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Garden shed, OP. Uh oh. Now you NEED a shed! If you don't already a shed, then DON'T LOOK ON PINTEREST. ;D There are lots of cute ones.
There is one shed that is dedicated to my garden things. Luckily it is close to the house, and there is a path to it. It has shelves that I keep old pots, tags and most of the hand tools on. The shovels, rakes etc, I have propped up on two of the walls.
I also have a potting bench. My neighbor was throwing it away! I don't keep tools on it since it is outside...but I'm mentioning it because well...you're probably going to want one of those, too. They're pretty cute.
more progress ... both in the garden AND in the garage!!
Still making progress ... here's the garage wall that I am transforming into a garden storage area ...
All this part of the wall had to begin with is the 1x3 at the top of this picture. I knew I wanted a LOT of flexibility in terms of hanging things up, so I added a bunch more 1x3's screwed into studs (then I don't have to worry about hitting studs with particular hooks, as long as I screw them into the 1x3s). I spaced them pretty close together (about 5" of space in between) -- enough so that some shelf brackets I have will fit "across boards." Also added some "handy hooks" from Home Depot -- I only bought a couple to try them out on a bunch of different things, and they work great for a LOT of different items, so I went back this morning and bought a bunch more!
I made a list of everything I would want to store, then tried to "place" them on the wall (on a drawing to scale), with room left over for later purchases. This sounds silly, but what I was most excited about was the utility cart being able to be hung -- it took up a LOT of floor space, so it's nice to get it up and away.
I also realized when I was leveling/hanging the 1x3's that I can put some ABOVE the original piece -- I need to be careful not to interfere with the garage door opener, but most handles etc. are of course not very deep, so they should fit.
Anyway, it's kind of fun to get organized. I really like the planning part!
So that was the garage. Here is what I just made today -- I decided to do "hardscaping" underneath the light fixture (those are pea pebbles within the boundary) -- that area will be joined to a line of pavers along my driveway (making a nice edge) and will "lead into" the flower bed. This is where I will be putting the bench I mentioned in an earlier post, if I can get the thing together correctly!! (I am SO not mechanical, so I rely on good instructions for putting things together ... the bench's instructions were pretty horrible.)
I like how it's coming along -- the white & red annuals are blooming beautifully!! -- but I still have a lot of weeds ... as you can see in the photo. I am very tempted to hardscape the whole long edge of the driveway leading into the flower bed, just to get rid of the weeds and not have to worry about them. Any thoughts?
Oh, and this is one of my favorite plants ... coral bells heucherella if I remember the name correctly from the label (I deliberately put the label in the photo ... then I realized I couldn't read it in the photo! ). I got it in a small pot at a local Agway (not Home Depot, although some of the plants I got from there are doing great too -- like the white & red annuals) -- it has grown tremendously. The foliage is just gorgeous.
OK, that's all for now. Much grading etc. to do this weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be very nice (high 70s, sunny, low humidity), but I suspect I will be working on my classes all day.
Oh, and NK ... I bought a lopper! Hope to use it early next week -- likely no time at all this weekend. Love that list you posted!
We're expecting 1-2" of rain overnight/tomorrow, so I thought I'd better get out in the yard TODAY to get more cardboard & rocks down.
I did decide to do hardscaping between my driveway and the flower bed that's closest to it. Here are a few photos ...
The rocks on the right side are actually the same as those on the left -- river pebbles from Home Depot, $3.77 a bag!! -- but the ones on the right I just poured today, so they were covered in dirt. After the rain they will look like they're supposed to! I need to go back to Home Depot to get a few more bags to fill in bare spots ... maybe tomorrow.
I am using white-ish pavers to line the driveway but mostly red elsewhere -- at least that's what I'm using right now, as the temporary borders. I like the white better although it looks quite gray after getting wet. These are all outdoor materials, of course, so I don't mind if they change color somewhat or get "weathered" ... that's kind of what they're supposed to DO!
Here's a view from the 2nd floor of my house ... sorry about the screen ...
At least this view shows what it looks like overall. The strip near the street is 5-6' -- that area gets covered with snow from the plows in the winter, so I didn't want to go that far.
I am going to add solar landscape lights along the driveway path ... they were very cheap so I don't have high hopes for them, but hopefully they'll provide a LITTLE more light.
I've also been doing more garage organizing ... YAY!!
