A Fresh Coat of Paint

I am always amazed at how a little paint can change the entire feeling of an area. Recently I had my house painted, and a new roof installed. The whole process was a bit invasive to the normal ebb and flow of my day, but worth it in the end. It made me realize the difference a fresh coat of paint can make on something.

As you guessed it, it inspired me to spruce some other things up in my outdoor living space. The Garden Pest's house got a new paint job, going from a faded light blue with white trim, to a vibrant teal with chocolate trim. I finally painted my white picket fence ( I installed it over 5 years ago- slacker much?), and my mother donated some lovely cushions to replace some very old ones on my front porch furniture!

No joke, it looks like a new house! I am excited when I pull into the driveway instead of overwhelmed with the feeling that I will never get everything done.

The Overflowing Urn

Here is a quick photo journey through the overflowing urn. I finally found my urn, basin and grate at Wakoola Water Gardens in Cumming, GA. I suggest anyone who wants a pond, overflowing urn, yard art, fun afternoon take a trip to this place. My mother and I went, and I am shocked we ever left!

I realized that I was never going to be able to dig a deep or wide enough hole where I wanted it due to the roots of this tree, so I had to get creative. I decided it would be neat to nestle the pot against the tree and roots.

I built two retaining walls with the Pavestone Windsor block you see in this picture. I had a few pieces left over, so I decided to put them to good use. That is the basin that will house the pump and water reservoir, with a heavy duty grate on top. The silver line is duct tape were a hole to access the pump has been cut in the grate.

Here is the urn I picked. it is by Le Beau, and is frost proof. This is crucial because in the winter, if the water freezes the pot could crack. I have buried part of the wall I created, and am packing dirt behind the blocks to ensure everything stays in place.

This is the inside of the pot. I ran a flexible vinyl 1/2 inch tube through one of the holes in the base, and used silicon outdoor waterproof caulk to seal around the tube and to plug the other hole. The hardest part about the process was waiting 8 hours for the silicon to dry before I could fill it with water!

Here I took landscape fabric and duct tape to cover any gaps where the square grate did not fit the round basin. (I could have purchased a basin and grate kit for $300, but I decided to create my own for $50... so I had to get a little creative). the pot is being supported by the grate, and by a cinder block I found in my yard.

It took 8 bags of top soil to fill in around the basin. Here you can see where I have planted (counter clockwise) an upside down fern, some moss, an impatiens, a succulent ground cover, another impatiens and a Japanese painted fern. I had to place large rocks in strategic places to help hold the dirt in place.

The next step is to place the rock down on the grate. Before I did that, I ensure that the pump worked. I decided to purchase 3 .5 cubic foot bags of egg rock from Lowes ($3.99 a bag) instead of buying 3 $39.99 bags of rock from the pond section.

Ta-da! I also used a big rock from my yard as a decorative accent on the left side of the fountain.

I used the leftover egg rock on the steps that are next to the fountain to tie the two areas in to each other. There is a drain pipe that dumps out on the rock next to the steps, so the rock helps reduce erosion.

Here it is with water in the pot. The waterflow sounds fantastic and is very pretty. I am going to work on where the tube is placed to hopefully achieve a more dramatic waterflow from the urn. All in all it was a fun project and really adds a lot to my yard. Here is the view from my swing, a drastic improvement from where it was before!

Water Features!

I come from a long line of "real" gardeners which have influenced my idea of what a garden and yard should look like. My mother's mother and father lived in Ellijay and had an acre vegetable garden as well as a beautiful yard with almost all native plants. My father's father grew up on a cattle farm and had an extensive home garden here in Atlanta. I have also watched my mother create an enormous pond with a waterfall in her yard. To give you an idea of the size pond she created, she is using a pool pump and filtration system to keep it up and running. Pretty big. SO, I decided I wanted a little water element in my yard as well. My first course of action was to fix the little elephant fountain I already owned, but had let go.

