I thought I felt old when I turned 40, but now that it's about to be Asa's turn I'm like 'what happened to us?' We used to be so young, and now we're like, man it's 9pm maybe I could just go lay in bed for the next 12 hours. Eh, we like what we like, I suppose. Cuddling in bed is like top of the mountain these days and I'm ok with it. (Calib now constantly calls us old, and I'm over here like, how old do you think most 22 year old's parents are? Because 41 and 39 ain't it.)
Anyway, you might have heard most my family is taking a cruise for Asa's birthday in early April, just after he turns 40. But, I had been thinking long and hard about what I could do for his birthday. 40 is kind of a big deal, and Asa's my favorite person in the world- ergo, I should do something awesome for him. After much thought (and since we're not the gift giving type and since he doesn't like some big extrvagent thing/event/trip ON this birthday), I decided on renovating the backyard to give him a lot more growing space.
I love our house, I really do. It's the first one we've ever owned. Our neighbors are usually great. The neighborhood and the amenities are amazing. The location is stellar (I always say in an hour you can be anywhere- the city, the beach, the country- and in just an hour and half you can be to Disney and Universal!) It's big enough for all of us, it's really ours... but the Backyard, especially for Asa who loves to grow fruits and veggies, it's lacking. We don't have a ton of sunshiney places, either. And Asa likes to talk about selling the house and moving somewhere where there's a lot more land (I am not keen on this idea as we'd need to move to the middle of nowhere to afford such a thing). I keep saying he just needs to grow more vertically. People do more with a lot less.
But, Asa is not one to build structures that go vertically (or any structures really). Asa is not a home improvement/builder person. That's a me thing. Gardening, that's a him thing (though I have been known to keep a succulent around for ahile). Yea, gender roles are not a thing in my house. So anyway, a whole backyard renovation isn't going to happen in a weekend. Lets be real. So, I decided for the 40 days before his birthday I'll be renovating his backyard. To make it more functional. To attract all the good animals (and bugs!). To double his gardening space. To make it pretty (he cares much less about this than me). To make it ours.
So, on Monday February 12th, I was out there starting the whole thing. I am not a measurer like my dad (he used to make plans on graph paper and all that), but I do need to visual my ideas, so I got to making my plans via the only way I know how: like a cute little pirate map drawing). Obviously the stuff not moving is already colored in (done in sharpie), and the penciled in areas are what I hope to do- pencil so it's still totally movable. But anyway, here's what I came up with. We'll see how it goes.
I think I've decided I'm going to put the whole backyard rnovation thing into one blog. I'll just keep coming back to update this one on what I've done each day.
Day 1: Monday Feb 13
Here's what the backyard looked like on Day 1. Yes, it needs some clean up, and yes it's pretty barren (sans some greens we had not a lot growing- it's February after all and we don't have strawberries- at least not yet!)
Now Asa and I have "Arguments" (a loosely based term, in which nobody actually gets that upset) about taking out trees in the backyard. He wants to bulldoze anything that's not a fruit tree to have more sunshine. I argue we need that shade in the summer. But, there was a tree in the back that was partly dying and leaning (a whole branch fell off into my pond, which wasn't great.) So, I figured if I took out that tree and a couple of the plams around it, I could build a structure to grow gourds on- something that would raise them above the fenceline so they'd get the afternoon sun. So, while it was Asa and Calib's job to take out the big tree (they do the heavy lifting), I took down the smaller palm trees on Day One.
The big tree came down in sections- though the trunk still remains, I may use it for something, I may not- we'll just see.
Day Two: Tuesday, February 14
Day two was alot of clean up from the trees- I spent a good amount of time up there clipping and organizing branches from the big tree that Asa and Calib took down. (I was not about to just get rid of all that good wood- no! I can build stuff with that! It's free!) So anyway, I got to chopping all that up, while Ellie spent a lot of time out there hunting lizards- she loves to be out there hunting while people are gardening. It's her FAVORITE.
Living her best life, I tell you!
Speaking of free stuff, I was also able to grab a few free tomato plants on the Land O Lakes buy nothing group. Score!
Day 3: Wednesday, February 15th
All that wood that we cut down from the leaning tree, I used to make a cool looking teepee. It'll be used for beans though, not peas. A total missed opportunity, though. It's worth noting I constructed my bean teepee with my new reciprocating saw! I have a jig saw, and my dads old circular saw that I've been too afraid to use, plus some hand saws and an axe, but I knew it would be easier to tackle all of this with a reciprocating saw. I was super excited when it came.
While I constructed the Bean Teepee-- with MY SAW--VRRROOOOM-- Asa worked on burning all the little sticks and palm fronds to get himself some pot ash to add to the compost.
Day 4: Thursday February 16
While everyone else was off watching Ant Man at the theater, I tackled one fo the gross projects: cleaning out my pond. The river had settled meaning whenever I ran my pump, I was losing some water, so I had stopped running it. And, the pump was now getting clogged every couple of days. The whole thing needed emptied, cleaned out and refilled.
It was a messy job, but it had to be done. Plus you can actually see to the bottom now!
Day 5: Friday, February 17
Not everyday is backbreaking work. You have to have some breaks in there. On Friday we went shopping to get some plants for the bean teepee. We got very lucky as they were unloading a new truck full of plants at Duncheon's when we arrived. We scored all these plants for just $1.50 a piece!
We had also been at Lowes getting some things on my list, and pricing out some for later (we're going to need our neighbor and his truck to help us out, but he's so cool about it, he's like 'hey, whenever, just let me know!) Anyway, I got all kinds of pavers, some wood for a couple more boxes (which I did quickly put together that day, I just didn't take a picture), and some other odds and ends. The kids are pretty helpful about unloading the car when it gets here full of garden stuff which is nice.
But our Lowes and Duncheon trip wasn't our only purchase that day. In case you couldn't tell, I might also secretly be doing this as a way to get myself some power tools. Asa says buying power tools is what financial stability looks like. I don't disagree. And now I'm a financial stable girl with a reciprocating saw, a nail gun (and a compressor!) Look out for me!!
Day 6: Saturday February 18
Day 6 was a Saturday and we had most of the day free, so both Asa and I did bit of work. I put in some big pavers directing in front of the screened in porch. Previously we just had a few stepping stones just outside the door. Next to the door often pooled water and got muddy for the dogs, and lately Phenom had been getting stuck there in his wheel chair. It's also a pain to mow this close up to the patio in the summer when you're mowing maybe twice a week. So, I put in this new mini patio which can also house some of the plant pots that need some sun.
I built the tomato boxes the day before, but they are 3 by 3 simple boxes- for now. I'm hoping to build an arch between the boxes and over the air conditioner- giving us a lot of vertical space to grow the tomatoes that we planted. Asa filled the boxes and got those free (and cheap) tomatoes in the raised beds. We also put some beans in pots to run up the teepee. It's a shady area down below, but they should grow up the poles for more afternoon sun.
I also did some work and got my river bed all leveled out. No more losing water when it runs!
My spraypaint for some pretty-ing projects also arrived (minus the orange). I'm not in love with the green, but we'll see.
