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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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1125

survey by nadine07

[..Introductions..]

First Name: Robyn.

Middle Name: I don’t think I’ve shared it on here and I doubt I will.

Last Name: Not providing it either but it starts with a C.

Birthdate: April 21st.

[..First Things First..]

What was the first thing you did after you got up? I rushed to the rooftop so that I could see the sunrise. I also got in the random mood to do a time-lapse of it, but the sun took forrrrrrrr-freaking-ever to come up entirely. I was holding up my phone for like 15 minutes and nothing was happening, so I quit halfway through lol.

What was the name of your first pet? Goldie, because it was a goldfish.

Who was your first big crush? Gabie, I would say.

Where was the first place you drove after you got your license? Chelsea’s 18th birthday dinner was scheduled right after I happened to get my license, and the event took place in a small, quaint little restaurant in Marikina.

There’s a bit of a funny story here, too – Aaron needed a ride to get there and so I offered to drive him. I picked him up and we were having small talk in the car, and he asked me how long I’ve been driving. I told him that moment was my literal first time driving out and that I just got my license the day before, and he is my first-ever passenger (at that point I’ve never even tried driving solo yet). The horror and immediate distrust on his face was something I will never forget HAHAHA. We got to the place unharmed, but it’s still one of my favorite stories to tell.

Who was your very first friend? It was a kind girl named Kaye back in kindergarten. We were always next to each other in our class lists, so it was inevitable for us to befriend one another. She transferred schools in first grade and I have not seen nor heard from her since.

What was the first thing you ate today? I had another bag of salted egg chips. I’m extremely hooked, lmao.

What was your first job? I work as an associate at a PR agency.

[..Colors..]

Name something red in the room you are in: We have an unopened bottle of wine here on the dining table and there’s still a red ribbon wrapped around it.

Is orange one of your school's team colors? No, neither of my schools had orange as one of its colors.

How many yellow shirts do you own? I can think of 5 tops hanging out in my wardrobe at the moment. Two of them are class shirts from high school; the others were tops I bought when I started getting into mustard yellow.

Name someone you know who drives a green car: I believe Angel, a classmate from high school who also studies in UP, also drives a Mitsubishi Mirage, albeit a lime green one.

Is it a blue sky outside right now? Yes for the most part, but the sun is setting soon so the sky is bound to change into many pretty colors as it usually does at this time of the day.

What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say 'purple'? Barney the dinosaur, and ube.

Are the walls in the room you're in white? Yes, all our walls indoors are white.

Does black make you think of depressing things? Not always, but if used specifically in that context, it definitely helps boosts the mood.

Jewelry: gold or silver? Silverrr, always.

[..Phone Stuff..]

Who is your provider? Nothing you would be familiar with, but I use Globe.

How long have you had your current phone? It’ll be three years this year. It would be nice to upgrade, but I’m also still happy with my current phone so it doesn’t really matter to me.

What did your last text say? The last one that came through that didn’t come from my mobile services provider was from someone in the media. It was his birthday last Friday and I messaged him if he’d like to receive a gift from us, on behalf of one of our clients; he just replied with his confirmation and details.

If you woke up naked next to the last person to call, would it be awkward? Yep and I’d feel like throwing up almost immediately.

Was your last missed call male or female? It was from my mom.

Who is your 10th phone contact? It’s from Jum, who I realize is still listed as Ate Jum on my phone. That’s cute hahaha; I must have gotten her number when we weren’t super close yet. Anyway, she’s been super MIA for like the last two years...basically, ever since she graduated. I believe she has also since moved back to Bicol, so it’s become virtually impossible to see her again. Bums me out and I look forward to the day we somehow end up in the same room once again.

How did you meet them? I met her in my very first journalism major class. I had mixed feelings towards her at first since I found her to be super loud in class, and I initially thought she would only be a one-time classmate and nothing more; but I got to know her more and we even ended up as orgmates, and it turns out she is literally the most hilarious person I know.

