I know. The posting around here has been light of late, hasn't it? I've been a bit preoccupied with my latest business venture. AMPED: Conversations on Influence Marketing is the newest conference I created and it happened last week. It went really really well - even better than I hoped for! But, with the work stuff and with the snow still piled outside my door, I've been finding it difficult to be inspired to do anything around the house and blog about it lately. I'm so over this winter!

I do have gardens on the brain though. I'm hoping to tackle some outdoor projects once the snow thaws. The front of our house is in serious need of some curb appeal and I've started to gather some photos for inspiration.

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I'd love to add a walkway to the front of our house and this is my favourite look, traditional brick set in a herringbone pattern. The bricks should have a bit of wear to them, maybe recycled brick. I love how the raised brick border adds another level of detail and formality and frames the hedges and the grass.

Thomas Pheasant design

I'm more of a yardner than a gardner - I can keep grass alive but have a difficult time with plants so simple unfussy gardens really appeal to me. This one with hydrangeas paired with boxwood seems relatively easy to maintain (but I could be totally mistaken). I love how the free flowing hydrangeas are contained with the boxwood for a very full but tailored look.

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Another boxwood and hydrangea pairing. This one is accented with a few planters. That seems like a great way to add some colour to the otherwise white and green scheme.

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If we had the space, I'd love to do a stepped garden like this with the plantings varying in height. This one is a bit too uniform green though so I might add in some tulips to for colour. The vertical lines of the covered steps and boxwood hedges really work well with the crisp lines of this house.

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Simplicity at its best. I think even I could keep this garden alive!

Are you a gardener? Do you have plans to get out in the dirt once Spring finally arrives?