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Week 6: Final Yard Transformation Reveal

May 29, 2018

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Wow, what an incredibly busy 6 weeks this Yard Transformation Challenge has been.  Thanks again to Nat of Simple Family Crazy Life for hosting the challenge and giving me some extra motivation to whip my yard into shape.

Missed the other weeks?  Here’s Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4 // Week 5

Let’s start with the backyard, and work our way to the front.  Come on in. . .

Cobalt Blue and White Patio Makeover Reveal

Check out this stunning cobalt blue and white patio makeover.  I'd love to relax on a deck like this and steal some of these DIY ideas. #outdoorliving #patio #deck #patiomakeover #cobaltblue #diyproject

I was inspired by a Greek restaurant on a recent trip to New York.  I loved the combination of cobalt blue and white–it’s so classic and fresh.  While my patio doesn’t look exactly like the restaurant, I think I got the right feel.

Related: Cobalt Blue Patio Makeover Inspiration

Around the deck I wanted to pretend as if it was my only growing space and really dig in to container gardening.  I planted a mix of vegetables, flowers, and herbs to see how much I could actually grow, and what types of vegetables even can be grown.  The flowers are to provide beauty and help with pollination.

I also did some DIY’s on my existing pots to bring them in line with my cobalt blue and white theme.  Get all the DIY details here.

Need an annual flower that can take the heat and sun of your south facing backyard?  You need strawflowers!  These blooms are thriving in their container on my hot patio. #strawflower #flowersinpots #flowergardening #annualflowers

Our deck is super hot.  It’s south facing and very sheltered from the wind, so it can be difficult to find flowers that can handle the heat.  So far these straw flowers are thriving.

Related: 36 Flowers for a Cut Flower Garden

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that my new favourite flower is the citronella geranium (the one in the centre of the black pot).  I love the smell, and I’ll be testing it out to see if it really does keep the mosquitos at bay.

Growing mint (in the blue pot) is also a new experience for me.  I’ve kept it in a pot and not in with the rest of the garden because it has a very nasty spreading habit.

Want to learn which perennial flowers and herbs have a spreading habit that quickly gets out of control?  Read 28 Perennials You’ll Regret Planting, and 50 More Perennials You’ll Regret Planting.

I also struggle with finding flowers that can handle the heat in my hanging pots, and so far this combination of geraniums, petunias, and dianthus is working well.  Don’t you love how the pink pops against the cobalt blue?

I love these succulents in a bird cage, but believe it or not, they are struggling with he heat.  We’ve have had two weeks of plus 26-30 degrees Celsius this May, which is unusual for our area.

Check out this stunning cobalt blue and white patio makeover.  I'd love to relax on a deck like this and steal some of these DIY ideas. #outdoorliving #patio #deck #patiomakeover #cobaltblue #diyproject

I just love my patio makeover!  Instead of an old and ugly deck with not a lot going for it, it’s now a nice little oasis where I can have a cup of coffee in the morning or relax at the end of the day.

Related: How to Make the Perfect Iced Coffee

Container Herb Garden

Every beginner gardener needs to try growing herbs!  I love this combination of chives, rosemary, lemon balm, thyme and basil.  It's so easy to plant these in a container or in your regular garden. #herbs #herbgardening #containergardening #chives

Despite growing a garden almost every year of my life, I have never really planted herbs.  Just some basil for a pesto making experiment.

True story: I love eating basil, but I hate the smell of it so much that I never want to make pesto again.

This year I transplanted some of my chives, and planted lemon balm, oregano, thyme, and basil.  Wait. .. I forgot to plant dill!!  *goes out to the garden, finds some space, and immediately remedies this situation*

Expanded Garden Area

Last year I tried to garden exclusively in my city backyard, and quickly realized I didn’t have nearly enough planting space–especially using traditional gardening methods.  I expanded my garden area and have switched to a crazy hybrid of square foot gardening in a traditional garden space.  Finally, I was able to plant everything I needed with a bit of room to spare for succession planting in my flower beds.

I originally planted in my flower beds out of desperation.  However, I discovered I actually like having the extra growing space and it helps keep my overgrown perennials at bay.

Soon I will order more mulch to keep the weeds down and make everything look prettier.  I’ll also be cutting down the lilac tree at the back and letting it rejuvenate.

Raised Bed Gardening in the Front Yard

Raised bed gardening using the seeding square.  I love planting a combination of vegetables and flowers using the square foot gardening method.  And these raised vinyl garden boxes make everything so pretty in my front yard. #squarefootgardening #raisedbeds #vinylraisedbed #gardening #vegetablegardening #frontyard

Part of the solution to the lack of space in the back yard is to move some of my gardening out to the front. I installed two premium vinyl raised garden beds and I love how durable they are and the instant curb appeal they add to my front yard.

I planted with the Seeding Square and my perfection-loving heart loves how evenly my seeds are starting to sprout.

The other thing I love about having a garden in the front yard is that it’s a natural conversation starter with my neighbours.  Thankfully I live in a neighbourhood where front yard gardens are allowed an encouraged.

Now, to just get rid of those overgrown cedars and replace them with something else. . .

I hope you’ve enjoyed my portion of the 6 week yard transformation!  I’d love to know, what was your favourite part, and what do you think I should add next?

 

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Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

4 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Outdoor Life, Projects, Yard Transformation Challenge Tagged: deck, Flowers, Garden, patio, pots, raised vinyl garden beds, seeding square, vegetable garden

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Laurel says

    May 30, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    Beautiful !
    Reply
  2. Nat says

    May 30, 2018 at 10:44 pm

    What a gorgeous transformation! I love everything about your patio! The colours, the furniture, the succulents’ bird cage, the area rug, well, absolutely everything looks so good! The front yard raised beds are a great idea! They do add so much to the look of the space and are a great opportunity to grow more ?
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      June 3, 2018 at 9:07 am

      Thank you! Great minds think alike with raised beds in the front yard :-)
      Reply
  3. Deneen says

    June 1, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    Good Work Kristen! The seating area is really nice, big improvement. I love the ode to Greece the only thing it's missing is a glass of ouzo ;-) The colour combo is great. Maybe the next piece is a pergola so you can have a bit of shade?
    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
⁠
Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
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