MAYWOOD CLEANUP PART VII-FRONT YARD

 

We finally come to the end of the Maywood post series.  As sad as it was for me to let go of the home, documenting the final chapter on the blog gave me a release.  I hope you have enjoyed the trip through the cleanup.

 

 So this is the front yard before we arrived in June 2013.  If you look to the left of the house, notice the rose bush growing across the driveway.  The year before, the bush grew into the neighbor's yard.  The grass doesn't look to bad, but then I have been having it mowed.

 

The girls will probably shoot me for posting these next pictures.  Underneath the miniature Japanese Maple, the bed was full of weeds.  I know the maple could be trimmed back, but honestly, I didn't want to kill it.  When the bed was first established, it was full of glorious tulips.  I think the roots from the maple tree took over all the perennials.
 This bed alone took two full mornings of the three of us to clean out all the weeds.

 

In the flower bed right of the front porch, we found this interesting item.  It was the dog leash pole.



We started with the crowbar to dislodge it, not knowing how deep it was.

Look at the length of this thing!  The dog was apparently a 'Marmaduke' type of dog.  The neighbor next door was afraid to leave her 2 year old outside in fear that the dog would break loose and attack her.



I wish I had a picture of the front door before we left.  It was stained and high glossed shellacked for weather protection.  This is the after picture.  Apparently, the renter left the screen door on year round instead of replacing the glass insert. 

 

A better close up.

I sanded the door, re-stained what I could and put a coat of wood protector on to seal it.



A side note:  This is part of the 'insulation' from the attic.  Interesting enough, the newspaper is dated  1939.  I wasn't aware that people used newspapers for insulation?

Because all of the perennials had died off, we finished the beds with fresh mulch.  Notice that all the brick work had to be weeded too.  The brick work over 15 years old still looks good.



The white snow ball hydrangeas were in full bloom and just gorgeous. 

Extra trimming around the edge showed off the brickwork nicely.

The coal shoot was repainted with oil based high gloss paint.  This is the after picture.  You will still notice rust.

All of the basement casement windows had to be sanded and repainted with the rust proof paint too.  My oldest daughter taped and repainted all of the windows.

My sister Sharon was kind enough to give me a St. Joseph statue to bury in hopes of selling the house quickly.  I think he answered our prayers.

 

Here are the girls burying the statue.



I think after all the work, the curb appeal improved immensely.



 

 The cute brick cottage was restored to its once long ago beauty.

 



And the best news....the house sold in 37 days!!!!