Are you related to your 17th phone contact? I have absolutely no clue who it is. I no longer remember what led to it, but Gabie and I swapped the SIM cards in our phones at one point, and for some reason it made me have access to her contacts; the 17th contact on my phone is someone from her list. And since I never hang out in my Contacts app, I’ve never gotten around to deleting those extra numbers I received.

How long have you known your 1st phone contact? Around 6th or 7th grade. I can’t remember the exact grade level she transferred to my school as a new student.

When was the last time you saw them? It’s been at least a year. I remember seeing her on campus very briefly when I was on my way to a certain building for class, while she was walking out of it.

Who is your 4th phone contact? LMAO, again, it’s from her contact list. Said person is one of her older cousins, I believe.

Have you ever kissed that person? No, and that is very weird and uncomfortable to think about.

When was the last time someone drunk dialed/texted/left a voicemail? Andi drunk messaged me a few months ago. November, I think.

[..Friends..]

Who is your #1? No Myspace but I’d say my top best friend is Angela.

How long have you known them? It will be 16 years this year.

Have you ever kissed? Oh my gosh, hell no. It would be like kissing a sister haha. She’s super affectionate and will sometimes kiss my shoulder or cheek, though.

Are you dating this person? No, never did and never desired to.

Do you have nicknames for each other? Not really exclusive to each other, but I call her Anj (and only a few people call her so) and she will occasionally call me Reben or Rolayn, both from past inside jokes.

What is your #2's full name? I am not sharing that, but I refer to them as Andi (you may remember them as Andrew from the past times I’ve mentioned them).

Do they live within 20 minutes of you? If there is zero traffic, I can probably make it to their place within that timeframe, yeah. But realistically, no they don’t.

How did you meet? We initially met in an anti-Marcos protest/rally – I approached they first because they had a wrestling shirt on, heheh – and that’s when I learned we were from the same college. But they rubbed me off the wrong way from our first meeting as they were too extroverted for my liking, and I spent a good chunk of time ignoring him whenever we crossed paths, lmfao. Eventually we were put in the same class at some point, and they even joined my org, and an intensely close friendship started from there.

Could you live with this person? Sure. I think they would never be a boring roommate.

Who is your #3? I’m gonna go with Kate for this one.

Where are they right now? I have no idea. We don’t really catch up with each other’s lives on a regular basis; we have a very chill, low-maintenance friendship.

When is this person's birthday? January 1st.

Has this person ever seen you naked? I don’t think so.

What is your #4's full name? I don’t think I have a 4th-tier best friend haha, but I’m gonna pick Tina.

When did you last see them? Last year, on the last normal day I was able to be on campus. She was set to present one of her projects at a journalism conference that was taking place in campus that day, but I was able to hang out with her for a short time before the event.

Have they ever dated one of your other friends? No. I knew she had a crush on someone from the college, though.

Do you know their favorite movie? I’m not sure about her favorite movie but I do know she loves Adam Sandler. I was never able to figure out if her interest was ironic or genuine but yeah, she enjoys a good number of his works.

[..Randomosity..]

What time is it? 6:20 PM.

Are you supposed to be doing something other than this? I wouldn’t say so. I do have deliverables for work but since it’s the weekend, I’m not thinking about them nor do I have the desire to touch those tasks until Monday.

Do you live on your own or with your parents? I live with my family. Considering my monthly income, it’d be close to impossible to sustain myself in my own place this early in my adult life.

Are you more of a cat or a dog person? Dog, for sure.

Are you allergic to anything? I don’t believe so.

Does your shirt have anything written on it? Yeah, it says “UP Fighting Maroons” styled in a varsity font since that’s the term for our sports team.

Have you ever tie-dyed something? I have, but only back in like Grade 6 when we had to do it for a home ec class. I remember wanting to buy a tie-dye set recently so I could revisit the activity, but I never got around to it.