And then later we made our way to a creepy junkyard for some pallet wood. Hey, it was on Facebook Marketplace and listed as "free- come and get" But, it was back off the beaten path with random dogs barking and a dirt road- all what you'd expect. But we got a bunch fo free pallet wood for some other projects and we didn't die- so a win!
Day 7: Sunday February 19
Sunday we were back out on a mission to get more free stuff. We swung by Spring Hill on our way to Beasley and picked up all kinds of rock (aka broken cement and cinder blocks), to use in the backyard. I told you I'm all about the free stuff. Mostly all we did was pick it up and take it to the backyard. The rest of Sunday I wasn't feeling great, so we tabled the whole thing.
Day 8: Monday February 20
Monday was President's Day, so Asa had the day off work and we had plans like playing True American. Plus, I was still on the mend, so all we did on Monday was take a trip to the pet store to get some more fish for my pond and put them in. I did some arraging of blocks around my pond, and Asa rode his bike to Connerton to pick up some aspargus crowns someone was giving away for free on our Buy Nothing group (again with the free stuff!)
Day 9: Tuesday, February 21
Those asparagus plants needed a home though, and I didn't have them on my plans. But, because of the rocks we had picked up off some creepy dirt road in Spring Hill (see a trend of where to get free stuff?) I was able to make the bed for the cucumbers behind my pond out of those, and didn't need the blocks I had bought at Lowes for it. (These rocks are better anyway, it now seemlessly looks as though it's part of my pond.
So now that I had the stuff to construct a raised bed for the asparagus, I had to figre out where to put it. We did have four boxes along the north side of our fence. It's the only sunny side where plants can actually get a full day of sun. But due to the lemon tree and banana tree growth, the last box was in the shade a little too much and needed to be moved. But there really isn't a good spot to put it. So I took my saw and a cut that box in half- it's now going to be a second tier on two of the other raised beds. This way, I can build a trellis of some sort up the fence and Asa can grow the second half of that box vertically!
And then because at least part of the area the old box was in gets some sun, we added the asparagus box there (I don't know why my pictures are so bad today- but yikes.
Day 10: Wednesday, February 22
We had made a stop on Sunday at At Home to get a few more planters for our bean teepee, since we had picked up six plants from Duncheon's (we will eat as many beans as this contraption gives us!) so we planted the rest of those and then I finally trimed up and screwed my teepee together do it was more of a structure and less of some sticks leaning together everyone was worried would fall one day. I was confident though, it was pretty sturdy even without the screws. I also built a ladder for the cucumbers to climb in the bed next to my pond, if we can ever get our hands on some cucumber plants. I think that's where the ladder will stay, but I could always swap it out for a different climbing contraption if need be. Still, it's cool. I built that out of basically nothing! That tree we chopped mostly down is coming in handy all over the place.
I ran out of rocks though, part way through my next project. I'm trying to add rocks around the tomato beds from where the gutter empties out. I don't love the look of it yet, so I will probably play around a little bit more, but if I want to do it on both this part and the side of the house against the office, I'm going to need some more rock. Time to head off to another seedy dirt road location, I suppose.
Day 11: Thursday, February 23
That brings me to today- I'm hoping to keep up daily after this, but we'll see how it goes. With having to get up so early to get everyone to their fishing trip, I am tired. But, I wanted to get something done- so I did a little more artsy stuff. So, I made two pots- one I painted and put vinyl on- one I simply put vinyl on. Either way, they're super cute (fun fact: Eat Drink and Be Married was on our wedding napkins, making the rosemary extra cute).
I'm also working on some stepping stones. The first of which is going to feature all the puppies footprints. Some were easier to get than than others (surprisingly Porkchop was the least cooperative). Etta's actually turned out the best, probably because she has the least amount of fur inbetween her pads. Either way, it's the thought that counts. I'm going to put something in the middle, I just haven't decided what yet. And I'll do a little clean up work.
Day 12: Friday, February 24
Friday Asa and I ended up running a bunch of errands. Luckily, Ellie is doing so well, Dr. Daniels didn't feel like she needed the follow up scan, so we got a reprive from the vet appointment. We celebrated with a trip out to get some things for the garden. I ran into the dollar store to get some things for my projects and they had lots of pots- none in colors I was particularily excited about. But, that's ok- that's what spray paint is for! So, I worked on that.
And then I finally got around to planting our seeds. We picked some up while we were out, but we had also requested some from the seed library! That's right, our library has seeds you can "check out" (you don't really check them back in- you just get them for free! So I started the seedlings for some tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and squash. We will see how they do (oh, and I used toilet paper rolls bent up at the bottom for my little containers, a Pinterest find. We'll see how it goes).
Day 13: Saturday, February 25
Remember that junkyard we rummaged through last weekend to get pallets? Well, this weekend, I took those and found some good for planters. I sanded them down with my handy dandy sander..
Primed them, and then spray painted them a lovely blue color.
And then, because that's not crafty enough for me- I decided to stencil some fun song/plant puns onto them. The kids just did not get it. They don't understand they're going to have the coolest garden in the neighborhood, those dweebs.
I will say, this was my very first attempt at using my cricut to stencil. The paint ran some, but it's also done on trash pallets using cheap acrylic paint and a dollar store foam brush, but I think it gives it just the right amount of not-perfect for a garden built mostly out of repurposed items. I finished it off with a spray of clear coat.
Day 14: Sunday, February 26
Asa and I went out to Plant City, because it's Strawberry season, obviously. But in our three stops we collected all kinds of plants. They are SO much cheaper at roadside nursery's than a chain store, people. You'll find all the herbs and even some veggies and flowers for $1.50 a piece. It's a steal.
We were out most of the morning, and then we played some Villianous and did some reading on the back porch, so I didn't do a whole lot else- but some painting of some planters and pots. It takes multiple coats, so I'd just run out there and do that inbetween everything else we were up to.
Day 15: Monday, February 27
So, I've been stalking the buy nothing group, and facebook marketplace. I mean, I want to make a lot more space for Asa, but we also don't want to blow the budget. The more I can get for free, the better off we will be. I found two seperate peple giving away pots/planters I could use, so Asa and I took two different bike rides over to Connerton to grab them.
I need a lot more planters- I have plans for actually getting some flowers to grow in the backyard. But, I'm going to need pots to do it for the most part. So I will take whatever free ones I can get! Thank you random LOL people!
Speaking of free stuff, remember those asparagus crowns we got on the buy nothing group? Well, we already have two stalks in our little asparagus patch (I need an asparagus pun, stat, so it can get a sign).
And some of the little marigold seedlings I planted are starting to come up- plus, Asa transplanted some random bell peppers he threw in one of the big pots just to see if they'd do anything. I thinned out the rest to see what we can get (I will eat ALL the Bell peppers we can grow!), but does anyone else feel like Thanos when you're thinning plants? I feel so bad for taking out the weak ones. Only the strong survive, I suppose.
I planted some Sage and Thyme in some pots too, after drilling holes in them. The pots came from the dollar store, and aren't incredible or anything, but honestly for $1.25 if I have to drill some holes, I'm ok with that. I'm still working on some signs/labels for those too.