Those Black & Decker tools are all 36V so have 1 charger. (The charger will stay inside the house due to New England temps!) The tools hang BEHIND the garage door opener hardware -- you can't tell from the photo, but there's almost a foot of clearance after opening the garage door -- nothing is blocked (that would be bad!! ).
Here (right side) is what the utility cart "hides" ...
I'm actually going to move the extension cord -- didn't end up liking it there. But the tiller (that's its handle you see in front of the extension cord) will fit behind the utility cart very nicely.
LOVE being able to hang the cart!! I just used "handy hooks" from Home Depot, $1.47 each.
So it's coming along! Any ideas? suggestions? constructive criticism? I will take all the advice I can get. (Will continue to update ... but don't worry, I don't expect answers every time!)
Within the past few days, I put in the 2nd bed on the left side of my yard (looking from the street) -- it's smaller than the first but still meanders a bit. I wanted to get it up NOW even if I don't end up planting anything in it 'til next spring (not sure it will be ready in September). I'll try to take a photo from a second-floor window to show the layout.
NK, I also used the lopper for the first time -- I LOVE it!! I lopped most of the right-side foundation plantings down, down, down this afternoon/early evening (it's just past 8:30 p.m. my time and I just came in as of course it was getting dark!). Will try to transplant the rhodies when I am done although as I have said, they were REALLY damaged by the ridiculous amount of snow we got this past winter. In the next couple of days I will be thinking about a new spot for them.
I ordered some flowers for delivery this fall (looks like they'll be in starting September 11th, and apparently I need to get them in the ground VERY quickly after that). I am still planning what will go where ... suggestions welcome!!
Here are some photos ... English primrose first ...
Jacob's ladder ...
Mixed coral bells ... what's the difference between these and heuchera? They look the same to me. LOVE the foliage (I already have some of these) ...
And red coral bells (wish the photo showed the foliage too) ...
And a couple more that I'll save for later! I am thinking in my planning that I need more lower-lying flowers and/or ground cover -- many of what I've bought so far will get somewhat tall.
Oh, I also bought some tulips ... not sure where I will put those. To those of you who have tulips: do you put them all together or spread them around various parts of the garden? My college has a bunch of tulip beds and they are really beautiful in bloom (although the blooming time seems, alas, to be fairly short).
Wasn't sure about buying online but there's a one-year guarantee and the company (Spring Hill Nursery) has been in business for a while so I figured I would take a shot. But WOW looking at catalogs online is so addictive!!
I don't think there is a difference between huechera and coral bells. I love them. I have 2 primrose and they did beautifully this year. Got very big and the blooms are still there, but will be gone soon. I put in 5 dwarf goat's beard's in the front of one bed and they are doing well. I have 3 lungwort in the front of another bed and they have gotten huge over the last few years. I posted pics- (Maine coastal flower beds)- you will see how big stuff gets. I love Lenten Rose for an early spring blooming flower- even with snow on the ground. In my shade bed I put ajuga and chocolate chip ajuga as a ground cover and some complain it takes off, but where I have it, it seems to be staying in check.
I put bulbs around the outside of my fence (hyacinth and crocus) in a pattern, but other bulbs I just put in where I want. But, then you don't remember, and you want to put in a perennial and you begin to dig up bulbs. So, try to put them where you won't be upset that they will only be in bloom for a while. But, today I was just reading that some people treat tulips as annuals and don't mind changing colors etc. every year.
You should try to find a local nursery and get to know the employees and ask a lot of questions. Over the last 5 years, they have helped me so much. You can save on shipping too.
I don't grow tulips as they don't come back in the south and if they do they are puny at best--even the ones they say are for the South.
I have something called heucheralla (sp)or foamy bells. I like them. My primrose only lasted a few weeks and I doubt I will replace them. Maybe it gets too hot here.
I like to mark my bulbs with used golf tees. That way if I start to dig I usually find the tees and know not to dig them up. But I have so many, it is OK if I dig a few up by accident. Then I just poke them back in the ground somewhere else.
Also I like to plant several things in the same hole with successive blooms in mind. For example I plant daffodils pretty deep if they are big bulbs, then on top of them daylilies and then on the surface iris. By the time the daffodils are dying, the daylily foliage is up and pretty much hides the daffodil foliage and the iris foliage stay all summer and hides them both. I also plant amarylis and licoris in the same hole since they are compatible.
