Directions Not Included

DIY and craft adventures of two humans, three dogs and two cats.

  • home
  • about us
  • house tour
    • before & during
    • the afters
  • project gallery
    • renovations
    • furniture & decor
    • holidays
    • events
    • crafts
    • archives
  • featured
  • contact
    • advertise
    • disclosure
    • privacy

you spent how much on trees? – planting oaks

June 29, 2012 10 Comments

As you may already know from previous posts, I am a plant killer. The hubby on the other hand actually has a green thumb and is slightly obsessed with trees…specifically oaks. I think he might like trees more than me some days. We cleared out much of the overgrown jungle in our house earlier this summer as we worked towards our new landscape plans. This is the somewhat blank slate we are starting with.

We’ve been researching online and paying extra attention on our walks/drives through the area for ideas. We knew we wanted to plant a few more trees on the property for shade and privacy but were unsuccessful the first couple of trips to the nurseries. I thought it sort of fell off his radar and we would work on getting some of the other landscaping projects underway. Then I find a receipt on the dining room table. I wish I would have taken a picture but I was too shocked at the moment. The conversation went something like this:

Me: So babe, you bought trees?
Him: Yeah, I bought the oaks we had been talking about getting.
Me: Oh, I thought we weren’t getting them right now…
Him: But I found some great ones and they are planting oaks on Friday.
Me: And how much are we paying for this?
Him: It was only $1200. It is a really great deal with everything involved.
Me: ***Jaw on floor*** So is this why you said I couldn’t look for the tv stand/media center for the family room?

Say what?! Screaming deal or not, I guess I did not comprehend this would be such an expensive addition to our house. I’m happy they are here though…except there is no tv stand/media stand yet…and we have no more big purchases on a horizon for some time. Boys and their priorities. To be specific, the trees themselves were not that expensive but renting the equipment and labor for planting oaks in limestone-ridden Florida upped the ante.

Here is a recap of the planting process. Since we ended up with bigger trees it was not exactly DIY friendly. We needed equipment to get this done. Have you ever tried to dig a hole in South Florida? You hit limestone rock pretty quickly. Not something you can do without some big machines.

And here is the front now of our house now.

Next up, we will be clearing out all the random plants between our house and the neighbors and filling it in with some great bushes and flowering plants. We will also tackle all the front landscaping and do something about the hideous front fence. I can’t wait to get some extra privacy in our backyard. I also can’t wait until our house stops looking like “that house” on the block. 😉

PS – Before anyone thinks we have a crazy relationship, we do discuss big purchases and have joint finances. That doesn’t mean we always remember when we clear a big purchase with the other and there is a big time lapse in between discussion and purchase! 😉


you might also like:

still playing in the dirt - south florida landscape phase 2
let it grow - south florida landscape is ready
a little help from our friends - porch column cover up

Filed Under: outdoor Tagged With: backyard, exterior, landscape, outdoor, plants

About Anna@DirectionsNotIncluded

Hi there! I'm Anna, the voice behind Directions Not Included. I'm a marketer, crafter, DIYer and lover of all things home related. You can usually find me covered in paint, cuddled with one of my pets or in front of a computer or other digital device. Thanks for reading Directions Not Included. I hope you stick around.

Comments

  1. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says

    June 29, 2012 at 11:09 am

    the trees look great! and i am thinking now that i may just go get a new car. i mean, i need it. and chris will just be ok with it…. sounds like a good plan, right?

    Reply
  2. Lisa @ Before Meets After says

    June 29, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    bahahaha! We have joint finances as well and discuss every little purchase….but hubbs has done this to me a time or two! The trees look great though…you’ll definitel appreciate them in a few years when they’re big and shady!

    Reply
  3. Traci says

    June 29, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    Your story has made me appreciate the oak trees that we were given for free. My husband loves his oak trees. We have four in the front yard that were grown from acorns by a close friend of ours.
    Congrats on getting your landscape started.
    Traci

    Reply
  4. Alison says

    June 29, 2012 at 5:56 pm

    The trees look great! I had the same reaction when I found out about the mini digger purchace that we had been tentativley discussing…!!

    Reply
  5. Emily @ EAKaHouse says

    June 29, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    This made me giggle. Daniel and I don’t usually discuss these things. There is a budget each month and as long as we stay within it he doesn’t care what I buy. They do look like some very nice trees though. We are working towards clearing out the front but man do I hate juniper bushes.

    Reply
  6. Melanie @ Mailbox Journey says

    June 29, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    Whoa. Those are some pricey trees! They look good though. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Cheryl @ That's What Che Said says

    July 2, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    Soon your house will be “that house” that everyone walks by in the evenings saying “Wow,look how nice they made their home look! I want that home!” 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jody says

    July 2, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    So funny! I’ve been there and by there I mean possibly spending too much on trees and “forgetting” to tell the Mister until after the fact . . . I feel about fruit trees the way your hubby feels about the oaks! You are going to love having those trees. The yard is really starting to looking fantastic, great job!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

hi there, i’m anna

dnirssyellow dnipinterestyellow dnifacebookyellow dniinstagramyellow AnnaDNI2014 Welcome to Directions Not Included. I'm Anna, the voice behind the blog. I'm a marketer, crafter, DIYer, and lover of wine and sushi. Oh and I love my husband Ray, too. I also seem to be a magnet for scruffy mutts and cats. Want to know more about us and what we are doing? Learn more here.

what we’ve been up to

looking for something?

pinterest addict

Visit Anna [DirectionsNotIncluded]'s profile on Pinterest.

our lovely sponsors

RMPotteryButtonFINAL2AD-Button adad

about

Directions Not Included follows the DIY and craft adventures of two humans, three dogs and two cats as they take one old Florida home and make it theirs.

This blog will feature DIY tips, before and after photos, craft tutorials, home decor trends, and gratuitous pictures of our five rescued furry children.

Copyright 2010 - 2014. Directions Not Included - Anna Cruz-Morales.

The contents of this blog, including text, original photos and ideas are the sole property of the author. If you intend to use my text or images, please link back to my site and credit given to Directions Not Included. Please share only one image and direct readers to my site. A notification email would be greatly appreciated.

like us on facebook

like us on facebook

don’t miss any of the fun

dnirssyellow dnipinterestyellow dnifacebookyellow dniinstagramyellow dnitwitteryellow dnigoogleyellow

subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright Directions Not Included 2014 * ·Daily Dish Pro Theme * Modified by Directions Not Included * Genesis Framework * by StudioPress * WordPress * Log in