And then in the tomato boxes outside the office window I planted Asa's Bolivian Rainbow Pepper he found at Parksdale Farm Market. They way when he looks out the window, he'll get to see how pretty they are. You can technically eat them, but they are a bit more ornimental. Over in the other box I planted the yellow wax pepper and the Jalapeno. We weren't going to plant the jalapeno this year, because people don't usually eat them- but we have discovered my air fryer makes awesome jalapeno poppers- so we're going to give them a go.
Now, our backyard is lacking in flowers. We just don't really plant any because the soil is all sandy and sucks- and the dogs trample anything in the ground. But this year I'm trying something new- I planted all kinds of flower seeds in those pots- which will look much better once we mulch in all around it and the plants get to growing. But, basically I took those crappy pots they give you with the stuff when you buy it, filled those with dirt and buried them in the sandy dirt. So, we'll get the illusion of in ground flowers without them, if they grow from seed ok. Just trust me. I'll look good eventually. For my reference, and so I can lable them later, most of the little pots are just marigolds. The tall metal pot and then pot in the cinder block are cosmos. Behind the cinder block is cone flower seeds we got from the plant library, and behind the big pot with Vince's plant is sunflowers. We'll see what grows, and I can come back here to label them accordingly!
I also planted some flower seeds behind my pond. I moved rocks around in the back to create a flower bed (it was a real oversight of me not to do this when I was cleaning out my pond, but I made it work- we will however see how sore I am tomorrow for all the lunging I did to make it happen). Anyway, I planted some morning glory back there that should love to climb on the old bed springs (the succulents planted in there did not seem to work). It's a vine plant and should grow 8 feet or so.
Day 16: Tuesday, February 28
My junk find for the garden on Tuesday was tires- but not just any tires, golf cart tires! There's all kinds of ways to turn old tires into planters, but honestly golf cart tires are even better than normal ones- they're smaller, easier to handle and just a better planter size for what I'm looking for. And they too come in a few different sizes.
I grabbed some of each size, and came home and cleaned them all up with some soap and some powerwashing. Then I got to priming and painting. (These are just my stack that I used the rest of my primer and paint on).
These two are the ones I worked with yesterday. One coat of primer and a couple layers of spray paint, and I didn't love the look of them (one I made sure the primer went in the creases, one I did not). I just foudn the color too plain, and I didn't love the coverage. I could have kept adding layers, but I tried another approach instead..
I took some of my craft paints, an old piece of a towel and did some applying in different colors. I found this to give it kind of like a marbled look I really liked. I topped it all off with a couple coats of clear coat on top and they are shiney and ready to go. My gardening fabric should be here today to comeplete the planter (and the pallet planters as well).
Later in the evening, the weather was so nice I went back out to the garage to do a little sanding on some of my junk yard wood. Stay tuned for those projects!
Day 17: Wednesday, March 1
A little more of the same: priming and spray painting tires, I'm currently on the second coat and out of spray paint, so I'll have to see if I start doing the cloth treatment if two coats enough.
I also got my garden fabric and used my staple gun to line the inside of my pallet planters. They're getting closer to going up!
I also nosed around the garage a lot, trying to see if there's something I can do with the radom stuff I have around here. Old dog cage? Seems like it might be good for some veggie to climb, Right?
And I'm currently in the middle of figuring out some sort of raised thing to grow the zucchini vertically. We'll see if I can figure it out.
The beans have some feelers out and we've got more seedlings growing too, so that's good!
Day 18: Thursday, March 2
With the cucumbers already peaking out of their little seedling toilet paper roll home, I knew it was time to get moving on their permanent home. I toyed around with various ides of what to have them grow on, but ultimately I decided to use an old dog crate to help them climb. A couple of reasons for this, but mainly because I felt like this could protect the plants from Ellie tramples. She really seems to like this flower bed, so we'll see if this works. If not, I transplanted some of the other seedlings to bigger pots to let them grow there too. If I need to redo this and replant, I'll have those. If not, I'll contribute them to the Buy Nothing Group.
I also dug up all around the firepit and put in the black edging Sam had given us a couple of months ago. My plan is to fill from the firepit over to edging with gravel. It'll look nicer, and it'll keep grass from growing right up to the firepit, which is a pain to mow during the summer, since you basically have to edge it to get it all taken care of.
And then we ran out to Lowes for a fence pannel and some 4x4s. I was hoping to find those for free, but alas it was time to bite the bullet. Those plus a couple of packet of seeds clocking in at $17. But, on our way home we swung by the library and they were trimming down a bunch of the trees, and let me have wood for free. How lucky are we?
Day 19: Friday, March 3
While doing all these crafting/building projects is fun, I do occasionally have other stuff to do. And today that is using my free ticket to Busch Gardens. So, before we head on out to do that I had to get in my work for the day, which mostly involved priming some things, including fence posts and tires.
But also a couple of popcorn tins I have sitting around. Not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them, but I did drill some holes in the bottom for drainage.
I also attached a fence posts to get ready to hang up my planters this weekend, and since my light blue spray paint came, I could finish the last one.
While digging in the garage, I found some old wire shelves that we took down when we moved in. They're a little narrow for climbing vegetables, so I just took my handy dandy little wire cutters and cut every other one (with only two mishaps!) On the upside I can use the ones I cut to mae signs for things in the backyard!
A check on the plants, and the beans are really sticking out their feelers to climb up the bean teepee.
And, I've got some tiny little sunflowers poking through!
Day 20: Saturday March 4
We started our Saturday with a trip up to Bushnell for free fencing! It's going to make a great tomato arch among other things. It was a bit of a trek, but I put out a lot of feelers on things and don't get all that many replies. I did also score some free tiles on our Buy Nothing Group.
All I did out in the yard today after stuffing the car full of fencing and poles and random metal (including a fan I have plans for), was put the posts up for the tomato arch.
But last night I did put up the pallet planters. I realized I forgot to take a picture of them, so I snapped one tonight. I also did a little tire spray painting today to get moving on those too.
Sadly, I have nothing else to report for my half way mark. I desperatly need to go to Lowes for a couple of crucial items and more dirt. We are sorely lacking on dirt, and we have a lot to be planted!
Day 21: Sunday March 5
Asa and I headed into Tampa to do some other fun things, but I had some feelers out on Facebook Marketplace. Just after we had left the art festival, as we were pulling up to get our free Tiffs Treats, I got a message from a guy who was giving away (!!!) 4inch PVC pipe- and like 60 feet of it! I had A LOT of different things I wanted to do with 4inch PVC pipe, but it's SO expensive at Lowes. Especially if you want a lot of it. I was so excited he chose me, I felt like I won the lottery. It was totally worth dropping everything, heading across the bridge and over to Seminole to pick it up. I told him I'd take everything that would fit in my car, and he helped us all cut it to fit. Thank you random St. Pete guy, you have no idea how happy you've made me!
For real you guys, on our way home we swung by Lowes. Five Feet of this stuff is just about $30 bucks. I was stunned. And giddy! I have SO much of this, I can try the hydroponics, the strawberry plants, the worm composter AND the toad houses. It was such a big get for me.
Also pro tip: head to the mismatched paint section. I needed some more paint to make things pretty and scored some more than half off!