My dogs had decided to dig out from behind the fountain (which is solid cement) so my first task was to level the area out again. I used the weight from the elephant to rock the back of the basin up far enough to wedge bricks under it. Then I cleaned the pump, crossed my fingers and plugged it in. It worked! All that I was left was cleaning the area around the fountain up and planting some new azaleas. They are a bright reddish orange. The next task was a little more daunting. I needed to prepare the area I wanted to put my new water feature, an overflowing urn.

I chose the area to the right of these steps as the new home of my fountain. This is an area I have never tackled in my yard, and have really tried to ignore. There is an old cinderblock retaining wall, a huge tree, and lots of junk. But, I am trying to tame my yard, and this is the next spot on the way to the lower forty. 

More plants! (and a rotten bench)

Another journey to the Grower's Outlet has lead to some fabulous new color in my yard. I planted impatiens along my wooden fence, foxglove behind my day lilies near the rotten stump, a butterfly bush near my bird bath (where a little bird was recently spotted bathing!) and some more blue star and hostas. I also went to Garden Ridge with a friend and picked up some super cute solar powered hanging lanterns. Everything seems to be doing really well -  it has all been in the ground for a little more than a week.

In the bottom picture you can see my rotten bench and my flying pig. I bought the pig at a local art festival, and the bench actually came with the house. It has been leaning against a fence in my yard collecting moss for some time now, so I am glad I finally found a home for it. In front of the pig is a "Cape Cod honeysuckle". I have read many posts online where people talk about how it isn't really a honeysuckle, and how the plant itself is not even hardy enough to survive in Cape Cod. The irony is, I planted it about 5 years ago and after it "died" I have been treating it as if it were a weed. I finally realized it was my honeysuckle after a trip to Disney World, where they have it growing in front of the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Here is my little bird that I caught playing in my bird bath. Behind it you can see a hydrangea (that was here when I moved in) about to bloom.

Growth Update

So far, all of my little plants seem to be doing well! My first baby tomato was spotted yesterday -  I tried to get a picture, but my camera would not focus on it. For some reason, my cilantro is flowering... I am wondering if I didnt water my herbs enough initially, they are not doing nearly as well as my mother's. Strawberry plant is growing by leaps and bounds, as are the asparagus and sweet potatoes.

I think my biggest failure as a gardener is watering. For some reason I simply cannot get it into my head that plants need water on a regular basis. I have gotten a little better over the past few weeks. My body clock seems to have adjusted to waking up earlier lately. So, instead of rolling over and trying to fall back to sleep, I have been getting up and spending some time in my yard with the Garden Pest before work. It is so peaceful to take my coffee and sit on the swing in the back. I think my original goal from working so hard in my yard was to find and create a sanctuary for peace and fellowship. I believe I am well on my way to achieveing that.

Second Raised Bed!

I had some fun last weekend as you can see! I took another trip to the Grower's Outlet and got some pretty flowering plants for accent color, and stopped by Lowe's for some vegetables. This is raised bed number 2. It has sweet potatoes, asparagus, okra and a cucumber plant. Here is a shot of both beds:

I am not sure what the blue flowering plant is, it was just so pretty and full of color I thought it would add to the "green" of the beds. I also got a few impatients, a gerber daisy and some mexican heather to put in other pots around the yard. So far everything seems to be doing well! 

BlueStar is Doing Well

So far, the Blue Star Creeper seems to be doing well! Well, if my dog would stop digging it up:)

I planted 34 little guys in a diagonal design between the bricks. BSC is allegedly a very aggressive ground cover, so I am hoping that it will really take off this spring and summer. If not, I can always buy a few more. Here is a look at the over all patio after it was weeded, the BSC was planted and some hostas, ice plant and solar lights were added:

It is not nearly as stunning as it was when it was first built, but now the bricks and dirt are even, and things have settle in to where they will be. I love the round solar lights, I actually got them at Wal-mart for $4 a piece. They have a very bright glow to them.

Weeding for your Soul

I have spent the past week weeding my patio. I know that sounds a little bizarre, but years ago, during college and before full time work, I had the brilliant idea of planting a patio of bricks and grass. I It worked out great when I was dating a landscaper... but I alone was unable to maintain the space. So, now I am trying to find a ground cover that will thrive, and keep out the weeds! Here is what it originally looked like:

So now, imagine how that looked after 4 years of letting it go after a drought. Yeah, it is really a sobering thought to look at how beautiful it once was. Oh well, life happens. When you can't water, what's a girl to do?