Who can you always count on to cheer you up? Angela for the most part; but I also don’t want to be too reliant on my friends in this way. Sometimes I simply allow myself to be sad or upset, and sometimes I count on myself to cheer up.

How many places have you been today? I have been nowhere but at home today lol. I’ll be going to BGC tomorrow to have lunch with my godfather and my cousins, though.

Are you a forgiving person? No.

When was the last time you felt let down? Last night when I read the news that the government will be making All Souls’ Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve working days this year. I already know I’ll be half-assing my way through those days lmao because whyyyyyyy the fuck would you make people work on family-centric holidays such as those

What is the title of the nearest book to you? There are no books here at the rooftop.

Are you wearing anything that belongs to someone else? Nope.

Can you whistle? Only through my lips. I can’t do the kind of whistle where you put your fingers in your mouth as well.

Do you look more like your mother or your father? My mom.

Are you still in high school? I’m well past that chapter.

Are you the oldest, middle, youngest, or an only child? I’m the eldest.

Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep? No, because I don’t.

How many people have you kissed this year? None.

Is there anyone of the opposite sex you trust fully? Hmm, no one comes to mind.

Are you a night owl or an early bird? More of a night owl.

If you could have an exotic pet, what would it be? No thanks. I’ve never had the desire to have one.

Would you rather go to Brazil for the weekend or Finland for a month? I’d have to go with Finland. I feel like the cultural differences would be a lot more marked, plus the vacation is longer so that is an instant win for me.

[..And Finally..]

Where did you go the last time you drove somewhere? I was driving to the local coffee shop to spend some time with myself, and do a liiiiiiiittle bit of work as well.

Where did you last go out to eat at? Ramen Nagi. I was initially hesitant to show up there and ask for a table for one on a Sunday evening...but it turned out to feel incredibly empowering and freeing. It was definitely awkward at first, but it got a lot easier once I realized literally no one gives a fuck. Or if they did, they didn’t do anything about it and let me mind my own business. That evening was a crucial step in reclaiming my happiness, so I’m glad I made the choice to suck it up and enter the restaurant.

When was the last time you let someone borrow something from you? Last week, when Angela needed our abaca mat as an aesthetic for her grad shoot.

Was your last breakup a bad one? Yes.

What was the last song you listened to? Just checked my Spotify and the current song I have on pause is Descansos by Hayley Williams.

What was the last movie you watched? Midsommar.

Did your last kiss happen in a public place? Not technically, but it did take place outside of my house so we were outdoors for some neighbors to see.

How did you meet the last person to leave you a comment? It was Andi, and I already explained how we met earlier in this survey.

#survey #surveys

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purediscordhell · 6 years ago

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Seven Seconds

Summary: Remy gets his first Charge as a Guardian Angel. But the truth is, keeping a Charge safe is harder than he expects it to be.

Pairing: N/A

Words: 2,153

Warnings: Character death, implied/referenced suicide, suicide, stalking, implied stalking, implied/referenced abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, abuse, non-graphic violence, light blood mention, blood. These are very light, but still taken as a precaution.

A/N: Hello guys. This story is extremely different than the two previous ones I wrote. This deals with a much heavier set of events than my crack fics, as seen by the tags.

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15698289

Work Text:

Seven seconds. Seven seconds are all it takes. Whether someone falls in love. Falls out of love. Gets their hearts broken, or gets their heart mended. Or something much worse. Whether someone lives or dies.

Remy didn’t like the idea of seven seconds. To him, seven seconds was way too fast. A lot could happen in seven seconds, a lot of good.... or a lot of bad. Remy had the unfortunate luck of having something bad happen.

He supposed it was a punishment. After all, he seems to fail at everything he does, anyway. At least, that’s what his superior, Lenny, said. The bulky, balding African American glowered at him every time the younger Guardian Angel passed by.

He was really excited about getting his first Charge. The rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins when he got called into his Role. The look of disapproval on Lenny’s face as he got ready for the Ceremony. Remy ignored the look on the Superior’s face. He wasn’t concerned about it. He’d trained hard since day one.