Also, pro tip: plant your own seeds. They charge $1.88 for ONE marigold plant at Lowes. I do need to get some more seeds though, because my planters are only half planted with them.
When we came home we were pretty tired from the day, but I did decide to go out and start on the tomato arch over the air conditioner. I've been talking about doing this one for years- and thanks to the fencing and random metal I got from Bushnell, I was able to build this thing- loosely- for free (stay tuned- it really comes together). Also, I know this is a bad picture, I was so lazy I didn't even leave the back porch to take it.
I also did some spray painting and some priming and got another tire done
Day 22: Monday, March 6
Monday's I can usually get a lot done, with Asa working, I have nobody to distract me all day. Before a mid-morning breakfast (complete with mimosas! made by my wonderful husband), I went out to the garage to do some cementing...
I'm not sure how/if any of this will work- but I have sunk some posts in some cinder blocks, and I'm trying that "make a cemement planter out of a towel" thing you see everywhere (by everywhere, I mean mostly Pinterest, and some craft fairs) I already know I cut too big of a drainage hole, but we'll see how this all turns out. My pictures today are a little lacking, as I took them all at the end of the day instead of along the way. But, I also took the pallet and used my staple gun to attach some garden fabric to the back to work on that planter.
Out in the backyard I turned the "meh" tomato arch into something I find a bit more official. First off, I screwed in some cross bars. I had a few more metal bars I had gotten from Bushnell, and cut them to size, then I drilled some holes in them and screwed them in- and they really helped keep down the metal fencing. After that I tried the edges with my wire cutters and folded them in so they were really holding into the structure. My hope is we can get the tomatoes to grow up and over.
I also installed our "Zucchini Shelf", as were going to try and grow the two zucchini plants up the wood (the metal is good for stability, but takes on too much heat) and then across the shelf. I spray painted it green to be a little more fun and used one of Calib's old bed rails to secure it in place. I finished it off with a couple of hooks in the fence posts to keep the back up straight. Then I filled the planter box down below and filled them with some peppers. Underneith the shelf, inbetween the zuchini we are hoping to plant radishes, but they don't like all that sun, so we'll need to wait till they get a little zuchini cover.
You may notice a few plants sitting in little pots on the shelf- those are yellow summer squash that don't quite have a home yet. But, things were starting to outgrow their little toilet paper seedling cups, so I gave them some more room.
In fact I did the same for the yellow tomatoes (4 of them) peppers (13!!) and cucumbers (5). I also put them together in different areas of the yard to keep straight what was what. Will we use all these little seedlings? Probably not. I'm waiting, however, to see if anything gets trampled or doesn't survive a transplant before I go giving them away.
I finished my evening out in the garage sanding, cutting, and priming some of the old pallets. I'm hoping to make some of those direction signs with all Asa's favorite (real, and fictional) places! I've found I really like sanding, it's like here's this dirty, old piece of wood- but it gets a certain charm to it once it's sanded down and all smooth.
Day 23: Tuesday March 7
Today I went and made another cucumber planter. I should have taken pictures along the way, but I didn't even bring my phone outside till this evening. Anyway, I reused the old headboard from Calib's bed, and along with some of the random scrap metal and wire fencing from our Bushnell trip. It's not exactly what I was going for, but I may add some things later to change it up- or maybe once things get growing in it, It'll grow on me too (ha! See what I did there). Either way, I did have to give it a little extra support in the middle once it was all full.
I also took one of the metal poles we got and attached it to the bottom of one of our big empty pots. The papaya tree went in the ground, did I mention that? Well, Asa did that a couple of nights ago. So, the empty pot had a circle just the right size for the random post, so we'll see how that goes. It's also not as sturdy as I'd like, I guess it'll depend what we hang from it. For now I planted two yellow tomato plants in it, with the hopes of being able to hang the other two from the post.
The back corner of our yard has been a bit of an issue since our new neighbors moved in. Their dogs like to bark, which they're dogs, it's whatever. But, it really freaks Etta out, especially when they stick their nose in the corners trying to see our puppies (I'm sure they just want a play date, they don't know Etta has a firm belief they're trying to murder her). Anyway, I've been trying to come up with some way to cover the little crack in the fence, so I used the wood we picked up from the library. I added a little sandy/stone area for bees to land, too. It's also duel purpose, it keeps Etta away from the corner AND it holds up the massive amounts of lemons we have hanging there.
After much debate, I finally decided to go ahead and put the dog paver in with the other ones. I wanted it to have it's own special place, but just couldn't come up with somewhere good- so I took out one paver and put that one in. I immediately liked the new spot (the dogs were very interested in it too).
That allowed me to stick the extra one around the corner and do a little work with what I had. Now I've got a whole row of planters and pots that'll get lots of sun- including two big empty ones that we're hoping will house some new blueberry plants (apparently if you get two different kinds they do best).
Finally I did a lot of moving things to the backyard. I want more space to work in the garage, so if it was remotely finished (or if it just needed a clear coat of spray paint) it went to the backyard. I went back and forth shuffling tires, planters, and my posts that have been set in the cinder block (those are heavy!)
All in all, I spent over 4 hours outside today. I've got the sunburn to prove it. I did get a little deflated when I went outside this evening to take some pictures and thought 'really? that's all I did out here today', but then that's probably just me being hard on myself.
Day 24: Wednesday, March 8
After too much sun yesterday, I tried to stay indoors, or at least in the garage today. I did a lot of playing around with cement. I know the post in the cinderblock works (I already did it), but we'll see what other projects pan out as well.
I also did a lot of work designing signs and working on my Cricut with some things. Stay tuned for all that.
And, I opened my mismatched can of paint, turns out I should have gone this way from the begining. It really covers the tires well, and I've barely made a dent in the can (I probably didn't even need the primer, either).
Day 25: Thursday March 9
This morning I painted two more tires and a couple more planters with my mismatch paint. Here's what I've found in my tire painting adventures (because tire painting adventures is something I say now): Spray paint is a waste of money. It takes A LOT of spray paint to cover a tire. Like A LOT. And you have to do it in SO MANY coats. You think you're saving time because spray paint is so easy and fast. But, this, my friends is an illusion. Sure you only need to go out to do a coat for a couple minutes- but that's after you've primed it. And then you have to do coat after coat. And even if you go super light, it's hard to get it not to drip in all the nooks and crannies. I did a lot of coats of spray paint and still wasn't happy. The colors were just... too much. So, I toned it down by applying different paint by rag. Those tires came out cool, and I'm happy with them. But, you know what took one coat (without primer) and looked nice and covered and non-drippy and pretty? One application of my mismatch paint and bam. Done. And I barely put a dent in the $7 can of paint after two tires and three planters. I went through two cans of spray paint on ONE tire, you guys (until I decided on the rag treatment, then I could get by with less than a can- but still!) Anyway, lesson learned. Just get some good exterior paint and do your tires that way.
In what I've learned in cement construction: the cheap, stoney stuff works fine- great even if you're making something soley in cement (like a pot or a butterfly water bowl!), and it's great for sinking posts into cement blocks. But if you want to try and coat something in it: towels or shoes, you're going to need a finer cement. I'm going to get another bag and see what I can do with those. I'd really like to be versed in cement/concrete crafts.
