In Spring 2019 I asked if I could plant some plants out front to make the front of the house more inviting. The term 'inviting' was not one my co-habitator was sold on but he never-the-less let me plant whatever I wanted within his restrictions.

Restriction 1: He had to be able to walk on it and I wouldn't get upset.

Restriction 2: He had to be able to access all the items I wanted to hide behind pretty plants (spigot, sprinkler main, etc.).

Seemed easy enough. But first I had to remove what was there. The house was bought with red wood chips in non-grass areas. And some bum planted Morning Glory on top of the red wood chips in the front yard. So we had an invasive vine covering up terible wood chips covering up the clay 'soil' to plant in. It was an uphill battle to clear the area and I finally resorted to pick axe and rototiller. I learned there was one more restriction.

Restriction 3: No plants whose root system would destroy the shallowly planted drain from the gutters.

I also had red pots to place on the steps for added color and happiness. I had some perennials in the pots, but I didn't know which pot had what plant. Others, I added to and some were blank slates. I opted for a color scheme of purple and red with hints of yellow. Not too much yellow, because I didn't want yellow jackets and wasps too attracted to the house!

The front pots on the steps get morning sun and a touch of mid-day sun. The ground gets morning and mid-day sun, but none of it gets the scorching heat of afternoon sun in Utah.

The front yard area came with square pavers that didn't quite make it all the way around. I purchased three stepping stones so that I wouldn't step on plants and help promote others to not step on plants. I also went with some happy basic plants. Petunia's in lavender and red along with some purple alyssium. Both usually cascade well in pots and will spread to cover ground in summer. They are annuals so if they didn't make it in the clay, then I wasn't out too much money. I also bought moss as a ground cover, and although it has survived, it doesn't look happy and will likely get taken out.

I also needed something for my hose in which to water my plants! I was given my next restriction.

Restriction 4: no hose hooks, the hose needs it's own home.

So I used the not-enough-pavers to creates a flat surface and we purchased a plastic hose house. My watering can sits on top and I would go out every morning to water my pots.

Throughout the summer I added to the petunia's and alyssium with a peony that never bloomed (up by the hose house) and a red day lily. I also picked up wave petunia's. These are my favorite. They cascade so abundantly and you aren't required to deadhead in order to promote new growth! Once mums came into season, I bought three of them and am excited to see them grow!

Onto the pots!

I had a welcome sign that HAD to go by the front door. Again, my co-habitator was not thrilled. He wanted to add a giant 'UN' in front of the word 'welcome'. I veto'd. Daily. At any rate, I had a surprise lily (I forgot I planted it and they die completely back) and the green ornamental grass. I knew I wanted to keep with the red and purple theme so I added in a bright red geranium. It almost died and then bounced back! I added in dark purple petunia's with white alyssium under the ornamental grass. I picked up a blood red calla lily. One bloom started out more of a flamingo color, but eventually turned to the deep burgundy. I knew I wanted snap dragons, I thought they were a ton of fun and would be perfect under my welcome sign as they didn't get too tall. It was picking out these flowers that I decided to get the color flowers I was drawn to instead of going with a color scheme. 2020 should have a wider variety in colors out front!

My co-habitator and his lack of desire to have pretty colors all around mentioned a plant he would really like to have. Rosemary. I didn't know if it would last through the winter in a pot, but figured if it died it wasn't the end of the world, we could always get another one for him to cook with next year. So we got a fairly large rosemary and we decided collectively to put it by the front door. It has so far enjoyed the snowfalls we have had this winter and endured them beautifully!