Backyard Progress.

The add-on to the deck is almost finished! One board left to add on the left side and then it will have to be stained to match the rest. We will let the wood dry out a bit and it will likely be on my summer to-do list.

Did you spot Beaufie's little face? "Whatcha doin' out there mum?"

We also planted a few more things in the pea stone garden. The pea shrub was once on the side of the house where it didn't get much sun so we transplanted it here. It will eventually grow fuller and cascade downward.

We also added some blue oat grass along the path. They are tiny now but will fill out and look a little like these. We planted some last year and know they will do well in the stone.

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I also put a Miscanthus on either side of the pea shrub and I'm now realizing they may have to be moved in a few years because they get rather large. Hopefully they will look nice and full for the first while, even though they are pretty puny right now.

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 So thrilled to see that my Japanese Maple trees are coming back and looking healthy. I forgot to cover them over the winter and apparently that's bad news. Oops! I'm relieved and learned my lesson.

The weather has been just fair this Spring in PEI. Actually, we nearly froze on Saturday, it felt like winter. The heat was back on in the house for a couple days last week. Kills me! Now we have rain in the forecast until the weekend. Makes it really hard to get yard work done and for things to get blooming. Patience I suppose... :)

This Year's Annuals and a Winner!

What a beautiful weekend! We've been spoiled the last few weekends with sunny skies and warm temperatures. A great treat after a rainy cold week, here in PEI.

We spend the weekend working outside on the deck, landscaping and I found some time to fill my container pots with annuals. Buying flowers and planting is my favorite part of spring. Let me preface this to say that I never have any luck with my pots. I use good soil, Miracle Grow and water regularly but they always seem to look overgrown and sickly. I'm hoping that this is my year. Maybe I've learned from my failures and will come out on top. Must think positive!

Here is what I planted and I'll report back in a month's time on their progress.

Both of these pots are on the back deck and will get lots of sunshine. I chose sun loving annuals. The first pot has the yellow Bidens as well but they are not yet blooming.

The plants include:

Bidens

Purple Fountain Grass

Diamond Frost

Icicles

Blackie Ipomoea (Potato vine)

To my Canadian friends, you have to pick up one of these at Superstore (Loblaws)! $10 for a large pot of mixed lettuce greens. You take leaves as you need them and it continues to grow back all summer. Needless to say, we had lots of salad this weekend. Yummy! Thanks to Jana for the heads up on this one!

Here is the large pot at my front door. It doesn't get as much sun as the ones in the back so I chose shade/part shade plants.

These plants include:

Nonstop Yellow Begonia

Double Impatients

Purple Magilla

Calibrachoa (mini petunias)

Marguerite Ipomoea (limey green potato vine)

I'm crossing my fingers that they turn out well this year. My sister Julie is the queen of container gardening (well.. gardening in general really). Her pots are stunning every year! Apparently, she inherited the green thumb!

On the topic of flowers, I also have to share a peek of the potted azaleas in my dining room. I picked up this pot at Superstore a few weeks ago and it's continuing to bloom. Such a great pop of color.

And finally, thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway courtesy of Empire Patio Covers! The lucky winner is Melanie @ Live from B5! Congratulations! I'll be in touch with the details!
 

Our Stone Garden.

This week, it was time to start the landscaping around the deck. We knew we wanted a more modern look so decided to go with perennial grasses and stone. I'll admit I was nervous, I love flowers and mulched gardens but felt a different look would suit the design of our deck much more. It's good to go out of your comfort zone from time to time!

First off, we did what I think was the toughest job yet: removing the sod. Luckily Stephane did most of the work. It's really heavy! Plus, where do you put it all? Currently it's hiding in a corner against the fence. It will be a job just to get it out of there!

Next we used an edging around the perimeter. Apparently this keeps the weeds away but I'll believe it when I see it. Nonetheless, it provides a nice clean edge to work with. Then we laid down a weed barrier over the whole area.

We picked up two different grass perennials at the garden center. Karl Foerster, which is a feathered reed grass and should grow 5 feet tall, providing us with some privacy on one side of the deck. We also set in some Blue Oat grass which will fill the areas in between. We cut the weed barrier, dug a hole and filled it with some nutrient rich garden soil, then planted the perennials. They looks pretty measly now but I have high hopes! (No photos of the process since we did this part on a rainy, cold evening.)

Next up, we filled the area with pea stone. Loading up the wheelbarrow, dumping and spreading. I figure we've done three tonnes at this point. Needless to say, I'm a tad sore. I was kind of in my glory though.. I love that stuff!

The lighter color is close to what it will really look like. We had done that part the night before so it's drier. The stone is wet where it has just been applied. We plan to add a small tree where Stephane is standing and a hedge along the walkway.

After fiddling around with the stone a while, raking it over and over to smooth it out, we added our simple slate walkway.

 Each piece is actually much closer together than they appear in the photos. Must be the angle of the shot.

Still more work to do yet! Check out the pile of pea stone still to use. At first we though we ordered too much but maybe not! I sort of hope not.. a pain to get rid of!!

It's been a job but we've enjoyed spending our evening outside and seeing it transition little by little. I think it's a bit Asian inspired but Stephane thinks it's Arizona chic:) Still lots to do but we're getting there! I'll be back with another update next week!

Last chance to enter the Empire Patio Furniture Covers giveaway! Go here to enter. Contest closes Friday at 10pm AST.

So Not Fun.

Warning.. There isn't a lot of pretty in this post. I'll get there eventually!

Last year when I finished scraping my shed, I swore it was the last time I'd scrape anything. What a messy, labor intensive job. But alas, I'm at it again. The front porch needs a major overhaul and I'm trying to do it on a budget. Yesterday I spent a good couple of hours scraping the lose 70 year old paint off the ceiling and trim. Then, I vacuumed the mess only to be told that I had a lot more scraping to do! :) So I guess I'm back at it today. I'd like to get a good coat of primer on it this week.
Here's a peek at my hard work:)

The rest of the makeover will include new steps, handrail and floorboards.

Not so pretty!

And of course lots of paint, and some fun finishing touches. I think my mailman will be happy if I get a mailbox.. I've heard they aren't crazy for mail slots. Anyone have any good sources for nice house numbers?

I also got the notion, yesterday, to put in a garden in the back yard. The back corner was a mess of weeds and long forgotten rose bushes. I dug it out out and added a forsythia bush, an arctic willow and a clematis plant.

Before (or kinda half way thru):

 After:

There is room for more but I'll move some plants, that I'd like to divide, into it this fall. It was more work than I anticipated and I was eaten alive but it was strangely satisfying at the same time!

Plus, look how well my window boxes are doing! I'm pretty happy with them!

I Heart Super Black Mulch.

When I moved into my house the weeds in the overgrown side garden drove me insane. I dug everything out and turned over the soil every few days and I still couldn't keep them all at bay. Last summer, we rented a tiller and turned all the soil but the weeds prevailed. I ended up tearing out most of the plants and starting over.

This summer things were a little better but I decided mulching it would help. It looks so much better. It's a bit more expensive than the other colors but I simply love the super black fine mulch. My brother took me out yesterday with his trailer and we bought a scoop. More than enough to cover the garden.

Here is the garden prior to mulch. Good ole' PEI red soil!

And here is the garden now. The plants really pop against the black and it feels so much tidier. Here's hoping that it's less weeding for me!

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Off to the beach today. It's supposed to be a hot one!

A Weekend in June.

A cloudy, cold and rainy weekend for the most part. I got lots done though around the house and did some preparations for the baby shower I'm hosting next weekend. I'm looking forward to posting about some of the decorations!
Luckily I have a covered porch so that didn't stop me from putting together my pots of annual flowers. I haven't had much luck other years so I'm crossing my fingers this summer! With a little luck and some Miracle Grow.. here's hoping:)
I took some pictures so that I could track the progress. They look pretty measly now but give them a couple of weeks!

A little glimpse at how badly my front porch needs a makeover. Look at those floorboards:(

Friends of mine are starting Segway tours on the boardwalk here this summer. On Saturday, I got to be the guinea pig. I received the full lesson and got to take one out down the boardwalk. It was cold but very fun!

Source: google.ca via Jane on Pinterest

A busy week ahead for me with school winding down soon. I hope you all have a great week!