Asa and I went over to Dunedin today for a Facebook Marketplace freebee (see below), but on the way home we stopped at two different Lowes to check out the mismatch paint. I scored some pink and blue and got some 1x2s cut to make my sunflower obelisk! We also went to the Dollar Store and cleaned out a bunch of the good garden stuff they had left. I mean, S hooks for $1.25 Yes please!
And then on the way home we even swung by Duncheons and bit the bullet scooping up 5 of the last of their Plant City Strawberry plants. With all that PVC pipe I'm ready to try strawberries!
Our Dunedin find was all kinds of 16x4x4 pavers/stones. I was super excited about these- I would have even taken more if I thought the car could withstand the weight of anymore. We got 47 full length ones, and 6 half ones. The people who were giving them to us were super generous and even helped us put them in the car. Then I paid the kids in Publix subs to carry them all to the backyard. Stay tuned for what I do with these guys!
I also did a ton of work on Gravit design space getting some things designed for various signs and such. This is, after all, Asa's backyard. It's going to need some personality. I needed to order some more permenant vinyl to make it all happen, and Asa thought it was funny when I called the Amazon guy my "Vinyl Delivery Guy". But anyway, I'm hoping to get some of that done tomorrow.
Day 26: Friday March 10
Today was sign making day! I had gotten a couple of wood crafting blocks and metal signs from the dollar store to see how they worked out. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the wood and stuck the wires I cut out of the zuchini shelf for the stick.
Besides the signs, I did even more projects on my cricut.
I took "our song" and printed out the lyrics to put on the stepping stones (aka the free tiles I got on our Buy Nothing group), and those will go along the side of the house.
Day 27: Saturday, March 11
Busy Saturday around here, we had lots of errands to run (some garden related- we picked up some more stuff at the dollar store and potting soil is on sale at Costco!) and some time spent at the library today (it was my first Crafting with Corinne class!) But, I did manage to get in some painting. I've got my second to last tire painted
And I worked on painting one of the trash cans T'Ola left us. I'm going to turn it into a rain barrel and I wanted to make it pretty. The stencil didn't come out as cleanly as I would have liked, but I think it still looks decent, maybe even pretty.
Day 28: Sunday March 12
A little behind on the pictures because Sunday was a rough day. In fact, I didn't take any pictures that day. Nothing seemed to go right, we had an emergency with a neighbor we needed to take care of and we had dinner plans. But, I couldn't figure out how to build what I had envisioned, My drill kept screwing up, I got a bunch of ant bites. It was just a mess. But, I did take some pictures later. I managed to get some tires over the remaining tree trunk in place (after just a little triming), and so it is ready to be a planter.
That tree is conected to another post, which I got a tire mounted to, along with a couple of rails. Plus I made a little toad abode down below using some of the Dunedin pavers, a cement bowl I made and my toad house I've had sitting around for years.
THe whole thing will eventually have four posts and grow squash. Trust me, it did not look like this on Sunday when I came inside. Instead it was all laying on the ground in a twisted mess. So frustrating. But it's starting to come together now.
I did also manage to get some holes drilled in my PVC pipes despite my drill having issues. Again, this picture was taken later because I was too frustrated for documentation on Sunday.
I also managed to use the Dunedin pavers to make more raised beds running along to the very end of the fence. This spot has morning shade, but afternoon sun, so we'll see what ends up getting planted here.
Day 29: Monday March 13
Monday the forecast was for rain all day, though it didn't end up doing that much. Still it would be sunny, then really dark, and with my frustrating Sunday I could use the break from outside anyway. So, I mostly just worked with my cricut making all kinds of fun things. It was probably my favorite gardening day because I got to be so crafty.
I made signs for the veggies with paint stir sticks (just under 2 bucks a pack at Lowes!)
And I jazzed up my popcorn tin planter.
Plus I'm making Asa cute directional signs! Of course the place we met had to be included. Sneak Peekers from back in the day love the sign, by the way.
And I made some cute little signs for herbs.
All in all, a good day full of crafting, which usually puts me back in a good mood.
Day 30: Tuesday, March 14
Today we had some really great yard working weather. I think the high topped out around 73, so it was cool and sunshiney. I started my morning by finding someone giving away all kinds of different cinder blocks/pavers/bricks in Carrolwood, and Asa went to help me pick them up. Unfortunately, he really got his finger smooshed between two of them.
So when we got home, it was Calib and Hayden who unloaded them for me.
I also had no idea you could instacart Lowes, but I had a coupon to do it- making having mulch delivered to me cheaper than getting it in person, even with a good tip! Calib and Hayden also brought those bags to the backyard for me.
I used all my new found stuff to finally get started on my bug (yet mostly bee) house. I have the structure losely put together how I would like (the top needs some work, and the crevases need filled. But, it's coming together. I also used some of today's pavers to make sure I could get the rain barrel off the ground enough for a bucket/watering can to go under it (I have yet to put the top and spout on it yet, but it looks cute there!)
I also used the two round pavers I snagged this morning to make a trail back to the raised bed at the end of the fence, and then because I had so many Dunedin pavers left, I decided to make that into a tiered bed. I think it'll look much better once it's full.
I also planted some impatience seeds in my tire planter around the tree, and my first yellow squash has been planted in the upper tire on my 4 by 4 post.
And then I laid a ton of mulch- 12 bags of it, and I could probably use at least 12 more. But, it's starting to come together. Heads up those cheap red mulch bags at Lowes might be red... or brown. But, whatever, it all ends up losing color anyway.
But lets be real, this is a dirty job. Under my finger nails. It was rough. But, I'm doing this for my favorite person, so I don't mind.
Oh and heads up, I haven't planted strawberries yet, but I already have one.
Day 31: Wednesday, March 15
A busy day around here (non-garden related), so I didn't get a whole lot done- but I did design some signs on gravit and paint them accordingly.
Day 32: Thursday, March 16
A colder day, but I put on my long sleeves and headed out to finish making holes in my PVC pipe planters.
I also worked on laying our pavers in the side yard. One week to go and I was just now getting around to the side yard (yikes!) The pavers have the words to our song (Swing Life Away by Rise Against) on them.
And then I got another Instacart delivery and laid all the mulch they brought me in the side yard. I finally won't have to mow there in the summer now!!
And heads up, those beans are really starting to climb the teepee!
Day 33: Friday, March 17
Mulching in the side yard inspired me to get moving on the ideas I have for sprucing up the place, which includes painting the fence.
And while I had the paint out, I painted the top of the old table that was still out there- just trust me, it's going to be awesome.
And I drilled a bunch of holes in all the planters that are still lacking them.
I got a lot of flower seeds planted- and some more bell peppers.
But my big work for the day was finally getting this to come together- there's even the strawberry planters in the back there in the PVC pipes. The yellow upper levels all have squash planted in them, and the lower tires have seeds for flowers. This isn't done yet- but it's getting there!
Day 34: Saturday, March 18
Not only was it our Florida Anniversary (17 whole years here!!) but T'Ola was in town visiting, add to that March Madness and our Saturday was pretty full. But we did manage to get some new plants (including passion fruit, blueberry, and raspberry!) at Lowes and Duncheons.
