Clarity For Our Front Yard Landscaping

As soon as we get past this season of rainy weather here in Central Texas, I’m hoping to make some time to finally get some landscaping done in our yard this year. I don’t know how much I’ll actually have time for, but if nothing else, I’d love to get the flower beds along the front of the house and front porch sectioned off, and get some things planted in those beds. I’d love to be able to get more than that done, and of course, I have grand plans for our back yard eventually, but we’ll see what I actually have time for.

So as I scroll Instagram, I’m always on the lookout for amazing landscaping and outdoor ideas that I may want to incorporate into our plans. For my birthday last year, Matt bought me a gorgeous landscape plan for our one-acre lot.

So while a lot of the guesswork has been removed for me, there are still a lot of decisions to be made.

One of the decisions I’ve been wrestling with is exactly how I want to edge my flower beds around the front of the house. I haven’t had the opportunity to do much landscaping in my life. In fact, the only time I’ve ever really done any was at our first house in Oregon. I built a low retaining wall around the front porch area, and then planted some flowers. It looked something like this…

I didn’t really want that retaining wall look again. I don’t dislike that look, but it’s a little too perfect for me. And even as I write that, I know it sounds strange. I generally like things perfect, symmetrical, tailored, and clean looking. But for outdoor gardens and landscaping, I find myself gravitating towards things that aren’t quite so perfect. I’m starting to like a more natural look.

So I’ve been waiting for the perfect inspiration. And last weekend, as I was scrolling Instagram, I found it! I came across an account called The Psychiatrist’s Garden. It’s the account of a woman who is not only a psychiatrist (as the name suggests), but she’s also an absolute magician when it comes to her gardens. I scrolled and scrolled through her account for a good 45 minutes.

But it was the very first reel that I saw from her that had me hooked. And just like that, I knew exactly how I wanted to edge the flower beds in my front yard…and anywhere else I have flower beds. She has these amazing stone borders around all of her flower beds in the front of the house…

I think that this look appeals to me so much because it’s the perfect combination of perfect and tailored (just look at how perfectly those edges against the grass fit together), and a natural look. It’s the best of both worlds!

I scrolled and scrolled, and read lots of comments, to find out what these borders are and how she did them. Some of the stone came from her property, but then she mixed those with ones that she bought. She calls them field stones, so I plan to contact some local stone places to see if I can find these. I mean, isn’t it just perfect?

And then in her back yard, she has these simple stone borders. I love these, too.

But the ones in the front of the house are exactly what I want. If you’re looking for landscaping ideas, I highly suggest that you follow The Psychiatrist’s Garden on Instagram. Her gardens are so gorgeous, and there are so many little details to see. There’s an endless supply of inspiration there! And I am so incredibly glad that I finally have some clarity regarding our front flower beds! I’ve been keeping my eyes open for the perfect idea for months now as I’ve scrolled Instagram and as I’ve driven around town. Her reel just happened to come up as I was scrolling through reels, it stopped me in my tracks.