OMG Gil, look at all those nice trees and shrubs and look at all that space to plant to your heart desires.

I love your house!

Is that a garage or shed it the back?

Best wishes to your new home and garden ;)

Hugs,
Sharon

It all looks absolutely wonderful, good for you!

WOW!! What a gorgeous home and yard! I have a soft spot for the older houses...just love them! You'll have sooo much room!

BTW...nice little whitetail on the shed/garage...LOL hunting season...I'm probably the only redneck on here that picks up every antler that happens to be in a yard, home, or garden...hehe!

Good for you!!

Verena

So much potential! It looks like the previous owners cared about the yard. You have lots of variety of shrubs, lilacs and trees, even some fencing and nice grass there already.

Let's see... flowerbeds along all the edges and all around the house...yah...about 1000 new perennials could be used... doesn't everyone agree?

Gil, have fun! You almost have a blank canvas for your landscaping but your advantage is that you already have the mature trees. You could measure out the yard yet this fall and make yourself a landscape plan in the winter in your spare time.

You have lots of room on the north side to put on a large deck, with benches, planters and of course, flowerbeds all around.

Will you be reinsulating the house as you do the outside?

Brenda

Hey thanks guys, I'm really liking it so far. Verena, you're so bad! I knew you would see those antlers! DH and I are in disagreement about whether they stay or not so for now they are safe from my screwdriver. LOL

Sharon, yes it is a large shed with a concrete floor but no power. It is full of gardening tools already. The garage is the red door in the back of the house. Strangely, the driveway comes right through the backyard into the garage, there is no front street access.

Brenda, yes I will be adding to the flowerbeds. Not in the dog area because those just get flattened. My big dilemma is that I am used to gardening in full sun and there just isn't any here. The left spruce in the "big spruces" picture is in the middle of the south side of the house - so that pretty much rules out any foundation plantings. There are some shrubs already there too so I am planning to develop the front along the sidewalk first. There are nice shrubs there but no landscaping plan, so I will be working with that. I'm just glad I was able to get those roses in the ground in the sunniest spot I could find.

As far as insulating goes, the house inspector couldn't believe how well insulated the house is, even the attic is blown to 18" with fibreglass. The windows do need replacing but it will break my heart because they are original counter-weighted sash windows and they work perfectly. They open with one finger and stay where you leave them. And they have permanent aluminum single pane storms on the outside which helps a little with drafts but not much. But the clincher is that the sills and trim outside are all rotten so they will have to go. I will be getting triple panes with the fake multi-panes inside so it does not ruin the authentic look.

Also the electricity in the house sucks, it's old two-wire ungrounded and has glass fuses that blow all the time. Also most of the house is on one fuse :0( grrrr. Have learned to plug the kettle into the outlet on the stove so it doesn't blow everything up.

What a great property you guys got! I absolutely LOVE all those big mature trees! (I'm turning a little green here ;^)). There's so much potential for planting beds. Yes, if you have time this fall to map out the yard on paper, and then plan(and dream) away all winter.

Congratulations again, and I'm sure glad you found your camera. Those pics are great!

Laurie

Gillian, what a lovely house you have. I love the look of older homes. You have a bay window and fireplace too. Lucky you. If the windows are original, are the baseboards and inside doors still original as well?
The house looks huge. Do you feel like Scarlett O'Hara?
Your yard is massive and really well kept. You definately have lots of room to play. I can't wait to see pictures of your new developments next year.
Congratulations on your great find. It is absolutely stunning.
And after you do your renovating, I'm sure it will look outstanding.

Oh Gil, I love your new house. It soooooo reminds me of a couple of things. One, way back when I was in school, we had to design a house...and landscape. This reminds me so much of the look that I came up with.

And secondly, the fuse problem...also reminds me of the first house that I owned. LOL! I couldn't even vacumm without the fuse going...Take your time and have fun with planning the upgrades and gardens.

Can't think of a better thing to do with goutweed than to have dogs pee on it. LOL! Since dog pee, kills just about everything.....I hope it works. LOL! Good luck with that.

As for the shade gardening, think Fuchsias, begonias and impatiens, ohhhhh ya and just look at all those hostas that are available.....Do you have one of those gardening programs to help visualize your garden planning?

Good luck and have fun!

Sierra

Shelley, yes I do feel like Scarlett O'Hara. I always acted like her but now I feel like her. LOL! Must get a 16' portrait of myself for the front hall. The baseboards and doors are indeed original, and the walls are plaster which sucks for hanging up pictures but it has cool plaster mouldings. It also has original hardwood floors which are +/- in reasonable shape.

I don't have software to plan the garden... that would be too organized. Like Laurie says I will plan it on paper all winter, then come spring I will grow/order far too much of everything and panic and cram it into the ground willy nilly. That's how I garden, let's face it. LOL.

I already had a busybody ancient neighbour toddle across the street and inform me that I could subdivide my lot and make $40G. I was like, thanks but I like the yard. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. Then I noticed his new, large house is stuffed into 35' of riverfront. LOL! He was also kind enough to point out that my house needs painting. I was like, 'So when is garbage day' and he was like 'Your house needs painting'. LOL!! 'Do I put the garbage on the front street?' 'You need new shingles too'. He was so rude I actually got a kick out of him. His wife came over later to apologize about him.