His charge was a little girl named Claire. She had light blond hair and the most beautiful green eyes. Favorite color: yellow. Favorite flower: dandelion. At six years old, she had that genuine curiosity that made others mad. Always asking questions.

The first time Claire got hurt on Remy’s watch, she was seven and a half, and one of her friends pushed her off the slide. He wasn’t paying attention, too busy drinking coffee to realize what happened. She got two scrapes and a bruise on her kneecaps. She cried for three days afterward.

Even though it was a mildly dumb thing, Remy got chewed out. Lenny insisted that Remy be taken off of Guard duty immediately, but one of the senior members argued against it. They said that he’d done good over the year and a half. Lenny consented, but he warned the young angel to be careful next time; or he would pull him off.

Remy vowed to never let Claire be hurt again. He loved Starbucks, but he loved his job more. He spent the next six weeks paying special attention to how Claire interacted with her parents and how to mend bruises. He got better, now that he was paying more attention.

Remy remembers this first time with tears running from his dark blue eyes, much like the waterfalls connected to the ocean. He’d been a Guardian for ten years. Over those ten years, he’d learned a lot from his superiors and from Claire and her family.

Claire loved to sing. She joined choir as soon as she possibly could. She soloed in two songs in second grade. She made three friends, all of which would go on to support her everywhere. Claire was a people person, the one who would light up the room just by walking in with a smile.

Sixteen was a trying time. It was the middle of the teenage years, where boys were introduced into the mix. She was just sixteen, and putting herself out there already.

She was introduced to a boy by the name of Andrew. He was a gangly boy, with the messiest black hair one could imagine. Remy kept his black hair slightly messy, but in a cool and collected manner. Andrew had the coldest blue eyes Remy has ever seen.

He immediately disliked the boy. He got a bad vibe as soon as Andrew sauntered into the room. Remy found it was his mission to get Andrew and her to break up. They were only dating for two weeks, it’s shouldn’t be too difficult.

Remy shuddered, feeling cold in the crisp weather of Autumn. His leather jacket that he loved so much did nothing to warm him. Sure, he didn’t really need to feel human things, but he would For today. It was the least he could do.

Claire introduced Andrew to her parents about a month into their relationship. Her parents loved him, of course they would. Her friends were iffy about him. Her three childhood friends, Christopher, Bethany, and Lindsay, could care less about him, in fact. Lindsay expressed her distaste in Claire’s boyfriend almost as soon as Remy had.

He wished he had done something sooner. As a Guardian Angel, you couldn’t interfere very often. No, mostly you just sat back and watched. You watched... as your world crumbled around you and fell. Crashing down to the earth, to shatter into dust.

Six months into the relationship, Andrew changed from sweet to demanding. He would text her at least thirty times a day, demanding to know where she was at all times.

Remy shuddered, not wanting to think about him. About the way that he started making sure that she was supervised all the time. That she was only going where she was ‘supposed to be going.’

That sounded stupid to him. ‘Supposed to be going?’ What the hell, Andrew? Are you that sad of a human being that you can’t trust your girlfriend of six months, who loves you very much, to do anything?

Claire was a very sweet girl. She always made time for everyone, no matter what the request. For example, her friend Christopher took their little clique to his church when they hit eighth grade. Her family wasn’t big on religion, so naturally they didn’t go to church or participate in anything. She ended up getting all of her close friends and family baptized within two years, including herself. Claire participated the most and fundraisers organized by the church. The church was called ‘Fellowship of the Temple.’ Remy found it very cliché at the time.

Remy dried his tears. He knew he messed up again. He knew it was soon as she was carted into the hospital on April 9, 2021 at 9:30 in the evening. Claire was hanging out with Andrew, and things were going well. Remy still had suspicions, but he hadn’t done anything too terrible, yet.

