Outside Improvements - 1st Installment

I realize that this is going to sound petty, but someone I work with moved in next door and I now feel this pressure to have the outside of my house look presentable. Also, several of my employees live within a few blocks and have mentioned to me that they know where I live. Anyway, I generally have a black thumb when it comes to the outside, mostly due to my apathy towards landscaping...but anyway, here are some of my improvements:

Planters on the front porch:


A hanging basket I made:

Rock trim around the front flower bed (I need to fill it with some mulch, but I'll do that later when more bulbs come up):