This Can't Be A Good Idea

Last Spring we added on the breezeway which turned into the sunroom (AKA: the man cave that I now avoid except to go to and from the garage because it's overflowing with testosterone).


That addition created a little alcovey-like area in front of the house. We have our grill there, and there's a couple of black wrought iron chairs there, but it's nothing spectacular.


Jay recenlty got the idea to put concrete there and make it a patio type-thingy. Great idea, I thought - no weeds to deal with. Then he took it one step further....What if, instead of concrete, we put bricks down there.


I love that idea, except for one thing: That area is connected to the area infront of the house, which is all natural rock. Personally, I've never been a fan of the rock. I'm too anal about things being lined up perfectly and all, and well rocks don't come in matching formation and sizes, at least not the free kind that we find in our farm fields anyhow, so that area has always made me a little crazy.

I nixed the bricks idea. But....then I got to cypherin' a'la Jethro Bodeen style about the cost of doing the whole thing in bricks. I would love to have the bricks in the patio area, but if we extend it all the way across the front of the house as well that would end my matchy matchy stress. But not red bricks....natural color bricks. That way we wouldn't also have to replace all the rocks in the bed. Jay could have his bricks, and I could have my perfect formation.

But, truth be told, I still wouldn't be happy with that. Because there's another reason I don't like the front of the house....there's dead plants out there. I like plants and all, but they don't like me, because they know I'll kill them - quickly.


Last year, we had both Austin's confirmation and the girls' confirmation (2 weeks apart). I waited until the day before Austin's confirmation party to put plants out there so it would look nice. That way I could be pretty sure they'd still have a 50/50 shot of staying alive until Graduation, which they did...but they never saw the end of summer.


(a moment of silence for those poor plants)


Ok, honestly, what I'd like is for any ideas you have on what to do with this unused area to make it look nicer. Remember - I have a BROWN thumb!