... I like to plant several things in the same hole with successive blooms in mind. For example I plant daffodils pretty deep if they are big bulbs, then on top of them daylilies and then on the surface iris. By the time the daffodils are dying, the daylily foliage is up and pretty much hides the daffodil foliage and the iris foliage stay all summer and hides them both. I also plant amarylis and licoris in the same hole since they are compatible.
What a great idea! I didn't even know you could do that.
Another update today ... I am having so much fun ... and this isn't even the "beautiful" part! I think there's just something about seeing progress each day -- it is very gratifying.
Did more lopping today -- most of the foundation plantings are now tiny, although the one on the far right (looking from the front yard) is still tall as it is too big for my lopper to fit around. I will be using an electric saw to cut it down more -- may do that tomorrow.
Here's a photo of how the front of the house is looking ...
I have to say that after months of having the broken foundation plantings covering the path to my front door, I am LOVING being able to see the door and windows!!
Got a surprise when I was lopping ... can you see the little guy?
I know I scared him so I tried to stay out of his way ... I looked again after about half an hour and he had hopped away! (I got a fright when I first saw something moving ... thought it might be a mouse . I don't mind frogs (or toads?)!)
Anyway, here's another view, a bit further right ... there's a path from my driveway to the front-side (service) entrance, which is the one I use the most (said entrance is hidden by the rhody, which desperately needs to be trimmed!!). That side porch area is going to be enclosed at some point, still set a BIT back from the original part of the house but not quite as far. That enclosure will be a mud room (with entrance directly from the garage), which I really want up here in muddy/snowy New England. For right now, I just did hardscaping (you can see the white marble chips) -- that area was always full of weeds.
That's a mattress bag full of brush from the foundation plantings -- I have mostly filled 2 so far, which is probably all I can fit in my small SUV. Will have to make a trip to the Transfer Station to get rid of it ... they charge 2.7 cents/lb. Should be able to re-use the mattress bags a few times before they get too torn up from twigs etc.
OK, so now that I am removing the foundation plantings, I will be doing hardscaping with the marble chips topped with lots of different containers. (Remember, this is temporary, for a couple of years or so before I add a front porch). I just bought a wishing well from amazon -- haven't assembled it yet (it's supposed to be easy) but that will be one of the items ...
I am also about to order window boxes. The 2 windows on the first floor front of the house are 54" wide, so I am going with 48" boxes, probably these ones ...
They have GREAT reviews on amazon. If they work well I may put one on the second-floor-front middle window -- you can see from the first photo in this post that I HAVE a small window box there (nothing in it yet) -- I have another one of that type and I may just take both of them to my rental house (a house I used to live in). Yeah, I'm trying to upgrade the landscaping over there too!
Hmmm ... the white window box is wide enough to be underneath the shutters as well ... maybe I should go with the 60" boxes instead? (I will use them as deck planters on the porch's rails once it is built ... yes, planning ahead! And I like the look of them under the shutters ... AND I just saw that amazon's price for the 60" is actually LESS than the price for the 48" ... so I think I will go for it!)
More soon ... but comments/questions/helpful hints always welcome (and I am generous with reps! ).
Wow....you have been a BUSY girl!!!! I left a couple of remarks on your photos in your albums - so I won't repeat them here - but I LOVE your wishing well, and your window boxes. Are those self-watering boxes or no? Reason I ask cause if you're like me - I forget to water stuff in pots, or boxes. I just totally forget them sometimes until it's almost too late. I have better luck with in-ground plants for that reason. But - the boxes DO look great - and really stand out on your house. Not sure which size to buy - should they be longer than the window?
Your flower choices - heuchera is the same thing as Coral Bells BTW - the red one you have posted is gorgeous. I think the real appeal is the foliage - kind of like Hosta - which also puts up a stem with a bloom on it, but the real show is the foliage. Primrose is usually very early blooming in spring -with tulips and daffodils and are beautiful in mass plantings. Same with tulips and daffodils - plant the bulbs in groups. I usually dig a hole and poke a bunch of bulbs (usually 5-7) in the ground with some bone meal and then cover them up - not too deeply. Do this in the fall - for tulips and daffodils - October or so. They will need cold weather.
NK is right about stacking the bulbs - read up a bit and decide what you want to plant. You don't want to go crazy with it - but it can be done. A lot of what you decide to plant will depend on what you really like and want to see every time you are in your yard and how much time you want to spend out there pruning and weeding it (a necessary evil and really quite relaxing to me!). What colors do you want? How much sun will each area get? Is it a wet area?
