For those of you who have checked out my first post, you’ll know that my husband and I have nearly two years of renovation, decorating and DIY stories to share (not to mention the whole planning-a-wedding in between thing…more on that another time).  The most difficult part for me right now is deciding which stories to share…and in what order!  So, if you’re reading this, and you have specific DIY questions or are starting (or in the process of) a renovation of your own and would love to hear more about the renovation perils of me and my dear husband Christian, please let me know.  I’ll do my best to share!  Until then, you are stuck hearing stories from whichever way the wind blows me!

And speaking of the wind blowing, and the lovely outdoors, I think I will share with you the story of our garden.  Oh, the garden.  It was a sight when we first took possession of our home.  You could barely even call it a garden, really.  It was a bunch of pinkish-terracotta coloured patio tiles with some wood beams thrown in for good measure, to create, I suppose, some sort of “stone garden” (?).  Add to that overgrown shrubs and the piece de resistance, the massive aquarium (yes, I said aquarium) painted BRIGHT teal blue with (wait for it) a smiley face painted on the front, being used as make-shift planter at the front of the house.  So awesome.

After our “garden” spent an entire fall and winter buried under a massive waste bin that became somewhat of a lawn ornament for us, it finally felt like time to give it the attention it deserved last spring.  I took a day off work and hauled out all of those big patio stones, dug up the plants (salvaging what I could, of course) and added some fresh soil, hoping that our little garden would be soon ready to accept new plants!  We promised to be loving parents!

Of course, being the budget-savvy gal that I am (ahem, correction, my awesomely frugal husband as taught me how to hone in on my thrifty skills that we knew were in there somewhere), I started brainstorming ways for us to find money to plant an entirely new garden.  It is not cheap.  Well, who would have thought that Sheridan Nurseries would have a garden gift registry!? They helped us plan out our garden (however, I would be in remiss to not mention Christian’s dear landscape architect friend who was lured over via glasses of wine to share her professional landscaping opinions with us), set up a “wish list” and communicated it out to all locations so that eager gift-givers could go to any location.  With our upcoming wedding only two months away, it was an excellent addition to the wedding gift-giving option pool.  By early June, we were ready to plant!

Awww!  Look at those little guys!  If you are wondering what we planted:

– 2 varieties of hostas (can’t remember the names right now, but I believe the two-toned ones are “Blaze of Glory”

– Speedwell (the tall white stuff on the right)

– Lavender

– 4x Hydrangeas (2 each of “Blushing Bride” and “All Summer Beauty”)

– Periwinkle smattered throughout (blue and white)

 

A very brief ode: to our lovely solar lights on the right.  We loved you, You shone so brightly in the night, and guided the way for our vistors.

And then you were stolen by some jerks.

Honestly, who steals solar lights?

 

The solution?  Buy new ones during an end of season sale, wrap the bases with heavy duty wire, and then extend the wire to your wooden garden edge and nail that sucker down.

How do you them them apples, light stealers!!??

 

Okay, enough talking…time for the grand reveal…my how our garden has GROWN in just one year!

 

Final thoughts – we were not yet acquanited with the wonders of the East End Garden Centre when we planted this masterpiece.  We now, of course,know of the greatness of our green friends down the road.  Also for those a little north, Bill’s Garden & Design is pretty awesome, too.  Helpful staff and beautiful plants.  Hooray for gardening!

 

What are you guys planting?  Any tips to share?