And I got some more directional signs done. They're coming together and looking cool.
I will note the Country Bear Jamboree sign in the top right (it's hard to read in pictures- but looks better in person) is done by using a scorching pen and a heat gun. It's my first attempt at such a thing, but I think it went decently. I also burned into the wood the top of the door for my Winnie the Pooh scene. Trust me this is all going to come together (sometime in the next week, hopefully!)
Day 35: Sunday March 19
We made a run to Costco for some more dirt (spoiler alert, I STILL need more). I will say if you need dirt, Costco is the best place to get it. The giant bags are just $8 while they're on sale for the next two weeks or so.
Back at home I finished up the last directional sign, and made a Living with the Land sign (Disney fans know this well).
And I started work on my Hundred Acre Woods scene on the fence. Trust me, this is going to come together and be AWESOME.
And then I hung all the directional signs on one of the palm trees in the back yard. I'm telling you, we now own the coolest palm tree in the state of Florida.
I hung my Living with the Land sign above the structure I built, and you'll note I extended the flower bed along the fence. Not quite sure what's going in there yet, but maybe carrots. It won't get too much sun, though, so we'll see.
And then I strung the fencing across the top. The idea is the squash in the upper tires will grow up and over, and hang down from the fencing. We'll see if it works in practice, but that's the idea!
Day 36: Monday March 20
Asa's got just 5 days left in his 30s, and I have just five days to get this garden finished! It's a little chilly, so I got a late start to working in the yard (instead I spent my morning making "dirt" for the first day of Spring and some banana bread for dinner). I did do some work on my cricut for the last couple signs I still wanted to make too.
And, by after lunch time, I was able to get out in the sunshine. I did a couple of things for our little bee friends: we've got some tiny water-ers (just little lids attached to the tree), and I started to work on "furnishing" the bee house.
When we were out the other day, we decided to give passion fruit a try, but then the more we read about it, the more we realized how quickly those vines can get out of control, so we planted it in the little alcove area and I built a little climbing structure for it. Hopefully this is sufficent and the passion fruit makes its way all around.
While it doesn't look like much (just some sticks), I did get the raspberry bushes into their pots today. There was a whole process of soaking the roots and everything. But, I took care of it and they are happily in their new homes.
I also did some clean up. Yes, this looks like a mess- but this whole part of the yard has been a total catch all from extra fencing, stakes, and pots to brush and logs and rocks. It still needs a little more work, but it's getting there!
Same with the side yard, some of my ideas are starting to come together- but the clock is sticking for sure.
I wanted to go back out and paint tonight- but I just lacked the motivation. Instead I made a very cute little beehive bird house out of some rope and a dollar store plastic planter.
Day 37: Tuesday, March 21
I'm really feeling the crunch today! But, I worked on the side yard, and the accesories to go in the side yard today.
The Hundred Acre Wood scene is pretty well complete. I hung my beehive bird house, attached the bell and the door to the tree and I made a little honey pot (which doubles as little bee waterer- or it will once I get some stones in there), and we also have a windmill over on the other side, I'm going to add some legs to it, I just don't know what yet.
Anyway, the pot is cool. I got the vase on our Buy Nothing group when I picked up other pots, I painted it, secured a dollar store glass plate I painted yellow to the top, and then used hot glue and yellow paint to make it look like honey. Of course then I added the 'Hunny' and my look was complete.
I finally figured out a way to put the table together for my Alice in Wonderland themed planter. So, this is our old table (the one that was all painted with countries), I took out the middle section, added the legs, and put the two round sides together- a little paint and ta da! A planter!
It's going to have teacups in the planter, and I've been busy spray painting them to make them a little more whimsical. There's also some frames there for my Wonderland themed fence pannel.
I worked on that today too, I'm going to make a door down by the tree there, then of course we have some cheshire cat colors, and the last section I left empty for the grass wall. Hopefully the adhesive works will tonight and it'll be nicely attached tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Also hoping my black paint is dry tomorrow so I don't have too much runny-ness with my Hamilton/George Washington quote- it's one of Asa's favorites, and he always said he wanted a sign that said that for his garden, so I worked on this in secret while they were at chess club, and he hasn't been out to see it yet.
Day 38: Wednesday March 22
I spent nearly all day out in the garden or in the garage yesterday, and I barely took any pictures, so I don't remember everything. I know there was a lot of dirt spreading, and a lot of clean up and organizing and hanging of things. But, I also got the mirror up on my Alice Wall.
And I filled the table planters with teacups and succulents and such. It's like the coolest little fairy garden ever.
I took the stencil off of the Hamilton quote (at first I didn't love it, it felt like it needed some clean up, but it kinds of adds to the ruggedness of it, so I left it), and made a Lorax inspired "Unless" rock out by the bird feeder tree. If you know that one, you know.
I also made a worm tower for one of the beds. We'll see if it's a success, and if so I will make it for all the beds. Basically that little tube goes into the ground, you can put banana peels and such in it, and then the idea is the worms will crawl in, eat the stuff, and leave and poop out all the good stuff in our flower beds. I even relocated a few worms there in my yardwork.
Worm towers aren't the only cool thing I've made out of pvc pipe, we also have our very own tree frog habitat. We'll see if we get any takers.
I planted some more plants too- some peppers in the upper section, and the blueberry bush next to the mailbox.
I also made a few more signs.
I also worked on making a planter out of an old garbage can for some onions. I was out there in the dark putting the first coat of paint on it, and Asa begged me to come inside, so I did. Something about working too hard on his birthday (Blasphamy!)
The onion barrel required the use of my drill, jigsaw, and heat gun! Fun! I love my power tools, but everyone's pretty sick of them sitting out on the freezer.
Day 39: Thursday, March 23
I spent my Thursday morning laying mulch..lots and lots of mulch. Mulch by our bedroom windows, mulch in the back of the yard... mulch by the Living with the Land area. Just mulch, everywhere (and I still need some more!)
I also laid some rocks around the fire pit.. though I need more of those too.
And I laid a brick layer around the pavers by the screened in porch (I need to pick up a few more bricks, too- see the trend?!). I also cleaned up some more, and did some finishing touches.
That included some painting, including the onion barrel. I put some pvc pipe in the middle with some holes in it for easy watering.
I finished up some last minute spray painting too.
And, I've got a couple of things in the works I'm not too invested in, but we'll see how it goes. I made a planter with pvc pipe (we don't have anything to put in it yet), and I'm trying to attach something to the top of the pole planters- it's actually part of an old fan..
and we're trying upside down bucket planters. If it works, we'll do some more.
I also put some dirt in my pallet planter and my stackable planters- I found this great shady/filtered sunlight spot for them, and we're going to try some lettuce and greens in the summer! Hopefully it works out, I'd love to have greens all year long. And I hung up some of our hanging planters at our "Living with the Land" even though we don't have anything for them yet (Oh and yesterday I planted carrots down at the bottom raised bed).
And I even made a really cute door for our Alice in Wonderland fence panel. It's all scrap wood I had sitting around, along with an old doorknob from when we switched those out. (Calib was like 'why did you keep those?' Um, for this and other projects, obviously). Finsihed it off with some poorly layering work on my cricut (though I think this gives it a bid of the "hand drawn look", so I'm ok with it).
