Here is the front patio after the door was painted and the flowers planted and the bikes and skateboards and dogs gently removed.
This is what it looked like last summer.
Big changes, no?
We started the front landscaping by building the bank out of rocks and then the paver stone patio on top. Stairs completed the big work.
Then, all that was left to do was fill the flower pots and the chairs and enjoy it!
One side of the front door.
And the other.
This is in early evening, but usually this is a hot and sunny south-facing spot.
The woods surrounding our house come right up to the bottom of the patio so you are surrounded by a halo of green at this time of day.
I just finished painting our front door with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Primer Red. I love it. See the before picture above for the original color.
I’ve had the old whiskey barrels for a long time. My parents used them as water barrels when I was growing up.
My grandma collected cream cans. She painted them usually and I have one inside my front door with beautiful farm scenes on it. This one she hadn’t gotten around to yet, and now I use it for flowers.
The whiskey barrels are bottomless, so I just planted flowers in a smaller sized pot and plunked it in there on a piece of wood. Burlap fills in the edges.
At the bottom of the steps we planted two weeping carragana. They are so pretty in the summer and still interesting to look at in the winter too, which is kind of a big deal around here. I can see hanging little lights on them at Christmas.
The yellow pansies planted underneath looked especially pretty until a couple of days ago.
When somebody decided to have a little snack.
Oh well, one side still looks un-chewed.
I didn’t want the stump by the driveway to feel left out, so it got a little yellow begonia.
The pots aren’t very spectacular looking just yet. We just planted them last weekend and it actually froze here two nights ago, so our annuals are just getting started (sigh… our season in Alberta is so short). But, the hanging pots are lovely now.
I’ll give you some updated pictures in July when the pots should have filled out a little more.
And…. one last shot…
May 28th, 2012 at 10:07 am
You have such a great eye for decorating both inside and out! Your outdoor space is beautiful.
May 28th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Thank you so much!!
May 28th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Wow, wow, wow! so beautiful. Love that paver stone. It just looks like a great place to sit down with a drink and take in all the nature around you. So glad you shared this at Etcetorize this week!
May 29th, 2012 at 6:39 am
Thank you!!!
May 29th, 2012 at 7:05 am
Perfectly beautiful!
May 29th, 2012 at 8:59 pm
Thank you!!
May 29th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Very incredible. Can I join you on the porch? Love the brackets next to your front door too.
May 29th, 2012 at 8:59 pm
That would be great!! Thank you!
May 29th, 2012 at 7:55 am
What a beautiful spot to relax! So many great upgrades from last year. The door looks awesome in it’s new color! And lost whiskey barrels are so great, and it’s awesome that they are sentimental to you!! Thank you so much for linking this up to our party.
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog
May 29th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Thank you guys for hosting!!
May 29th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Your patio looks so amazing. A huge difference from the before. And I really love those barrels and the cream urns from your grandmother are so extra special!
(And I think it’s funny that you caught that pesky deer in the act; when my sister moved to the country she quickly lost all love of Bambi!)
… so happy that you linked up to our party!
Linda
May 29th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Well, thank you again for hosting and for the lovely comments! I can’t wait to see what everyone else has done. Spring fever hits pretty hard around here after a long hard winter!!
May 29th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
That is one huge transformation! The red door is gorgeous.
May 29th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Thank you!! I love that color!
May 29th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
This is remarkable! No small amount of work! Just remember when you have beautiful flowers in July that all those bloggers in hot land are having to water their pots 3 times a day – and that’s if their gardens aren’t already completely spent! At least that’s what I tell myself when I can’t even get a red tomato until August! Your patio is just gorgeous.
May 29th, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Thanks Karen! I will definitely keep that in mind (hee hee)!
May 30th, 2012 at 6:17 am
It looks so nice! You did a beautiful job of giving it a makeover.
May 31st, 2012 at 6:38 am
Thank you so much, Tanya!!
May 30th, 2012 at 7:49 am
That patio provides such a lovely welcome into your home. It is simply beautiful.
May 31st, 2012 at 6:38 am
Thank you very much Becca!
May 30th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Beautiful!! All of the character and details make your patio so welcoming and gorgeous. Great work! And I would like to reinforce Karen’s comment – my poor plants are holding on for dear life!! Texas is just too hot. I WISH I could have the pretty flowers that you do.