He made the mistake of getting distracted. By what, he didn’t know. Maybe it was the fact that he was drinking from his Starbucks cup. Or maybe the TV was on, or his back was turned. Maybe it was all three; it didn’t matter now. All that matters is that he wasn’t paying attention like he was supposed to be.

They were arguing. Of course they were arguing. It’s been getting more frequent lately. Andrew tried to argue at least three times within the last week. It usually went with him asking if she was talking to any guys. She would say, apart from you and Chris, no.

Remy guessed that this day, Andrew had had enough. He ordered Claire to stop talking to any and all boys other than him. This included Christopher, the friend she’s had since second grade. Claire had refused, getting fairly upset at Andrew saying this. And Remy had agreed. It wasn’t Andrew’s place to say this sort of thing.

Andrew just kept getting madder. But he usually did, maybe screaming for a few minutes until either calming down or getting his way. Remy, while not having heard this exact conversation before, had heard an argument kinda like this one they were having now. So he ignored it, getting distracted. Big mistake.

The sharp thwack followed by a heavy thud made Remy freeze. He whirled around- since when was he facing the opposite direction?- and his eyes widened in the horror. Andrew held something in his hand- a bat. That said bat was leaning up against the couch they were sitting on earlier. Remy dashed forward, all concern on Claire.

She was sprawled across the wood floor, unconscious. She was bleeding on the side of her head, caused by the bat. Why was there even a bat in the house? Did he go out and buy one? Did Andrew have this planned from the beginning to knock her out?

No, of course not, Remy was being ridiculous. Andrew was on the baseball team. That’s why he had the bat. Be logical, Remy.

The screech he made was unholy. Nobody could hear him, but he still did it. He was suddenly thrown back to when Claire was seven and a half. Oh, how Remy wished it was only for something stupid like her falling off of a slide. A simple push. Nothing as severe and tragic as this.

He watched as Andrew looked down at her unmoving body, laying on the floor like a ragdoll. The anger bubbled up inside him exponentially, suddenly bursting forth in an angry sea of red. He roared in anger, sadness, and grief, mixed with a bit of fear, too. How many times would he fail as her Guardian Angel?

His wails of agony shattered the glass in the front window. The boy flinched, and he turned around. Andrew’s eyes widened when he saw the window. Remy ignored him, crouching down beside Claire and shushing her softly, even though she couldn’t hear him. A knock on the door sounded pretty soon after- maybe it was soon?- and Andrew was lead out in handcuffs.

She was rushed to the hospital by a neighbor and another police officer. Remy didn’t leave her side the whole time. Helen and Robert Callihan were called, her parents. They were crying, angry and broken. He hovered next to her shoulder, trying to send positive waves of energy through the air, knowing it wouldn’t be received.

Two days later, she woke up. Remy was exhausted. He was fighting tooth and limb for her, just as she was, for her to stay alive.

Her three friends were there, as well as her parents, when she woke up. They all cried and laughed, saying that a Guardian Angel was watching out for her.

Remy felt shame burn in his gut. He’d never actually been a hands-on Guardian. Maybe if he was, this wouldn’t have happened. If he’d just intervened more.

Two weeks later, Claire was out of the hospital. She looked dead tired. Andrew had threatened her with death if she told her parents what had happened, which made Remy seethe. He didn’t spend too long in jail, which just made matters worse. But he couldn’t do anything to harm her anymore. She was safe.

She wanted some alone time away from her parents and her friends: Lindsay, Christopher, and Bethany. She told everyone goodbye, that she loved them. He grew uneasy while he watched her hug her parents goodbye. She then got into her car, drove to the bridge, and got out. Remy followed her, curious and unsure where she was going.

She sat down on the edge of the bridge, sighing. She looked up into the evening sky, watching the sun’s beams reflect over the water. There was a content look on her face, one that she hadn’t had for a while. Her face would always crease with agitation around Andrew, but now she was wrinkle-free.

