Our Latest Project

Thank you all for your kind comments about my last post. I hope you all have had a nice week, and that your weekend is great. I've read that a lot of you are having beautiful weather, that you are getting into your spring gardening frame of mind, and pretty soon, all of you will be out playing in the dirt.

This morning DH and I went out early to start on our latest project. DH got this idea the other night when I told him that the centerpiece in the garden, (which was an old pedestal fountain at one time,) was sinking into the ground and I needed a base under it. He thought of using a round cement table top that we weren't using. We measured the table top, measured the area, and realized we could make it work. We had some cement border blocks that we had found a long time ago that we could use underneath, we had gravel that we could put in the center for the water to drain into from this piece. We were ready to go.

I took up the brick border the other day and this morning dug up the plants that were in this area. Then I loosened up the dirt, we tamped the soil down, drew out a circle, laid the blocks, filled the area with gravel, rolled the heavy cement table top over to the space, and gingerly laid it down, hoping for no catastrophes. We are getting older and these heavy cement pieces are not something we want to deal with very often.

After the piece was in place, we put the pedestal fountain on top, then put the cement parrot on a block inside, and put the Basket Plants back into the basin area around the bird. I replanted iris divisions at the back, and Spiderwort at the front. That flower bed never was very good, I like this much better.

We're thinking of laying another layer of roll roofing on the paths, as these are starting to crumble up. They've been there several years now, and it's been nice not having to weed wack the paths. Next time we get out the pressure cleaner, we can do the cement base under the pedestal.

I'm working at my job again tomorrow, so no playing in my gardens until later.

Notice the humongous rain barrel at the back of the garden, another curbside found piece that we've had for several years now. DH is figuring out the best way to get the gutter system hooked up to it, with a leaf/debris screen, then we'll get what supplies we need and will be good to go to collect some serious rain water. I'll either paint the barrel house color, or do some other sort of camouflage.

Here are the stones laid in place. These we also found 'curbside' shopping some time ago. I was using them as a border elsewhere.

Gravel in the middle for drainage.

Some views from this evening.




I noticed that the Frangipani have new leaves appearing also flower buds. Crepe myrtle are also breaking out into greenery. Spring is in the air.

***

Every day may not be good,
but there's something good in every day.
Author Unknown

***

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

More than less ... done

Good evening Friends,

Here it is the end of another Monday. Today was 'errand day'and we're glad that is over with. We do not like to shop.

Thought I'd share the latest project we've been working on as it is 'more than less' done.

I shrunk the bed around the ficus tree, then we gathered different pieces of patio pavers that we could use to fill in and enlarge the already existing patio. Now, let me remind you, that most of what we do is done on a 'shoestring', we recycle, and we've curbside shopped our whole 41 years together, so our grounds and cottage and we ourselves, are somewhat eclectic and eccentric, weird I guess you could say. Certainly NOT normal. :-)

Back to the project. We jacked and cut out the iron post to the left of the picture.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

I dug out roots, and took out ferns and other things that had overgrown the area.








I laid some curbside shopped border stones and put found rocks from TN on top.


After laying the various patio pavers and pieces, we needed to make a 'stop' for our driveway gate. I thought of using this old piece of concrete from around the 1920's. It's a pretty, weathered piece and we just had it back in my potting area. We set the pieces lined up on top of each other, then drove a pipe down the middle. We needed some sort of finial. DH came up with this old white or pot metal piece, that was in several pieces. I loved it and laughed because we are so unconventional. We can also loop a piece of something or other from the gate to this piece, to hold the gate in place.

I love the details of this piece.





I am a collector and noticer of hearts, but did not see these until I downloaded the pictures to my computer. I had to go out and take this picture so that you all could see them too. This is looking into the pitcher, so that you see both hearts.


Now, here we have the south side of this patio area. There had been some scruffy vines growing on the wire fencing, but it didn't look great at all.

We took out the iron post because it was crooked from hurricane winds, the fencing needed straightening and leveling. I went out early in the morning to see what 2x4's I could find to use on the fencing, as they were cut sections of fencing (about 24"wide) that someone had thrown away and we needed to tie them all together better than they were. With three hurricanes blowing them every which way, it was time to get them back in shape. They still have many years of use left. I saw some metal studs that we had in our stash and came in to see what DH thought of using them. He said 'excellent idea'. These fit right over the 2x3's that had been used on the fencing. He drilled holes into the studs, then screwed them to the fencing after we raised and leveled them.

Here it is after I took out the existing bed.

Here it is afterwards. A double layer of bricks with the rocks and coral that had been the border, now place on top of bricks. I used a section of green lattice from our neighbor, and moved in potted and other plants to the bed. It still needs tweaking.

I was inspired by a post I read somewhere in a FL gardening blog, about making a wall of air plants, so started by putting ones that I had growing in shrubbery. I'll keep filling it in as I find them here and there. These particular air plants get pretty purple and reddish/pink flowers.


I hope to get out there tomorrow to do a little more work.

It is amazing what we can do now that we have cooler weather.

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL