When pondering what to do for a blogging project, I wanted to incorporate something I wanted done around our home. What was a project that I have been putting off because of the time commitment, research, purchasing, and manual labour that made me say, “Hmm, maybe next year?” Welcome to my red rock bed; I find it hideous and always pay no heed to it. I wish I could wave my wand and have a beautiful flowerbed.
However, that will not happen, so bring on the manual labour. I’ve enrolled Al to help me and he is super pumped about this project (nope, not at all). 
We bought our home three years ago; the previous owners had filled the space beside the house with red rock and ferns. This weekend, we borrowed my father-in-law’s skid steer to see how much rock there was. We removed two skid steer buckets of red rock from the bed. It barely made a dent.
Over the May long weekend, Al and I plan to remove the rest of the red rock and repurpose it at my in-law’s place. They wanted to add more rocks to a parking space.
Now for the fun part: researching all the pretty perennials I can place in the flowerbed. I want a flowerbed that I do not have to replant each year. Perennials come up yearly, so I won’t need to plant new plants continually. After living in our place for three years, I observed that the front of our house has little sunlight. So I need some shade-loving plants. According to Natural Resources Canada, Kenosee (southeast corner of Saskatchewan) is in the 3b zone for hardiness. This limits the perennials that will work in my space.
For the next six weeks, I will be researching and purchasing different shade-loving plants, removing and repurposing the red rock, finding the best dirt to fill in the large hole, and discovering the best mulch to reduce the weeds while keeping the soil moist. Wish me luck, and hopefully, Al doesn’t hate me by the end of it.
Hello Dayna!! First off- let me say that I love your header media image! I have always been fascinated by the Northen lights!! They are very spectacular!
Wow- it seems like you’ve got quite the gardening project on your hands. Your willingness to dive into this labor-intensive project is admirable. The process of transforming your outdoor space into a beautiful flowerbed filled with low- maintenance perennials feels like a rewarding challenge. All the meticulous planning- from researching shade-loving plants to finding the perfect soil mulch shows your dedication to creating a sustainable and stunning garden. I am sure that the results of your landscaping project will be absolutely impressive. I wish you all the best in the next 5 weeks of your landscaping journey. I can’t wait to see pictures of this magical transformation!
Thanks!!! The process is definitely going to be a journey.