Rather than watch the waves, Remy watched Claire. Her light blonde hair flowed ever-so-perfectly in the breeze, and her green eyes that Remy loved to see so much glittered with a deep-set happiness. Then she opened her mouth.

She asked about Guardian Angels. If she had one or not, and why did it seem like he didn’t care for her?

Remy’s heart ached. Of course he cared for her. He cared for her a lot more than he ever thought possible. He’d grown attached to his Charge. When that happened, he didn’t know.

Claire had smiled, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. She said that she didn’t hold it against him, that he was surely busy with other people and other things. Remy felt his heart start to shatter just a little bit more. He had failed her, and she knew it, too.

She thanked him then, startling him. She thanked him for keeping her safe for the majority of her life, and for fighting for her in the hospital room.

Remy thanked her for fighting to stay alive as well, heart now heavy. He knew what was coming. Claire stood up on the edge of the bridge. She stood there for a few minutes, as if waiting for something.

In those few precious moments before the world ended, before his world ended, Remy thanked her. He thanked her for opening his eyes to a whole new world. He thanked her for all the laughs, the tears, the songs. He wished her luck on her new adventure.

Claire fell, as beautifully as she did in her normal life. The wind whipped her hair, framing the look of utter peace on her face as she hit the calm waves down below. A splash, followed by silence a few minutes later.

Remy leaned against the back of the bridge, looking out over the waves. Claire would be safe now. Safe from Andrew. Safe from Remy.

He couldn’t fail her anymore.

@melancholykazoo @why-things-go-boom @depressivedegenerate @patton-croc-agenda @keithstopno @the-closet-1

#remy #ss remy #I didn't tag a lot of people #bc of the tags #but here we go #that transition from cringe to angst happened really fast #Seven Seconds #my fic #angst fic

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truereviewpage · 6 years ago

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Quick & Easy Landscaping At The Beach House

A few weeks ago we shared on Instagram how we (finally) landscaped the front yard at our beach house in Cape Charles. But we wanted to give you some more details on how we knocked it out in just a few hours, what we planted, and how it’s doing today (almost two months later). Plus we love the idea of having these photos on the blog to look back on in a few years when things continue to grow in. The beach house gets tons of sun, so everything seems really happy so far.

We don’t often feel very confident in the landscaping & gardening department (hence relying on professionals for our backyard at home) but we knew even our limited skills could drastically improve the greenery situation at the beach house. For reference, this was the state of its ��landscaping” when we first bought it:

But even as recently as this winter, things were still looking pretty bleak. Sure, the house itself had gone through some pretty dramatic changes, but the yard was still extremely sad looking. Don’t mind the giant mess of vines in the foreground of this picture. It’s a photo from after our contractor removed the rusted shed in the backyard and cleared out the raging poison ivy that surrounded it – which ended up by the curb awaiting pickup. It really upped the ambiance. Gave it a certain Maleficient vibe.

So back in April, we found out that Virginia’s Historic Garden Week was coming to Cape Charles. Not that our house would be on the tour, but with lots of tourists coming into town, we knew they’d be walking right past our house (a house on the corner of our street WAS on the tour). So we took it as a deadline to finally dress up our front yard. Lucky for us, the yard isn’t very big, so we were able to knock it out in just one morning.

Not knowing if the local nursery would be open for the season yet (it closes down for the winter) we stocked up on a few plants at our local Home Depot before our 2.5 hour drive to the Eastern Shore. Our typical M.O. when purchasing plants is:

Choose a variety of colors, even if that just means a variation in greens

Look to incorporate different heights so everything grows in and feels varied and layered

Read the labels to make sure they work in the conditions we have (full sun, part sun, etc)

Choose perennials over annuals whenever possible (meaning they come back each year as opposed to dying off in the winter)

Go with as many non-deciduous plants as we can (meaning they won’t drop leaves in the winter, which can make the whole landscape bed look like it’s full of dried brown sticks four months out of the year)

With that in mind, we kept things simple and purchased what you see below:

3 sunshine ligustrum bushes (bright greeny-yellow color, don’t drop leaves in the winter)

3 gardenia bushes (darker leaves with white flowers that bloom, don’t drop leaves in winter)

3 purple flowering phlox (colorful flowers that creep like a ground cover – they do drop leaves but they’re perennials, so they should come back each year)

2 large ferns to hang on the porch (the only things we’re planning to replace every spring)

Buying the phlox was weirdly invigorating. We can’t plant anything that flowers here at home because the deer must get notifications on their iPhones about it or something. It just seems like the minute anyone puts them in the ground they get nibbled to stubs. We love the deer, but sometimes they’re a real buzzkill. Fortunately, Cape Charles doesn’t have the same issue, so we picked up the phlox because a neighbor two doors down already has a nice bed of creeping phlox and we thought the purple would look fun with a pink house.

Long story short, we loaded everything up in the car and hit the road the next day.

Since we’re nothing but true professionals, neither of us managed to take any photos of the process (this seems to happen a lot when we’re working under the ticking clock of having to get on the road in time to get back before the kids are out of school). But I basically used a shovel to cut out some swooping planting beds that Sherry and I had “sketched in the dirt” on either side of the porch. The local nursery was open, so we were also able to grab a couple more plants:

2 taller camellia bushes to anchor each side of the house (they flower & don’t drop their leaves)

2 creeping phlox for the end of the sidewalk (who says no to more perennial flowers?)

several bags of mulch to finish the job

Admittedly, we realized afterwards that we weren’t super crazy about those little slivers of mulch connecting the main beds to the front corners, but we didn’t have the time to fix them on this particular trip. Plus, we had very low expectations for that phlox staying alive. After all, we had absolutely no system for watering our plantings while we’re gone (besides mother nature) so we mostly were just hoping they stayed alive through the Historic Garden Week event.

Well, fast forward about two months and things are doing surprisingly well! Not only has everything survived, you might even say several things have thrived! The color of the mulch has even mellowed out, so we don’t mind those dinky slivers along the sidewalk as much anymore.

The ligustrum and gardenias have already grown quite a bit, and we’ve even had a couple rounds of flowers on the gardenias (thanks to everyone’s tips on Instagram about deadheading the old flowers). The purple flowers on the phlox withered, so we’ve clipped them off in hopes of spurring on some fresh growth there.

Although the thing I’m probably most excited about is a mystery plant on the left side of the house, which has come back with a vengeance. This bush was pretty huge when we bought the house (just scroll up to see it – it was almost as tall as the front door!) but it had to be trimmed back during construction so things like the siding could be added and the brick foundation could be repointed.

Then during the great water meter hunt of 2017 it had to be fully chopped to a stump. But it’s making a quick comeback (it’s the one on the far left below). It should be a great anchor and provide some privacy on that side once it gets fuller. We’ll definitely keep it pruned so it’s never as big as the door again, but a “free” plant the regenerates from a stump gives me great joy (and confidence in its hardiness).

There’s still plenty more to landscape at this house, particularly around the side and the back, but all of that is on hold until we can get our shed and patio installed… which is on hold until the duplex gets a little further along�� so who knows what sort of timetable we’ll be on for that. But at least in the meantime, we’ve got the front looking a lot less bare. Plus the neighbor’s hydrangeas have started blooming and they’re giant and colorful (and also something the deer eat like candy in Richmond), so Sherry has been campaigning to layer some of them into not only the sides and the back, but maybe the front landscaping as well. Will keep you posted if/when she gets her way. Ha!

If you’re looking for more landscaping or curb appeal ideas and projects, we’ve got a whole category of Exterior Upgrades – including some of these favorites:

How to Carve Out Mulch Beds

How to Install Your Own Landscape Lighting

Using A Pressure Washer To Clean Outdoor Furniture

Installing Your Own Yard Irrigation System

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endlessarchite · 6 years ago