Witherspoon Rose Culture | Durham, NC

I had been wanting to make a trip to the Witherspoon Rose Culture in Durham for quite some time. An acquaintance posted photos of her rose garden with roses from this nursery and they were gorgeous! There is quite a difference in my opinion between the roses you get from the box stores and the ones you get from a specialized nursery like this. And to boot, the prices really aren't that much different. A no-brainer in my book. If you are in the area, a highly recommend making the trip (they are closed Sundays, FYI). While we are not quite ready to start landscaping yet, I wanted to take a ride over to see the pretty roses in bloom and get an idea of what we will eventually like to have in the front of the Myrtle House. Here are some of my favorites that we found that day.

My latest obsession are climbing roses. They are SO romantic and I can just imagine a giant climbing rose bush hanging over the porch with giant blooms dangling down. My favorite kind so far are the Climbing Eden variety. I would like to center the staircase on the front of the Myrtle House and then have a climbing rose bush on each side of the stairs to create an arch (eventually). See these below gorgeous photos for some more inspiration. Does anyone have experience with or tips about climbing roses?

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P.S. If you are ever on the hunt for garden/landscaping inspiration, feel free to check out my Pinterest boards on Garden, Curb Appeal, and Outdoor Living. I pin a lot. I mean a LOT. :)

Exterior Inspiration | Myrtle House

It is no secret that I love a classic black and white color scheme on a house, especially on an old one. There is something so clean and timeless about this look. For the Myrtle House, the house already has white aluminum siding and black accents on the windows, so to me it is a no-brainer to leave it the way it is. I will also throw in some touches of light blue (of course) on the porch ceilings. The foundation and chimney also feature this gorgeous, rich, brick that is over 100 years old. You can't make brick like this anymore! We made the mistake of using brick pavers from Lowes for a path on the Brooklyn House and it looked terrible. If you ever have to replace brick on an old home, please source out old brick (check Craigslist) - it will be well worth the extra effort and look much more cohesive!

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The Myrtle House actually has the potential for lots of outdoor living space, including a wrap-around porch and a side porch we plan on enclosing to make into a screened-in porch. In the South, I think a screened-in porch is a must for the summer! We will also add a little picket fence to keep any doggies safe as well as add a bit more definition to the rather large front yard.

For landscaping, I plan on adding my favorites - a climbing rose bush over the front steps, garden roses lining the front porch, camellias along the side screened-in porch for privacy (and gorgeous flowers!), and hydrangeas on the opposite side next to the fireplace. In the back, I would love to create a small fire pit under the oak tree that is surrounded in a peony garden.

One of the things I regret from the last renovation is waiting so long to do the landscaping! We put this last on our priority list and never got to enjoy our hard work in the garden. I would love to prioritize this on the Myrtle House so that things actually start to grow and fill in before the house is move-in ready. We shall see - things like fixing the structure and broken windows seem a bit more important than my peony garden. ;)