Glad Corner
Tall spears of gladiolus make this corner a haven for hummingbirds.
In my attempt to avoid weed-whacking, I carved out this inside corner of the fenced yard for my gladioli and dahlias. These tender perennials wouldn't survive my zone 5 winter, so I uplift the corms/tubers before the first frost and store them dried in the basement. As soon as the ground is soft enough to work in the spring, the whole corner gets tilled and prepped for re-planting.
An added bonus - the hummingbirds LOVE this corner!
Greenhouse Part 3: Gravel & Pavers & Gadgets
Now that the greenhouse is assembled, I'm anxious to get it decked out with good drainage flooring and other fun toys.
Now that the greenhouse is assembled (go see that post), I'm anxious to get it decked out with good drainage flooring and other fun toys.
I figured I'd need about a yard an a half of pea gravel, so of course I ordered two. And a pile of pavers. I've probably used less than half of the pea gravel... but I plan to use it outside the greenhouse as well, so I figured I'll see how far it goes and then top up the greenhouse floor with whatever I have left.
More bells & whistles...
Automatic vent openers
Fold-out potting bench with running water
Bushel basket from the local farm stand to hold all my veggies and herbs, plus suction cup hangers to stow my hat & apron.
Bins for potting soil, composted manure, seed-starting medium, and whatever else.
Wireless thermometer
23 Trees and Hopefully Done Counting
First there was the small birch just behind the shed that leaned at a 45-degree angle right through where I was installing my fence.
Then there was the dead tree that had been strangled by wire.
Then there was the tree that fell on my fence during the Thanksgiving 2014 snow storm. It became one of the 18 trees I had removed earlier this year... I thought I was done.
Nope.
This fir was one of three in a small stand, so of course when it toppled in a wind storm (core rot), I didn't like the bare look of the two remaining, which probably also had core rot.
The advantage is that I now see a lot more sky when I sit on my deck and look at the stars. And my vegetable garden will get more sun.
Bird Feeders
Miss Sadie, Protector of the Realm, Defender of the Bird Feeder, and Chaser of Squirrels
Diggin' Dog
I added a special dirt-box to my yard so the girls have a place to get their digg on.
My girls Sadie & Maddox like to eat dirt. They find a really good patch of dark, organic, earthy goodness and bite right into the ground... it's pretty funny to watch. Their bowels are now part of the geologic process, pooping out little rocks.
The trouble is... I don't want holes in my lawn. I got this idea from my Aunt Betty when she lived out in Sequim, Washington. If your dogs have an insatiable urge to dig that can't be trained away, the next best thing is to give them an appropriate spot to sink their claws. Make it neatly edged, loaded with a mix of clean pool sand and yummy dirty organic topsoil, and be mindful (if it's near the fence, like mine) that they can't tunnel underneath. Throw in a few fun finds (Kongs, bones, etc) for your inquisitive friends to unearth. Every time they start to dig in an undesirable place (like under the barbecue), redirect them to the digging box and praise them when they start to dig there.
Mine is a simple 3x5' box made with pressure treated wood. (If your dogs chew on wood, you may opt for a non-PT option.)
The digging box sits at the edge of my yard, in the semi-circle of mulch designed for the dog agility equipment & other play things.
Happy girls going to town in their new digging box!
Movie Night
New fun way to enjoy the yard... neighborhood outdoor movie night!
Neighborhood movie night! We rolled out the projector and screen, and lit the bonfire for making s'mores and popcorn that rises in an expanding aluminum foil bubble. The grown-ups hung back by the table (and, more importantly, beer cooler) while the kids stared wide-eyed at the screen and recited the lines to Despicable Me. What a great night!
Terraced Vegetable Garden
Screen room gone, and replaced with a terraced vegetable garden built with rocks.
When the screen room came down, the scarred footprint was a nasty mix of litter, construction debris, and sand. First I cleaned the garbage and dug out the top foot of dead soil to roughly outline the steps.
Next I used local rocks (boulders, technically) to build steps. This is the granite state, after all... and I had lots of neighbors willing to contribute their rock piles. I experimented with shapes... fitting rocks together and carving into the slope. I didn't want a symmetrical staircase... I wanted something a little more natural feeling.
The sand is so loose that I used plywood pieces to hold back the steps... I'll need to find a more permanent solution, but this works for now. I also learned in the first heavy rain that the sand easily poured through the gaps between the rocks, leaving little deltas on the next level down. Learning from my neighbor Michele's garden success, I tore apart what I had already built, dug a ditch behind each rock wall and sunk a double layer of heavy plastic sheeting to keep the soil where I wanted it.