So now I am on a mission to re claim my yard. Starting with the upper half (my dad refers to the area below the retaining walls as the lower 40... so I guess we can call the top half the upper 20?)

My first task was getting the weeds pulled, adding some dirt to level out the space between the pavers, and planting a ground cover. I purchased 34 blue star creepers at the Grower's Outlet last week, and have them in the ground now. The last time I tried to do this, I split the creeper up, so every "intersection" of dirt had a plant. Unfortunately I planted in October, and we had a hard winter, and plenty of leaves that I neglected to blow. Now I am planting in the Spring... and have no leaves to fear for a few months.

Hope it works!

Dead Battery

Today was a bit of a bummer! I decided to pull out my new cordless drill and put together my other raised bed.... only to realize I had a dead battery! I got the boards together... but there are screws hanging out all over the place.

Hopefully after a night on the charger I will be back in business. On a side note, it is time for the annual spring cleaning of my yard. My truck is loaded down with 12 bags of Scott's Dark Brown Mulch... and some new pruning sheers.

Exciting stuff! Before and after pictures to follow!

In the Ground!

Hooray! After the Garden Pest found something else to play with, I was able to get all of my plants in the ground. Here is a picture:You can see to the left where the next raised bed will be going. The two plants in the cages in the middle are my tomatos, with herbs flanking them. The taller herbs are towards the middle and back of the bed, while the ground cover style herbs are closer to the front and outside edges.

Garden Pest

My #$%* dog now has a new nickname, the Garden Pest. Today I was trying to get my plants in the ground, get the other bed frame together, and take some pictures at the same time. I got everything I needed together and in a chair in the backyard. I had forgotten my screws, so I ran back inside for no more than 5 minutes, and came back to find a guilty looking dog... and a camera with teeth marks all over it! After I threw a fit, I realized my camera still worked... and it was my fault for leaving such a tempting treat within his reach.

So I got over it and started mixing up my dirt. All 6 bags went into my bed,with room to spare. I again had to run grab something from another location, and came back in the back to find the GP elbow deep in my bed! He was covered in black, stinky dirt. Since I had caught him in the act, I scolded him. He quickly darted to another side of the yard.

Here he is sulking:

Needless to say, in his mind it is his backyard... so anything I bring back there must be for him, right? I have a feeling my raised bed is going to have to fight to survive!

Selecting the Plants, and the Dirt!

Today my mother and I took a trip out to the Growers Outlet in Snellville. The GO is one of my favorite places to buy plants. They are always healthy, priced very low, and seem to be very well aclimated to GA's soil and weather conditions. I ended up getting some herbs (cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary, lavender), two tomato plants (roma and beefsteak) and two bell peper plants. Everything cost about $15.

The soil is a little different story! I have been searching the internet for months trying to find the "perfect" soil mix for a raised bed. I haven't found anything! (and of course I bought the plants before I bothered getting dirt!) After speeking with a very helpful gentleman at Home Depot, I ended up buying a bag of Nature's Helper, a bag of Mushroom Compost, 3 bags of topsoil and a bag of Miracle Grow Moisture Control Garden Soil (what can I say- I am a sucker for advertising and they have had some good ads!).

I got everything home and was ready to plant until I realized we were under a tornado watch. So my husband, mother and I quickly unloaded the car, and called it a night.

So I Decided to Build a Garden

I decided last fall that this season I was going to create two raised beds in my yard. I have a mischevious dog who loves to get into anything I am planting, so hopefully this will be a good way for me to keep him out and the plants in! I bought two 2"x12"x12' foot boards from my local Lowes, and had them cut the boards into 4 pieces each. I then took 2" screws and fastened one bed together.

You can see the frame has been nicely weathered since last October when I put it outside. the other boards have not been put together yet, I figured I should start with one, and see how it goes. I used untreated wood because there seemed to be some debate online about if the chemicals in the treated wood would seep into your garden or not.