iN PHOTOS: Muddy backyard near Kamloops transforms into xeriscape masterpiece

A hard working gardener near Kamloops spent the past four months transforming her backyard from a bare and muddy space to a beautiful xeriscape masterpiece.

“This all started when I wanted a pathway to the chicken coop and then somehow I couldn’t stop,” said Heffley resident Adriana Mascuchova.

Prior to the transformation, the yard had poor drainage and water was pooling.

“The grass wouldn’t grow and when snow was melting I had a 'swimming pool' under the stairs and it would freeze, it wasn’t pleasant,” Mascuchova said.

After doing research, and sketching a design for the space, she went to work hauling hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of dirt and rock and broken down wooden pallets to form a pathway and secured landscaping fabric.

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She worked on a tight budget, using repurposed materials.

“I like to up-cycle so that’s why I hauled the pallets through my yard and broke them down to make a walkway, like a boardwalk,” she said. “I stained the boards and the colours came out in different shades.”

Mascuchova then went to work planting drought tolerant shrubs, trees and flowers and left a couple of natural areas with dandelions and clover growing on them. She added solar lights so she could enjoy the garden at night.

“I’m not a landscaper so researching and learning were involved, it might not be perfect but it was fun and looks like a whole different space." 

She credits a lot of her accomplishment to tips from members of a Kamloops garden group.

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