First Project in NC

We moved to the mountains of NC almost a month ago, and are staying in a home owned by family for now. We've been slow to begin projects beautifying this house because ... well, we moved from TX to NC with four little kids! I'm just going to say that's reason enough for a pause. But back to the project. 

We chose to first address the narrow flower bed in front of the house, because 

1) it's good to be outdoors

2) gardening is my favorite thing to do, and 

3) it will add curb appeal with very little effort. 

Here's a before:

And after:

And another before:

And after:

We planted mostly perennials because I wanted an English cottage style - wildly colorful. There are blue asters, blue rug juniper, cool pink dianthus, hot pink dwarf echinacea, variegated heuchera, and some herbs and purple kale for me to cook with. We chose a cool palette (with the exception of a yellow rudbeckia) because the house's exterior is very warm. I can't wait to see how this bed fills in next spring!