That's as far as I got in the summer of 2016, which is just as well, since I wasn't about to plant new vegetables in August. My boulder-hoisting continued in spring 2017:
Once I got the step the way I wanted it, I filled each bed with manure-rich organic garden soil and started planting. Happy garden!
Painted Wall
Ugly retaining wall turned gorgeous mural.
My mother, the very talented Mrs. Pineo of the mural-painted Hadley Elementary School, offered to paint my ugly retaining wall. She painted it without my help... in fact, she was dog sitting while I was sunning myself at Virginia Beach.
So now my formerly ugly eyesore of a retaining wall is a lovely mural that blends in with the landscaping... and soon... patio!
Before
After
Fence Edging
No. Weedwhacking. EVER.
I edged the grassy fence line with mulch to avoid having to weed-whack and make mowing easier. I also dug a corner garden so I don't need to fight to get the lawn mower in there.
Screen Room Demolition
Time for a major change... no more looking out the living room window at the screen room.
When I bought the house, I couldn't figure out how best to use the screen room. It was disconnected from the house, and hovering above the yard... this was a great concept that was badly executed. It became storage. Storage with a rotting floor, shaky stairs, torn screens, and squishy roof. What a mess. I was getting the house re-roofed, so I needed to cut bait.
This was not a job for one. Especially not this one. I hired a local gentleman who does home rejuvenation projects, and occasionally hires the son of my neighbor. Two short days later, the room was gone, and I was left with a sandy slope. (See my Terraced Vegetable Garden for how it turned out.)
I appreciate bug protection, but I want to entertain in the yard, not above it.
The screen room is a collector for pollen and dead bugs.
Crud underneath.
Roof mush needed a spatula moreso than a crow bar.
Ready for haul-away
The sandy slope beneath filled with debris.
Much nicer.
Outdoor Dining Set
Perfect outdoor dining set
I love my new dining set! The seats have a swivel/rocker base, are squishy without absorbing rainwater, and have a circular base that won't sink into the grass.
Bonus: solar-powered LEDs built into the umbrella!
70B Dog Park
A small corner of the world to focus on my puppies.
The corner of the yard by the shed was mostly dirt, with roots from nearby trees creating a lumpy surface. My neighbor - a tree removal professional - generated a bunch of wood chips while clearing trees from his yard, so I used them to turn this corner of my yard into a dog playground.
Sadie is a champ at the weave poles, and Maddox loves to dig in the sandbox.
Deck Paint
Painting the Trex to eliminate the faded striped look.
Before
Faded, striped, and pinkish... not the look I'm going for. Time for an update.
After
Pressure-washed and painted.... now clean, uniform, and neutral-colored.
The paint color is “TRX-10: Sahara”, but I can’t seem to find that exact color on Behr’s website. Hopefully the paint numbers from the can are sufficient to replicate the color when the time comes to re-coat.
Fire Table
Custom painted tile now adorns my fire table.
I found a fire table that can be used as a sort of coffee table when it's not being used to burn stuff. The color isn't my favorite, so I'm spray painting the tiles.
Fire Patio
I used a concrete mold to make a 10-foot non-combustible surface for my fire table.
In the City of Manchester, a residential fire permit allows a small, contained fire so long as it is located 25' from any combustible structure and sits above a 8-foot-across non-combustible surface. I had the fire chief visit my house to pre-approve my location. My neighbors (most of whom have fire pits) seemed perplexed... "You got a permit?" #LifeFreeOrDie
Sadie likes to be in the middle of the action.
Kids from the neighborhood are happy to help.
Materials:
Concrete mold: Quikrete Walk Maker
Quikrete Sand Topping Mix, since the regular concrete mix is too coarse
Behr Concrete Stain in Loden
Brick Landing Removed
Brick landing gone in favor of grass.
I removed the landing at the bottom of the stairs off the deck. The brick pavers were starting to crumble and cave in from the chipmunks tunneling underneath. The sod that got pulled up to make the fire patio filled in some of the area, and I've seeded the rest.
Before
After
Herb Garden
I tore out the gangly bush, transplanted the hosta, and pulled apart the rock pile to make a terraced herb garden.
I tore out the gangly bush, transplanted the hosta, and pulled apart the rock pile to make a terraced herb garden.
Before
During
After
Cutting back gives me more than I could possibly use in one meal, so I wash, dry, and freeze my herbs into teaspoon-sized oil cubes ready to toss into the pan for cooking.
