I’m so excited to finally share this backyard transformation with you guys! It’s been over a year in the making and I couldn’t have done it without the very talented crew at Cross Creek Nursery!

The photo above is my attempt at DIY. I clearly had zero idea what I was doing. Who knew plants had so many needs?! As I like to tell Dave, I didn’t choose the plant life, the plant life chose me. So after countless dollars and hours spent trying to go at it alone…..I brought in the professionals.

We started the planning process by discussing the times of year that our family spends the most time out back. We spend the most time outside in the Summer and Spring months. So we felt it was important to have flowers that will bloom during those seasons. And for that reason, we decided to keep it simple and go back with white knock out roses.

If you’ve been here for a while then you probably know white roses are among my top 5 favorite flowers. Roses have a reputation for being hard to maintain and keep alive. However, knock out roses are very hardy. And since I had already proven my lack of green thumb, that was a huge bonus. Plus they bloom several times throughout the year. They appear brown in some of the photos but that is really just them getting ready to bloom again.

We had a Butterfly Bush that I loved but it wasn’t thriving in it’s current location as you can see in the photo above. It’s the one in the way back. Cross Creek helped me find a new home with better lighting and I can definitively say it is now “living it’s best life.”

Our irrigation system is on the side of our house so the crew at Cross Creek Nursery had the idea to place bluestone pavers leading back that way and they compliment the little planter bed I have also. I have grand dreams of a vegetable garden but for know the one rose bush I have will do until I can prove I can keep that alive.

Another reason we went with just knock out roses was we knew we would be doing extensive landscaping near the pool with lots of purple flowers and wanted this space to feel separated visually. Cross Creek had planted the white knock out roses in our retaining wall planters the year prior so we thought that doing more of the same would help create that separation of space visually.

Like I said before, we love spending time outside. I remember so fondly making s’mores by the bonfire as a kid and wanted to recreate that experience for Noah. So we purchased a solo stove, upgraded our patio furniture, and added this beautiful white hydrangea tree.

I really wanted to use this galvanized planter. However, I couldn’t figure out how to prevent the bottom of the planter from staining our patio. The crew at Cross Creek had the genius idea of placing a piece of bluestone underneath and it’s worked like a charm!

Cross Creek did the install from start to finish and honestly it’s been some of the best money spent. They understand what flowers do best in what sun exposure. They know how to space the plants properly so as they mature they don’t crowd one another. And the crew was professional from start to finish. I cannot recommend them enough for your next backyard project!