I do have tulips and daffys but they really don't last very long. Deer LOVE tulips and chipmunks love daffy bulbs. Almost more trouble than they're worth but DH wanted some - soooo.... I have them planted in the same bed with my Iris bulbs - and when they're all done (like now) I'll clean that bed up before winter and it will be ready to go in the spring. My absolute favorites are daylilies - any color. I have oodles of them and would like more! I also planted some Walkers low catmint this year and it is going crazy - a beautiful periwinkle blue on a lacy green stem - and it looks pretty next to my daylilies. My black eyed susan are not blooming yet - but I do love them too. I have a few new coneflowers again this year - so far no Asters Yellow disease - I have been checking regularly.
Your yard is taking shape - and your hard work is paying off. It is addictive isn't it? Wish I lived closer to help you!!! Keep up the good work. Love the pictures - you are making it happen - and it is going to be wonderful when you get it all done!!!
We're expecting 1-2" of rain overnight/tomorrow, so I thought I'd better get out in the yard TODAY to get more cardboard & rocks down.
I did decide to do hardscaping between my driveway and the flower bed that's closest to it. Here are a few photos ...
The rocks on the right side are actually the same as those on the left -- river pebbles from Home Depot, $3.77 a bag!! -- but the ones on the right I just poured today, so they were covered in dirt. After the rain they will look like they're supposed to! I need to go back to Home Depot to get a few more bags to fill in bare spots ... maybe tomorrow.
I am using white-ish pavers to line the driveway but mostly red elsewhere -- at least that's what I'm using right now, as the temporary borders. I like the white better although it looks quite gray after getting wet. These are all outdoor materials, of course, so I don't mind if they change color somewhat or get "weathered" ... that's kind of what they're supposed to DO!
Here's a view from the 2nd floor of my house ... sorry about the screen ...
At least this view shows what it looks like overall. The strip near the street is 5-6' -- that area gets covered with snow from the plows in the winter, so I didn't want to go that far.
I am going to add solar landscape lights along the driveway path ... they were very cheap so I don't have high hopes for them, but hopefully they'll provide a LITTLE more light.
I've also been doing more garage organizing ... YAY!!
Those Black & Decker tools are all 36V so have 1 charger. (The charger will stay inside the house due to New England temps!) The tools hang BEHIND the garage door opener hardware -- you can't tell from the photo, but there's almost a foot of clearance after opening the garage door -- nothing is blocked (that would be bad!! ).
Here (right side) is what the utility cart "hides" ...
I'm actually going to move the extension cord -- didn't end up liking it there. But the tiller (that's its handle you see in front of the extension cord) will fit behind the utility cart very nicely.
LOVE being able to hang the cart!! I just used "handy hooks" from Home Depot, $1.47 each.
So it's coming along! Any ideas? suggestions? constructive criticism? I will take all the advice I can get. (Will continue to update ... but don't worry, I don't expect answers every time!)
You need one of these for your extension cord (from Home Depot website) - runs about $8.00, holds 150 feet of cord, and has a know that you can rewind the cord with. We have a couple of these things - much less frustrating (for me) than hand wrapping that dad-gummed thing every time I use it!! I love having everything organized - DH not so much!!!!!
Wow....you have been a BUSY girl!!!! I left a couple of remarks on your photos in your albums - so I won't repeat them here - but I LOVE your wishing well ...
I laughed out loud at your comment on the wishing well photo (NOTE TO OTHERS, it's in the "gardening" album in my profile) ... what, I shouldn't buy any motion-activated blow-up dolls? Darn!
I think I am going to place the wishing well to the right of the right-most window on the original part of the house (where the really tall shrub used to be -- the one I haven't fully cut down yet). I will balance its height (about 4') with something close to that on the other side -- not sure what yet although I saw an outdoor windmill that I really liked -- but I'm trying not to get carried away with TOO many garden "ornamental" items.
Love your ideas about what to put in the wishing well's bucket! I ordered some solar-powered spotlights that have great reviews ... will be "planting" those to highlight some decorating (as well as to add some security, although that's not much of an issue in my neighborhood). It should be fun for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFoulke
... and your window boxes. Are those self-watering boxes or no? Reason I ask cause if you're like me - I forget to water stuff in pots, or boxes. I just totally forget them sometimes until it's almost too late. I have better luck with in-ground plants for that reason. But - the boxes DO look great - and really stand out on your house. Not sure which size to buy - should they be longer than the window?