May 31st, 2012 at 6:39 am
Thanks Tiffany! That makes me feel better about our just above freezing mornings!!
May 31st, 2012 at 7:20 am
What a beautiful, beautiful outdoor space! Spring arrived feeling more like Summer over Victoria Day weekend here in Ontario and the flowers don’t know what to do! We are seeing July flowers already.
I love all the rustic decor touches – especially the burlap filling out your planters!
The before and after of the steps up to the front door is incredible
Happy Gardening!
May 31st, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Thank you so much for the lovely comments!! We are very happy with it all and glad the work is done! Still waiting for some heat here… soon, I hope!
June 1st, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Love your new patio. I notice the burlap sticking out of the planter, good idea. Thanks for sharing
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:35 am
Thanks Michele!!
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:36 am
This looks amazing, you did a complete makeover. I love the wine barrell plant holders, they are great. The stairs are pretty incrediblie also! Great job
June 3rd, 2012 at 12:11 pm
They were a lot of work but were so worth it! Thanks for stopping by!
June 2nd, 2012 at 1:14 pm
absolutely adore your new patio — it is gorgeous and so amazing! thank you so much for linking up to our mission possible! hugs…
June 3rd, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Thank you for hosting!! It was a great idea!
June 2nd, 2012 at 2:25 pm
You’ve done a beautiful job on your patio. I love the color of your door. That is such a neat idea to put burlap in your barrel first and then plant. I’m going to remember that one!! Always nice to meet another Canadian blogger!!
June 10th, 2012 at 9:04 am
Thanks Tanya!! Glad you stopped by!
Catherine {Stone and Rose}
June 3rd, 2012 at 6:25 am
wow – what big changes!! I loooove the new look
Thanks for linking to “20 Below Thursday”!
June 3rd, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Thanks! And thanks again for hosting, Christina!
June 3rd, 2012 at 11:29 am
This is amazing! Such HARD work! I love the begonia in the tree stump, just darling!
Thanks for sharing with us on SOS!!
June 3rd, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Thank you! And thanks again for hosting!
Catherine
June 3rd, 2012 at 7:58 pm
From the fabulous red door to the whiskey barrels and cream containers to the not forgotten tree stump … your outdoor space rocks! So glad you joined our party.
Kelly
June 4th, 2012 at 6:40 am
Thanks so much Kelly!! We are pretty thrilled with it- especially now that it is warm enough to sit out there and enjoy it! Thank you for hosting!!
Catherine {Stone and Rose}
June 4th, 2012 at 12:41 am
Wow. What an incredible transformation! It’s amazing.
Thanks for sharing on Show and Tell Wednesday…I’ve been back twice to eye it
xoxo, Tauni
June 4th, 2012 at 6:38 am
Thanks so much Tauni!! We love it and are so glad it is warm enough now to sit out there and enjoy it!
Catherine
June 4th, 2012 at 6:44 am
[...] See the complete patio makeover here. [...]
June 4th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
[...] Patio & Landscaping Reveal by Stone and Rose. [...]
June 4th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
How beautiful! We have a short growing season here in New England, but what a challenge it must be to have an even shorter one. I look forward to seeing how your plants fill out.
I love the red door, too!
June 4th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Thank you!! We will see how the flowers turn out- hopefully the deer leave them alone!
June 5th, 2012 at 8:21 am
Crazy beautiful. Two of my favorite things… stone and the color red! Wow.
June 6th, 2012 at 6:56 am
Thank you so much Martha!
June 6th, 2012 at 12:33 am
Wow! What a year you had. Gorgeous patio! this was the most viewed link last week at the whatever goes wednesday party at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. I am featuring it today,
June 9th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
AMAZING!! i love the old whiskey barrels too!
We are running a Before and After Link party to support Habitat for Humanity, with a chance to be featured on other big blogs and win gift cards. Would love if you entered! http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/2012-before-after-series/
June 10th, 2012 at 8:57 am
Thank you for dropping by and for the invitation! I will do that!
Catherine
June 11th, 2012 at 9:03 am
Thanks so much for linking up and grabbing a button, Catherine!