As we get through this rainy season here in Central Texas, I’m hoping to take the time to finally get some landscaping done in our yard this year. I don’t know exactly how much time I have, but if nothing else, I want to get the flower beds in front of the house and front porch, and plant some things in the beds. I would love to be able to do more than that, and of course, I have big plans for our back yard eventually, but we’ll see what I really have time for.
So as I scroll through Instagram, I’m always on the lookout for amazing landscaping and outdoor ideas that I want to incorporate into our plans. Because it was my birthday last year, Matt bought it for me a beautiful landscape plan for our one acre lot.
So while a lot of the guesswork was taken out for me, there were still a lot of decisions to be made.
One of the decisions I wrestled with was exactly how I wanted to lay out my flower beds in the front of the house. I haven’t had a chance to do much landscaping in my life. In fact, the only time I actually did anything was at our first house in Oregon. I built a low retaining wall around the front porch area, and then planted flowers. This is what it looks like…
I never wanted the look of a retaining wall again. I don’t like that look, but it’s pretty perfect for me. And even as I write that, I know it’s weird. I generally like things that are perfect, symmetrical, tailored, and clean looking. But for outdoor gardens and landscaping, I find myself liking things less than perfect. I’m starting to like a more natural look.
So I’m waiting for the perfect inspiration. And last week, while I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across this! I found an account called The Psychiatrist’s Garden. This is the story of a woman who is not only a psychiatrist (as the name suggests), but she is also a complete magician when it comes to her gardens. I scrolled and scrolled through his account for 45 minutes.
But it’s the very first reel I’ve seen from him that really intrigued me. And just like that, I know exactly how I like flower beds in my front yard…and wherever I have flower beds. She has these amazing stone borders around all her flower beds in the front of the house…
I think this look appeals to me the most because it’s the perfect combination of perfect and tailored (just look at how perfectly the edges of the grass match), and a natural look. It’s the best of both worlds!
I scrolled and scrolled, and read many comments, to find out what these boundaries were and how he did them. Some of the stones came from his property, but then he mixed them with the stones he bought. He calls them field stones, so I plan to contact some local stone places to see if I can find them. I mean, isn’t it perfect?
And then in his back yard, he had these simple stone borders. I like it too.
But the front of the house is exactly what I want. If you are looking for landscaping ideas, I highly recommend it The Psychiatrist’s Garden on Instagram. His gardens are so beautiful, and there are so many little details to see. So much inspiration out there!