They ARE self-watering and I just ordered 2 in white at 60" long ... at $120 each I figured I couldn't go wrong. These are what I got: Amazon.com : Mayne Fairfield 5824W Window Box Planter, 5-Foot, White : Plant Window Boxes : Patio, Lawn & Garden . I had always thought they should be the width of the window (not including shutters) or smaller, but that photo I posted is from the manufacturer's site and I really like how the box looks extending underneath the shutters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFoulke
Your flower choices - heuchera is the same thing as Coral Bells BTW - the red one you have posted is gorgeous. I think the real appeal is the foliage - kind of like Hosta - which also puts up a stem with a bloom on it, but the real show is the foliage. Primrose is usually very early blooming in spring -with tulips and daffodils and are beautiful in mass plantings. Same with tulips and daffodils - plant the bulbs in groups. I usually dig a hole and poke a bunch of bulbs (usually 5-7) in the ground with some bone meal and then cover them up - not too deeply. Do this in the fall - for tulips and daffodils - October or so. They will need cold weather.
NK is right about stacking the bulbs - read up a bit and decide what you want to plant. You don't want to go crazy with it - but it can be done. A lot of what you decide to plant will depend on what you really like and want to see every time you are in your yard and how much time you want to spend out there pruning and weeding it (a necessary evil and really quite relaxing to me!). What colors do you want? How much sun will each area get? Is it a wet area?
I do have tulips and daffys but they really don't last very long. Deer LOVE tulips and chipmunks love daffy bulbs. Almost more trouble than they're worth but DH wanted some - soooo.... I have them planted in the same bed with my Iris bulbs - and when they're all done (like now) I'll clean that bed up before winter and it will be ready to go in the spring. My absolute favorites are daylilies - any color. I have oodles of them and would like more! I also planted some Walkers low catmint this year and it is going crazy - a beautiful periwinkle blue on a lacy green stem - and it looks pretty next to my daylilies. My black eyed susan are not blooming yet - but I do love them too. I have a few new coneflowers again this year - so far no Asters Yellow disease - I have been checking regularly.
Your yard is taking shape - and your hard work is paying off. It is addictive isn't it? Wish I lived closer to help you!!! Keep up the good work. Love the pictures - you are making it happen - and it is going to be wonderful when you get it all done!!!
Thanks so much for all the encouragement!! I am so glad I finally STARTED things this year, after thinking about it since I moved here 3 years ago!! I am hoping that next spring I will have a nice garden out there (or at least the start of one!!). I would love to plan more flower beds (e.g. in the left-most part of my front yard), but I am limited until the little local airport finally gets the OK to cut down some trees. I hate being in limbo.
Oh, no problems with deer in my front yard although I know they are out back (my back yard extends several hundred feet, then there's conservation land) so will be more careful of what I plant. It would cost a fortune to put a fence around my whole back yard to keep them out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFoulke
You need one of these for your extension cord (from Home Depot website) - runs about $8.00, holds 150 feet of cord, and has a know that you can rewind the cord with. We have a couple of these things - much less frustrating (for me) than hand wrapping that dad-gummed thing every time I use it!! I love having everything organized - DH not so much!!!!!
Just checked and my Home Depot has them in stock -- I think a trip there this weekend is in order!!
OK, gotta go back out and catch the last hour and a half or so of light today -- I think I am going to use my electric saw to cut down that right-most plant, then I can get more cardboard/weed blocker/marble chips down. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 90 degrees -- I do NOT want to be out in that!
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more progress ... both in the garden AND in the garage!!
This sounds silly, but what I was most excited about was the utility cart being able to be hung -- it took up a LOT of floor space, so it's nice to get it up and away.
). I got it in a small pot at a local Agway (not Home Depot, although some of the plants I got from there are doing great too -- like the white & red annuals) -- it has grown tremendously. The foliage is just gorgeous.
I lopped most of the right-side foundation plantings down, down, down this afternoon/early evening (it's just past 8:30 p.m. my time and I just came in as of course it was getting dark!). Will try to transplant the rhodies when I am done although as I have said, they were REALLY damaged by the ridiculous amount of snow we got this past winter. In the next couple of days I will be thinking about a new spot for them.