And I also worked on some finishing touches- like some bees for the top of the honey pot, and a couple more funny pots.
And then I did some cleaning up- everything is off the kitchen table except what still needs to be put outside.
I've got a few things still in the works that I'm hopign to get to tomorrow morning- I have a potato tower that needs ziptied. And a teacup planter that needs constructed.
Plus I've got signs to put out, and a little more clean up to do. But all in all, it's coming together. As it needs to be, the whole neighborhood is excited to see it tomorrow for the Blue Spring Drive Birthday Bash we're hosting.
Day 40: Friday, March 24
It's been 40 days of garden renovation. I have had ant bites, misquito bites, dirt under my toenails basically permenantly, paint splatters in my hair, blisters on my fingers, and even a bee sting on my lip. But it was all totally worth it. Asa was so excited about it- he still is excited about it. And while I didn't finish everything I set out to do (I put a few things on the back burner, and I will get to them eventually), he says it's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for him. Turns out acts of service are my love language for Asa. It's just I wanted him to have something really special and meaningful to him for his big birthday. And I think I totally accomplished that.
So, while Friday was all about finishing touches, cleaning up, putting out signs and getting the backyard neighbor ready (Asa was more than excited to show off the backyard during his joint birthday party with the neighbors), I figured I'd take you on a tour of the completed-for now- backyard.
Of course, right outside the door we have out Waterstraut puppies tile, boarded by the bricks. Both of these we purchased from Lowes, but as I'll fill you in- much of what I used for the backyard was free.
The herb plant pots sit next to the tile. All the signs I designed and printed myself on my cricut, and the pots were all things we had on hand, or dollar store finds.
Kind of a work in progress is this contraption that I made from the old papaya tree planter (it's in the ground now), and some free "scrap metal (including an old fan). We will see if it stays in place, and then I'm planning to make a bird bath at the top, with possibly some nesting materials. The bottom are yellow tomatoes we grew from seed from our seed library. Yay free seeds! You can see in the background my other experiment I'm not sure how it will work: growing peppers upside down! It's just a volunteer pepper in a Lowes bucket hanging off the palm tree from a dollar store hook. If it doesn't work out, it wasn't a big investment. If it does work out, I hope to make a few more.
Of course the tomato boxes I made out ot wood I purchased at Lowes (two 12 foot boards each cut into three foot sections), but the metal arch is all something I made for free out of Facebook Marketplace finds. We went to Bushnell for "scrap metal" and I was able to use a whole lot of it around the garden. The black edging in the ground is new too- but that was a donation from our neighbor Sam, who had some left over. (And the sign at the top is a dollar store metal sign I designed and printed on my cricut). You can't see it, but behind and beside the flower bed pictured on the right, there are stones we picked up off a dirt road in Spring Hill for free. As an added bonus a couple of those tomato plants were also free on our neighborhood buy nothing group. I'm looking forward to how this will look when the tomato plants grow up and over.
Over in the little alcove, you'll find some more of the free metal from Bushnell, along with half of an old set of bedrails I had sitting in the garage. The stones used to make the raised beds we got for free from someone in Dunedin who gave us a whole bunch of them. Currently, we have a passion fruit plant back there, hoping it will also grow up and over. The mural Asa and I painted way back on our 10th anniversary, but the "Adventure is Out there" is newly added.
You'll note the Mailbox from Up in this picture as well, but that's from our 10th anniversary as well. However, we did just plant a blueberry bush to the right of it. I also cut one of our planter boxes in half to make this a two tiered planter- it's got peppers in both. The bottom peppers are all volunteer plants. And volunteer = free!
You'll note the worm tower I built out of free pvc pipe I picked up off Facebook marketplace in Seminole. The "Dad's Garden" frog origniated back in Ohio with my dads garden- so it's a nod to him. And then of course I painted Asa's favorite line from Hamilton on the fence. (Fun fact: a few days later we bought a fig tree to plant here- it's perfect!)
On the fence pannel next to the Hamilton quote you'll find the pallet planters. I made these out of pallets we picked up at a junkyard in Largo. The gardening material I used here (and all over the garden) was purchased in a roll off Amazon using Asa's gift card bucks he gets from work for helping people out.
The second tier on the next box is the other half of the first one you saw. That box was not getting enough sun, so it needed moved and cutting it in half just made sense! Of course you can also see the Bee houses we made for free from the library, and my zucchini shelf made out of the other half of the bed rail from Calib's old bed and some old wire shelves we had hanging out in the garage. I actually cut every other wire off because I wanted there to be a little more space- but then I was able to use those wires for signs for the herbs. To the left you'll find the asparagus patch. I did buy those rocks at Lowes (though the ones on the side are something I had on hand), but the Asaparagus even came from our Buy Nothing Group.
Next to the Asaparagus patch, we have a planter that was going unused (usually I think we plant tomatoes in here, but they had been the home of all our volunteer pepper plants until I transplanted them). I'm not quite sure what I will put in the pvc part of the planter yet, but the pvc was free in Seminole (its still what I believe to be my greatest find). For now though, it is empty and the bottom has one lone pepper plant.
Beyond that planter, you'll find my Air Bee-N-Bee. The planter is made out of one of those old popcorn tins. You know the ones you get at Christmas. The rocks I used to build the beehouse are a combition of the ones we went up to Spring HIll to get, and ones we picked up in Carollwood. Everything I used to fill it was just stuff around the yard, and the wood next to it was collected at the library when they were cutting down tree limbs (and of course, another dollar store sign)
Obviously then we have our trusty old Lemon tree, though I did make it a sign (which is fitting because we bought this tree in early 2018 when Asa got laid off from his job at Verizon, not only did we make Lemonade out of that, but we've gotten a lot from the tree too). Behind that you'll see some more tree pieces I got from the library. It's a dual purpose back there- it helps hold the lemons up and it keeps our dogs and the neighbor dogs from being able to see each other. I added one of my plant plates back there for a bee watering station too, since we get SO MANY bees pollinating out lemon tree. I'd like to give them a little thank you in terms of lodging and watering (even if one of them did sting me).
On the other side of the lemon tree, there is part of the tree we chopped to bits that was in our backyard (I felt bad about cutting it down before we took out the main trunk and it's growing back now- so that's a good sign). Anyway, it's sunk into one of the weird cinder block things we picked up in Spring Hill for free. It features some bird feeders we had on hand and a couple of bee watering stations as well in the form of bottle caps screwed into the tree. Here you can also see the Butterfly station that's still a bit of a work in progress. Most of those rocks came from our free pickup in Carrolwood, and I made the Butterfly puddler out of cement. Of course, it's all topped off my a Lorax reference on the rock, which I think is just perfect!
There is a little flower area back here too for our friends the pollinators. Most of the plant pots you'll find back here are from our Buy Nothing group- along with the free stones from Spring Hill we got off Facebook Marketplace. The tiny little pots? Well, those sell at the dollar store and there's even two of them in a package!
