The beginning....

One year after moving to Calgary from Eugene, Oregon, we determined that we were here to stay (despite the "challenging" growing climate). Knowing that we wanted to settle down in Calgary, we started looking for our first home to buy. There were a few basic criteria: 2+ bedrooms, garage, lots of storage space, close to Tim's job and ample room to garden. This home had everything we wanted but needed lots of fixing. We got the keys to our concrete jungle January 2010.

The backyard was basically all concrete and decking, save a small garden space. As soon as the first good Chinooks came in 2009, we got to work increasing our garden space. Here is what the backyard looked like when we bought the home:

The first project in spring 2010 was to remove the flat deck space. The wood that was removed was reused by us and friends, the rest was given away via Kijiji. Here is the before and after:

The next project was to figure out how to hang clothes outside to dry. We wanted lots of space to hang out at least 2 loads of laundry and for the system to have the capacity to hold heavy items like sleeping bags or comforters. My parents have had a 5 line retractable clothesline for over 20 years, yet I was unable to find such a product in Canada. We ordered a product similar to the previous link from the U.S and installed it between the house and garage.

In permaculture we talk a lot about needs and yields. Clothes drying in our yard is a prime example of this idea: clothes need heat and wind, and concrete yields lots of heat. Our clothes typically dry in 1 hour of being outside in summer. This is one way that we are working with the concrete instead of against it.