We bought our house almost exactly three years ago. Besides a small back patio built  from red pavers, we have done absolutely nothing to the outside of the house. It looked super boring. We were the only house in the whole neighborhood without some type of landscaping in the front. The only reason we haven’t done anything is because we really couldn’t afford to.

A few weeks ago I came up with a plan to landscape our yard for $0.

Behind our house is a giant pile of limestone rocks left over from when they dug out our lot. Our neighborhood is practically built on top of an abandoned rock quarry. I can’t imagine how they even dug our basement, because I can barely dig a six inch hole for a small plant. It really stinks for landscaping, planting trees, growing grass, etc. The upside is we have access to all these nice rocks that normally cost people a nice chunk of change. I decided they would make a great border for my garden.

Then I happened to drive by a free mulch yard on my way to Walmart a few weeks ago. (I took a different way in hopes of discovering a shortcut. It was definitely not a shortcut, but I did find the mulch place.) It’s self service – you can take as much as you want as long as you’re a homeowner and not a contractor.

The gears in my head were turning.

I really got excited when some friends of ours mentioned they were digging up two shrubs and wanted to know if we would like them. Um, yes!

The final piece of the puzzle was I was going to have Eric and his dad dig up a tree in the empty lot next to us (it just randomly started growing in the hole there last summer) and put it in our yard.

The only dumb part of my great landscaping plan was I picked the hottest day of the summer to execute it.

I think it hit 90. At least it was dry heat.

Things didn’t go exactly as planned. We weren’t able to get the shrubs because our friends had a family reunion today. We’re going to get them another time instead. Also, Eric and his dad were not able to dig up any trees. It seems all these little trees around us have miraculously grown into the rock and there is no way to get them out. I feel bad for the contractors if they decide to come back and build on that lot. What a mess. In the meantime, Eric’s dad said he’d take me and my sister-in-law, Christie, to pick out a few plants and a tree. He knew I really wanted a tree and was disappointed that my free tree plan had failed.

First we went to Menards. The whole way there I was sitting in the back of the van with Micah in some serious heat. The van’s A/C broke a while ago and so it was like a sauna. No, it was worse than a sauna. I thought I was going to die.

I think I need to carry a cup of water everywhere I go like Micah does. He was sucking that thing down until we got to Menards.

I should mention that the whole day, Micah wanted nothing to do with me because “Gaga” was around. Apparently Grandpa trumps mom now! I think it’s funny that Micah started calling his grandpa “Gaga” today. Gaga? Gaaa!

Menards had nothing but tall $50 trees. We hopped back in the oven and drove to Lowes.

Lowes only had evergreens. Luckily I do like evergreen trees. I picked one out that said the full grown height is around 40 feet. Oh yeah, I’m going to have a humongous Christmas tree in my front yard… in about ten years. I also snagged a cheap fern and a hosta.

On the way home we swung through the drive through at Sonic for happy hour. Slushies (and apple juice) all around! It’s the only reason I didn’t pass out.

We dropped slushies, Christie, and Micah back off at the house, grabbed a few shovels and headed to the mulch place. We put a tarp down and filled up the whole back of the van with mulch. It didn’t take long because one of the shovels was a giant snow shovel. When we brought the mulch back, I had to stop working because I was so hot that I became ill. It was not fun. Eric’s dad and sister hit the road after a bit and then I hit the couch. I waited until it was close to sunset, and then I went back out and finished.

Here is my cute little fern…

My hosta…

My sweet rock border & mulch… thank you, Christie, for helping me find rocks and carry them all the way to our front yard!

We left room for the two shrubs. The larger one will go in front of the hose and the smaller one will go directly in the middle in front of the window. I’m planning on adding flowers and some other plants in the spring. It’ s a little late for that now.

Here’s my cute little evergreen…

As you can see, by the time I finished and cleaned everything up, it was getting pretty dark. Eric was so nice to take care of our little buddy and put him to bed while I was outside working. Micah did hang out with me for a little while in his pack and play. He kept calling my name while I was digging. “mom mom mom mom mom…. ” What a goofy kid!

In the end, we only spent about $12 for everything. It’s not free, but it’s still pretty good. Once we get the shrubs in, it will look a lot fuller. Eventually it will be packed with plants.