That's too funny about your neighbor! It's a good thing he's got a good wife to keep him in check! ;^)

Great place, Gil! Love the look of your house and the brick chimmney is a nice feature. Its gonna look even better with those new shingles and a paint job! (sorry, it just slipped). Good Luck with it all.
Sounds like you garden just like me! So much planning, then it all gets thrown in in a panic. Oh well, the planning is still so much fun. I agree with Brenda, you've got a ton of room for plants.

Tootsie :^)

Looks like you got a great deal Gil!
Once you get the house updated I suspect that you will have very good value.

Planting for shade takes changing gears mentally.
If you want lots of new perennials for shade think of wintersowing.
I am very happy with the Heuchera "DaleÂs Strain" I started last winter. (Thanks Sharon!)
Primulas, Pulmonarias and Hostas are also good shade perennials. I donÂt know if Meconopsis would work in Winnipeg, I know that Marcia grows them.

I had an outspoken neighbor when I moved here. She happened to have two teenaged sons at the time. Just the right age for doing a bit of yard work when I wanted to get away for a bit. If she didnÂt like how the yard looked she would get them to do it again.

Having the garage in the back is the old way of doing things. If the newspapers are to be believed there is a backlash against the houses that have the garages dominating the fronts of houses.

When I grew up in Montreal my parentÂs house had picture rails. That sort of thing would definitely be in tune with your new house. Instead of banging nails into the wall every time you want to hang a picture you would put a hook on the picture rail and run wires down to where you wanted the picture.

Ian

It's great, Gil! I love it all, and it has so much potential! The new paint and shingles will happen in time, maybe sooner because you don't have to worry about insulation. I really look forward to seeing pictures of your progress.

Congratulations again! :)

Hi Gil. Love the house and the yard. Looks like lots of potential for great landscaping. I hope that your shovel is good and sharp for digging up all the new flower beds in your yard.
Another plant not mentioned by anyone that works well in shade is 'Foxglove'. Its nice and tall and works well at the back of a flowerbed.
Good luck on the new house and I hope all works out well. Also it looks like there is lots of room inside for a larger family. ( I had to add that you know)

Cheers Al

It looks awesome Gil! I am so jealous about the house. To have something with character is great. Never mind the yard. All that room for flowerbeds and lots of new perennials. You'll have it looking great in no time at all. Just pace yourself and don't do too much at first otherwise you'll end up redoing it. I have found that living in a house for a year makes a real difference on how you would landscape. Then you get to know the house, where the sun is and what you are missing. Good luck and I can't wait to see the after pictures.

Syreeta

Aaah you're all so encouraging. Believe me, we had second and third thoughts but it was the character of the home along with the large yard and truly solid, dry foundation (a rarity in MB) that sold us eventually. Plus we got a really good price.

Ian, I totally agree about garage-houses, also about heucheras, I have a couple and absolutely love them. LOL, forgot all about picture rails, they use them in England still. They have plaster walls there too - go figure. I have a masonry drill and plastic expansion anchors which should work - but so far I have been trying to just use successful nails that are already there.

Toots, don't ask about the chimney :Al, do you grow foxgloves? I had several at my old house and they never bloomed. Except one, once, at the end of the year. I was always trying to grow the wrong kind I think. Sharon told me what kind to try and that one bloomed but then I forgot what it was. I really like foxgloves. Good thing they have attractive foliage is all I can say. And no I'm not "expecting company" but my Bassett Hound Daisy is. LOL. Puppies!

Gil, I grow foxgloves every year from seed and they bloom for me, but they must be seeded about the 1st of February indoors under lights, as it takes about 5 months from seed until they flower. The kind that I grow are the "Foxy" variety which are a annual type and are in the Stokes catalogue. I find them very easy to grow, but you must keep them growing as they seem to stall if you let them dry out too much. Hope this helps!

Cheers Al

Original moldings and hardwood floors, now I'm really jealous Gillian. With a little elbow grease, your place will soon be fantastic. You know it.

Sharon told me what kind to try and that one bloomed but then I forgot what it was. I really like foxgloves

Digitalis purpurea 'Foxy' or 'Camelot' are shorter varieties and like Al's experience, they will bloom in their first year if sowed indoors early. I usually sow them around the first of March under lights. They don't grow as perennials here, treat them as annuals.

Gil, I think we should all go to your new home for our FN renunion, we'll straighten out the neighbor for you ;)

Sharon

that ole neighbor could turn into your best helper in lots of things. that's what happened for me, they just need to have someone they think needs their help and along with that comes advice unfortunatley. Lovley home.

I'm so sorry, Gil. I thought I had posted to this thread when you first moved in and I see that I didn't. But, I just know that you got my best wishes and congratulations by telepathy, didn't you? ; )

You'll have to post the puppy pictures when they arrive. Bassett puppies would be so cute, I bet.

Shauna

Of course I got it telepathically Shauna, LOL. The pups are due later this week. Daisy looks like she needs a rollerskate under her tummy, it's getting pretty low. LOL And yes you could all come here for the reunion - except I think Brenda's more of a hostess than I will ever be and there's no lily festival around here.

Sharon & Al, yes it was 'Foxy' that bloomed for me. I will check out Stokes when I get my lights going in the spring.

I got the survey on the property and it is 125' x 145' plus a 30' boulevard on the side street with no sidewalk that I can garden on. I've noticed other people around town have done this and nobody seems to mind.

Wow large lot!! Considering that my lot is only 60'x120' yours is a small park. No wonder your neighbor thought that you could build another house beside yours. You shopuld be able to buy 2 of every plant available in Winnipeg and plant them in your yard and still have room LOL.

Cheers Al