All decked out. Part trois.

So do you remember this past May when I first shared with you how ugly my deck looked?

Yah, it wasn't that pretty. Being a rental, it had been neglected for a few years before my arrival, followed by a few more years of neglect after I moved in. No coin + no idea how to make the space usable = ugh.

But I've been busy over the past month or so (and may have spent a little bit along the way). Check it out - 

Not too bad, huh? How about from this angle?

Or if I focused in on some of the greenery?

I had a lot of fun putting this space together. Though I had pots on the deck last summer - successfully growing two tomatoes and a bunch of strange tasting lettuce, the space never really felt like it was living up to its full potential. In a lot of ways it kind of felt like that wasted space that a lot of people have - a catchall for all of their crap.

My goal in putting the space together was to create somewhere where I can come and kick my shoes off, sit, relax, have a drink and just forget about the world. Somewhere where time stands still and I can just enjoy my plants, the birds, the sun and my white-trash neighbours in the apartment below yelling at each other.

I had a few of the components when I first started - my BBQ and the tin star that I picked up at Winners years ago. The rest of the pieces came along slowly but surely. With each pay cheque a few more elements arrived. First the big pieces like bistro set from JYSK, cushions from Real Canadian Superstore, followed by the hanging baskets & plants also from Superstore and the black plastic urns from Canadian Tire.

Once I'd pulled the major pieces, I added in some eye candy like the candle sconces that I picked up at Value Village for $1.99 each, the cylindrical vases on the table - also a Value Village score and the coloured bottle tea light holders - snagged for $2.00 each at Dollarama.

I love how my planters turned out. I'd originally planned on going with ferns for the hanging baskets, but when I started to realize how much they cost I figured that it would be cheaper to go with flowers and trailing greens. In reality, I'm pretty sure that I spent way more on the plants for the hanging baskets, but they look gorgeous.

I went with a fairly basic colour pallet for the plants - red geraniums, salvia (I  totally thought about Miley Cyrus when I was buying it....), blue lobelia, a really cute trailing plant with yellow flowers - similar to that of a petunia and lots of fillers. I love plants, but I'm the first to admit that I can't remember their names to save my life. As long as they grow and look pretty then I'm happy. Oh yah - three types of mint & some other herbs....

So there you have it. Deck done. Now, time to just kick-back and enjoy. It's finally feeling like summer out there (two months later than usual)....time to cram as many mojitos in (complete with my own fresh mint....your choice of spearmint, peppermint of actual mojito mint). Bring on the sun (and fake *cough, cough sick days)!

The final rundown - 

Bistro Set - JYSK

Cushions - PC Home Collection @ Real Canadian Superstore

Wire Baskets & Coco Liner - Real Canadian Superstore

Nexgrill BBQ - McDiarmid Lumber

All Plants - Real Canadian Superstore

Black Plastic Urns - Canadian Tire

Cylinder Vases & Candle Sconces - Value Village

Coloured Glass Bottles - Dollarama

Candles - Zellers

D-