscle.

IMG_0461

This manly man is looking pleased with himself because the grass seed on the boulevard is taking root.

IMG_0463

Why grass seed and not sod? According to Dan, "I've never had much luck with sod." You heard it here first.

Kill

Step on my grass, I'll kill ya.

We planted a few rhododendrons in the front, Purple Star variety, I believe. And that lone hosta?  The sole survivor from back hoe trauma. Those things are the cockroaches of the landscaped world.

IMG_0466

And right on the corner of the house we'll be doing a small rock garden to catch the water from our yet-to-be-purchased rain chain.

IMG_0467

We picked up just a few little plants for the steps, to add a touch of color. This year is all about catching our breath and growing grass. Hard core landscaping may or may not come next year. For now, we're just enjoying the new look and feel of our house.

And incoporating a little bit of nature into the process.

IMG_0439

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. dawn says

    June 13, 2011 at 5:17 am

    It’s look beautiful and colorful and I love it. How exciting for your family to have this new look and porch to sit on and enjoy. Good luck with the yard and hope it grows nice for you. By the way what are the kids doing this summer? Are they home yet? Have a great week, I’m off to Florida for my oldest graduation from art school, yipppeee!!

    Reply
  2. Jodene says

    June 13, 2011 at 5:36 am

    Wow the house looks fantastic Cathy! Love your colour choices and the cool front porch! We are almost there with ours, house has been rendered but still to be painted, and yard is still a rubbish dump. Can’t wait until we are at the final stages too.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Larson says

    June 13, 2011 at 5:56 am

    This is going to be a good, cool week for seeding. Good luck with that–it should take hold in a bout a week.

    And I love your hot pink flowers–way to work the colors!

    Reply
  4. Carol Hopkins Clayton says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:03 am

    Everything looks AWESOME, Cathy! Your house has truly been transformed!! And I absolutely LOVE the fact that your colorful house appears to be sandwiched between two white houses — FANTASTIC!

    Reply
  5. Beth says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:17 am

    Stunning front entry. I love the colours and the asymmetry!

    Reply
  6. Lori says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:23 am

    Hi Cathy – I LOVE your house! So cool. Dan is a man after my own heart. I live in Colorado now but lived in Michigan before this and we built a house there. When it came time for the landscaping we put our own grass in using a combination of seeds from the local co-op. (One of the seeds was a Kentucky bluegrass.) What they told us to do was to put the yard in and plant oat along with planting the seed. The oat come up, hold the soil while the grass really takes root. After about two weeks we looked like we were growing a yard full of weeds. But we pulled out every oat and were left with the most beautiful yard. The landscaper who had given us the bid (and we didn’t go with his very expensive bid…) came by almost every day and he would just shake his head and say, “you’s are some industrial folk”. I am sure living in Minnesota you have heard the “yous”. So tell Dan… carry on. Hope you love your sassy new house!

    Reply
  7. Barb says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:44 am

    Very ambitious, growing grass from seed. What a manly man indeed! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  8. Rachel B. says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:49 am

    Aidan is the most adorable little landscaper in her straw hat and pale pink nails! I hope your grass grows as thick as thieves. Your house is looking so lovely, funky and fun. Now it is as photogenic as your family!

    Reply
  9. Diane Herman says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:59 am

    Awesome makeover ๐Ÿ™‚ And watering new grass is very rewarding indeed ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  10. Mary Jo says

    June 13, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Oh my gosh, the front of your house is so cool!

    Reply
  11. Laney says

    June 13, 2011 at 8:32 am

    Your house looks fantastic!

    Reply
  12. Amanda says

    June 13, 2011 at 8:43 am

    Your comment about the hostas made me laugh. We finally just won a 5 year long war against the hostas growing in our backyard. They certainly are a hardy plant. I’m fairly certain after the world-ending asteriods hit and the hostile alien life-forms take over the planet War-of-the-World-style….you’ll still find hostas thriving. 100% indestructible. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
  13. Becky H says

    June 13, 2011 at 9:54 am

    Cathy you are a trip. I have to say that Hostas are the cockroaches of landscaping and I will have to tell my dad that. He is constantly complaining about haveing to divide them. Your house is beautiful and I hope you know how lucky you are to have a man who does yard work! Keep the updates coming, I love them.

    Reply
  14. chris says

    June 13, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Oh my that front looks so wonderful! So “stylish” and modern! Is that a hanging lamp in the corner – it appears white in the right corner? If so, where did you get it?

    Reply
  15. Mark says

    June 13, 2011 at 10:33 am

    Back hoe trauma is the WORST.

    Reply
  16. Katie says

    June 13, 2011 at 11:19 am

    It looks great! I have never heard of a Rain Chain before, but I checked out the link and I’m officially in love!

    Reply
  17. Jules says

    June 13, 2011 at 11:49 am

    LOVE the colors of the house. Looks perfect. I applaud your chutzpah and going with less-than-traditional colors.

    Reply
  18. madeline St onge says

    June 13, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    Looks great Cathy and I know how Dan feels about his grass growing, I do a happy dance every time a blade pops up

    Go Dan

    Love the way it is looking

    Reply
  19. cathy says

    June 13, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    Yes, a bit cylinder light. Got it at YLighting.com. : )

    Reply
  20. Marian Hein says

    June 13, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Dan sounds just like my husband. Our last front yard remodel was complete with lawn seed as well. At least Dan waters it. I was the one out there with the hose twice a day.
    Your house looks great. Can’t wait to see the inside complete.

    Reply
  21. c@rol w says

    June 13, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    I absolutely LOVE the photo, “Step on my grass and I’ll kill ya”. LMAO!

    Reply
  22. Sharon F. in CA says

    June 13, 2011 at 4:03 pm

    So sit back, enjoy the summer and watch the grass grow…literally. What a wonderful way to slow down and enjoy!!

    Reply
  23. ale says

    June 13, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    your house looks amazing!

    Reply
  24. mary says

    June 13, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    It is so much fun to see your place – it is amazing and is such an awesome reflection of you and your family! Only wish I could be sittin on the front porch enjoyin’ a nice cold lemonade while watchin’ the grass grow!!

    Reply
  25. jacquie d says

    June 13, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Hot Pink flowers on the steps, hot husband watering the grass…..I’d say your life is complete.

    Reply
  26. Angie Hall says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    Cathy, I love your house! Can I move in with y’all?

    Reply
  27. Pamela K. says

    June 13, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    Love it! And you are right about the hostas. Checking out those rainchains. They look so cool! Hope your grass comes in nice and thick. My hubby refused to put in sod for the same reason Dan gave. I love instant yard, though. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
  28. Pandora Bracelets says

    June 14, 2011 at 4:32 am

    Looks great Cathy and I know how Dan feels about his grass growing, I do a happy dance every time a blade pops up

    Reply
  29. cathy says

    June 14, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Do you do bathrooms? ; )

    Reply
  30. Jennifer W says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:23 am

    I sure wish I had strong Hostas like you! In our area, the deer and rabbit eat everything. I had such beautiful hostas and candy tuff and within a year it was all gone!

    Reply
  31. Karen P says

    June 14, 2011 at 10:37 am

    “I beg your pardon … I never promised you a rose garden.” Loved that song, and seeing your title brought back memories of being in seventh grade and listening to it on the radio with my friends. Nobody could sing it like Lynn Anderson!

    By the way, your house looks fabulous. I am a survivor of a five-year-long remodel project, so I know firsthand what it’s like to live with sheetrock dust covering everything.

    Reply
  32. Jamie Danford says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:50 pm

    Ya know, before I started scrapbooking, my first love was gardening. Then I transferred my passion for combining textures and colors in the yard into my scrapbooks. Have fun with your new/used yard girl!

    Reply
  33. kerri says

    June 15, 2011 at 10:36 pm

    I love your remodel! It looks amazing! I love the green and blond wood!

    Reply
  34. Nicole Hoffman says

    June 16, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    Every time I see a picture of your daughter I have to look twice to make sure it is not you. A compliment to both of you. And the house looks fantastic!

    Reply
  35. Kristilyn says

    July 2, 2015 at 7:43 am

    Cathy. My husband and I have been picking paint colors for our house for months and have settled (i think) on Kendall Charcoal. In an earlier post about accent colors you mentioned kendalll charcoal as being the base color and I just wanted to confirm that you stayed with that color because it looks a little lighter in the pictures. We are using a similar green for the accent. Your house has the right about of punch!!! If it’s not the kendall color would you be nice enough to let us in on what color you used?

    Thank you for your time and awesome posts about your house remodel. They are inspirational.

    Reply
    • Cathy Zielske says

      July 2, 2015 at 8:02 am

      Hmmm. It has been so long I can’t rememberโ€ฆ I just got back from the basement where we keep our paint. I am not seeing a Kendall Charcoal. I did see a can of Chelsea Gray, that looks like the color, but it’s from a local paint shop called Hirshfields. It doesn’t even have a color code on in. Hubby said he’d keep looking. Sorry. I thought it would easy to find the color.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Categories

  • Cards
  • Crafts
  • CZ Life
  • Free Downloads
  • Products & Classes
  • Project Life
  • Scrapbooking
  • Tutorials

Archives

Footer

About

I'm Cathy Zielske and this is one of my homes on the World Wide Web. Want to learn more about me? By all means, click the link below:

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Let’s Connect

If you have specific questions that canโ€™t be answered by stalking me on social media, please click below:

Categories

  • Cards
  • Crafts
  • CZ Life
  • Free Downloads
  • Products & Classes
  • Project Life
  • Scrapbooking
  • Tutorials

Copyright © 2023 Cathy Zielske ยท site by bello via design