Ever-Lovin’ told me to tell everyone he gave me a big rock for Christmas.  It is not what you think.

After this old house had 28 piers installed to keep it from falling down, we were in the need of new landscaping.  Duh!  Bushes gone = no landscaping = need for landscaping.

Trust me.  It was not that we had not needed new landscaping for most of the twenty something years we have lived here, but when they removed shrubs and house was bare, we had to do something.

We called in help, and they did their thing.

I know it doesn’t look like much yet, but they promise me it will grow.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure about the stone edging, but I do like it.

Looking at this, I get worried.  Sure does look like a lot of bare ground.  They also gave (for a price) Ever-Lovin’ a sprinkler system.

It is encouraging.   It appears these newbie plants survived the icy cold and snow.

On either side of the entrance are the “seasonal plants”.  I have never had pansies.  Grow pansies, grow.

There are plantings around the trees.

What I am most excited about though is the new porch.  In the last couple of years, even the ground cover had given up the ghost in the old courtyard.  So…

These are the big rocks I got for Christmas.

The courtyard has been filled in and covered with flagstones.  Now it is all one large front porch, and I am beyond excited.

What to do on this porch is now the question.  Yes, I have a Pinterest board of porches, and dream of something wonderful.  To be honest, I do not know what wonderful is or would be – a swing, a sitting area, a table, a fountain, or….???

Just know that come spring – I want you to come over and sip tea with me on the front porch.

Blessings to you and yours,