Obviously next to all that, you'll find the coolest palm tree in all of Florida. All of that wood is scrap we picked up at that creepy junkyard in Largo. I just made it all pretty cool looking thanks to some paint and my cricut (and the use of Gravit- even the free program gets you pretty far in basic designing).
Next to that I have a picture taken a bit out of order. On Friday, this was all empty. The pallet garden (made for free thanks to Asa's free gardening material and the Largo junkyard pallet) was empty on Friday when I showed Asa the garden, as was the tower of planters I purchased at the dollar store and then spray painted (they did not have five of the same color) This is in the shade, so were going to try and do greens here. We found all of these on Asa's birthday for $1.50, so if they wilt too fast, we can just eat them and it won't be too big of a loss). They looked pretty wilty when I planted them (and took this picture)- but seem to have come around today, so we will see.
In the middle of yard you have our fire pit. I built the firepit a few years ago, though my mom gifted us the money for the pavers as a House Anniversary present. I was excited to put a border around it though, because it'll be much easier to mow around in the summer. I did buy the lava rocks- but the edging the rest of the stuff Sam gave us.
And then of course, in the back of the yard, you have my 'Living with the Land' structure. The board was actually one of the few purachsed items (it's a fence board, so it was all of a few dollars), and then I lifted the sign from a picture of the actual Living with the Land in Epcot, made a stencil on my cricut and painted the sign.
The rest of the structure consists of mostly free items. The tires came from a golf cart place giving them away for free on US 41, not too far from home. I gave them a little paint, and lined them with my garden material- and ta da! Planters! The post opposite the tree was found in that same junkyard in Largo all the other stuff came from- the top metal rods and the fencing that goes over top (my hope is we can get the yellow squash that's planted up in those tires to grow over it) was from our free 'scrap metal' trip to Bushnell. The second metal rods are shower curtains from the Buy Nothing group. I am also using some of the shower rod hooks to hand some planters. The pvc pipe came for free from Seminole, and the stone border came from the lovely people in Dunedin. I did, however, buy the two back posts for $8 a piece from Lowes. The couple of pots you see I either had on hand, or picked up at the dollar store.
Obviously I used more of the free pvc pipes and fittings to make a frog house (hopefully it'll give tree frogs somewhere new to go. Plus I made the sign from dollar store craft wood and my cricut. I'm hoping they like it extra because I painted it green for them!
On the other side of the other post, you'll find my Toad Abode. I had the house previously, as well as the pots that are there. But I made the little puddling pot out of cement. Obviously, my pond was also there, and I'm hoping the morning glories I planted behind it will grow up to the bed springs I had from back when we got Hayden a new matress.
All the rocks from Spring Hill helped me expand my pond boarder over a bit (I actually got all the rocks for my pond for free when I built it way back when because Connerton was tearing up sidewalks!) The cucumber plants all came from seeds from the seed library. They're hopefully going to grow up Phenom's old dog crate, which I turned into a trellis with the help of a couple of posts I got at Walmart for $2 on clearance. Next to that you'll find my rain barrel sitting on some of those free Carrolwood blocks. It's still a work in progress, but I have the screen on hand that I will put over the top, and I bought the spout for the barrel on Amazon for like $15- a splurge considering how mulittle I actually spent (on things- don't get me started on mulch and dirt. There's 42 bags of mulch, and I think 14 bags of dirt). The trash can itself was left to us by our neighbor, T'Ola when she moved out. I did a little stenciling and painting with my discount mismatched paint and ta da!
Next to all that, you'll find our bean teepee. I made it out of wood from the tree we nearly cut down. We had four of the bean pots, and had to get two more from At Home. The bird bath was from my grandmas house, so that was also free! And the beans were only $1.50 at Duncheons! We were able to get them right as they were taking them off the truck.
This next picture is also a little out of order. I have my chicken planter from mothers day a couple of years ago that I moved from the front yard to the back, and a gifted plant. Marcus brought Asa over another spinach plant that we had to take out because it took over one of our boxes. This way it will be more contained. It was a nice thoughtful birthday gift, for sure.
Next to that you'll find the bed planter. I made this out of some scrap wood I had sitting around, Calibs old bedframe that had been in the sideyard just waiting for a purpose, some of the free garden material, and some of the scrap metal from Bushnell. Not pictured is a couple of toy trucks I snagged from someone's driveway on trash night- off to the left. I'm going to find some succulents and make cute planters out of them- but for now, they're just kind of hanging out there.
Past the toy/tool bin you'll find our newly labeled compost bin, and what will somday become our potato tower (Still working off that free scrap metal from Bushnell). I know there's mixed reviews on it, but I figure we will give it a go when we have some seed potatoes.
Back over the by the house you'll find the papaya tree finally in the ground, along with an extra tire planter that's still empty at the moment. And then in front of our windows, we have our onion barrel I made out of T'Ola's other old trash can (and I used more free pvc pipe to make a watering mechanism through the middle). Some day I hope to to make this area my hydroponics garden (because I still have a ton of pvc pipe left), and then I'll just find a new home for the onions.
I also added my cactus planter to our windowsill . I got the planter for free off the Buy Nothing group, painted it and made it pretty.
Moving on, you'll find our new and improved side yard, though at the moment only every other fence panel is decorated (someday we will change that). For now, lets note that I changed out the grass for mulch. No more mowing the side yard!! And the pavers were all free off our Buy Nothing group. I added the lyrics to our song to them to spruce them up (Swing Life Away by Rise Against!)
In the side yard you'll find our Alice in Wonderland Tea Party inspired planter made from our old kitchen table and some scrap wood for legs from the garage. It even has some figurines from my moms house that were in Hayden's planter for the fair. Teh teacups were free from a library event in which we put succulents in there as well, and the succulents are all stuff I had on hand.
Opposite that side you'll find my scrap wood Alice door, some painting and vinyl, and a couple of frames and a mirror I got for free off the buy nothing group and then spray painted. (The fake grass I had on hand, because that's something I have on hand. I'm weird like that). I did not want to drill into this fence (it's our neighbors fence, not ours) so everything on the side yard is on hooks.
And then of course there is the Winnie the Pooh mural, made from stuff I just had sitting around and some scrap wood from that junyard.
The Honey bee bath came from the Buy Nothing group (it was a vase I painted and a dollar store plate I attached) I even added a little Eeyore house from scrap wood.
And that's it. There are a few more details and some other projects I have in the works- but the one worth mentioning also started on Friday night, when we had a neighborhood Birthday party. I brought out tiles that had been sitting in the grage since before we moved in, and had all our neighbors decorate them with paint pens. I'm going to incorporate these when we get back from our cruise!
Why wait? Well, because I'm bringing the tiles and the paint pens on the cruise so many family can make some as well. I already have designs Allison made for her, Nate and Layla too, so I can print those on my cricut. And the four of us waited to make them until it was Asa's actual birthday. A very cool idea to finish off a very cool garden.
I will say, after all of this, nobody in Wilderness Lake Preserve has a more upcycled, more whimiscal, more inventive, more Asa-Waterstraut-inspired garden than us. I love it out there, and it's only going to get better as the plants grow. I've also proven to Asa he had the space to grow anything he wanted- he just needed to be creative about it.
Happy Birthday, Babe. I hope you love it for years to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment