I didn’t realize there were such easy options

Best Buy Geek Squad was here yesterday and fixed our WiFi coverage problem.

We had to buy equipment, but now have three bars of coverage in every corner of the house, garage and driveway.

Huge difference.

Daisies

A neighbor gifted me Shasta Daisies. They were excess from her garden.

On my Garden To Do list was a border on one of the front flower beds. But, I was not sure I would get to it this fall.

Masses of daisies in pans of water, needing to get in the ground ASAP, sped up my process.

On Wednesday night I dug an 18” (wide) border across one end of the bed. My husband pitched the icky dirt and roots into the kiddie pools as I dug. This allowed me to clean up a lot of junky ground. We will let the dirt dry. Then my husband will separate the dirt from the roots. The roots will go in the garbage and we will use the cleaned dirt to fill other places. (His knees prevent him from digging. My hands prevent me from ripping apart dried dirt clods.)

On Thursday morning, I fixed a few areas of the border and filled the 18” strip with new dirt. I buy good dirt from Lowe’s. (You can see how much more I dug, from the volume added to the pools.)

And then my mom divided the daisies and started planting. She used a ruler and did two tidy, alternating rows.

64 daisies later, a nice border.

I am appreciative of the gift. I also am glad she did not pitch all those daisies. A lot of gardeners with really big beds, end up pitching all kinds of plants.

I am super appreciative that she got me moving on this border. Because (knock on wood) next year I should have masses of daisies growing in this border.

If I find a before picture I will add it. This 18" swatch cleaned up a lot of nonsense on the edge of this bed.

And I plan to dig another 18" swatch behind this first one and add dirt, either yet this spring or first thing in the fall. Because I trimmed a lot of tree branches and I think the edge of this bed now gets enough sun that I can plant a massive border of Zinnias right behind the daisies. And that will be super pleasing.

My style of planting has evolved. I like masses of the same plant in an area. It has a lot to do with the fact that I have very large flower beds. Large amounts of the same plant in an area give the eye somewhere to settle. It is just more pleasing to my eye and feels calmer and tidier.

(But I do have one bed in the back where I have many different perennials all planted together. But they are all in pinks, purples, blues and dark reds. Blending colors helps in this garden that has more of an English look to it.)

Security door

Our front door (security) has bothered me for many years.

It is a big solid door. But basically it was one deadbolt between me and the outside.

And yesterday I found the plate that holds the deadbolt in the doorframe, was put in with (measly)  3/4” screws. So my feeling that someone could use a shoulder or foot to break thru, was probably true.

On the rare occasions I am home alone, overnight, I have always barricaded it. And it has really worried/scared me.

And even during the day, I have felt vulnerable.

A real problem was if I opened the door, to answer it, I was totally exposed.




So yesterday, all this was solved when Lowe’s installed a new security door, the kind with metal bars on it.

And it has a deadbolt that requires a key from either side. So if someone breaks the glass out of the security door, or the glass out of the window next to the door, they cannot reach in and simply turn the deadbolt. They need a key.

For fire safety, I am putting a key on a string, so it stays put, on the inside, where it cannot be reached from the outside.

And it does “go” with the house. The metal bars blend with the lines of the front door. The black blends with trim on the shutters. The door is “chunky” like the rest of the house.

An added bonus, that I had not really considered, is this door adds a “window” to the entry way. I can leave the solid inside door open during the day for added light and the view. It is very cheery. And the dogs can now see out the door.

I am very pleased.

Trapping

If you remember, my husband consistently caught chipmunks in the snap (kill) traps in stone houses last October and then this spring/summer. He caught a somewhere been 75-100 chipmunks in the months he was trapping.

All this started because of hundreds of dollars damage to a car at our house, and thousands of dollars damage to other cars on the block. Not to mention what they can do to a house.

Our chipmunk population was way too high.

When the ants started stealing his bait and the stone houses were dismantled for the garden walls, he lost interest.

Seeing one chipmunk in the yard, prompted the building of the wooden houses and the reinstallment of four traps. There is now one house/trap in the front, one on the side, two in the back.

He has caught 3 mice and 5 chipmunks in the 2 weeks since the first wooden house was built (and the ant poison was added a week ago).

So he is not catching them with the one-a-day rate of before, but he is catching them.

And when a trap stops (physically) working, he pitches it and gets out another. I keep a couple new ones on hand.

I had wondered if the scent of the treated lumber would deter chipmunks. Clearly the smell of the peanut butter trumps.

Part two - the mechanics of the bench turned planter

Original bench

 Converted planter

For this project we used:
- the rest of the (exterior, 2 3/4”) screws left from the chipmunk houses plus part of a second box we purchased. ($8-$10 per box).

- a 16’ treated lumber 2” x 4”,  *discounted 50% for me by the saw guy at Lowe’s. ($5)

- 3 (14”x14”x11”) square pots (Lowe’s) ($13 each). (Buying 3 more.)

- potting soil and 9 mums (Lowe’s). ($2.98 mums, $10.48 soil) (buying zinnia seeds in spring)





The 2”x4” x16’ was *discounted, because originally, I thought I only needed a 10’ board cut down to two 48 3/4” pieces (to go underneath to hold the pots). The saw guy at Lowe’s dug thru stacks of treated lumber for a 2”x 4” with very aged patina. And the only one was 16’. And it was very grungy, probably not a board many would want.

In the pictures you can spot the new/added 2”x4” pieces by looking for the raw, cut ends:
- Two pieces hold the pots in place (underneath).
- Four extra pieces were cut for blocking to support corners (underneath) holding the weight of the pots and bottom 2” x 4”.
- Two pieces were cut to support the aged arm pieces from underneath in the back.
- And one piece was cut to replace the broken birdhouse roof piece on the far right.

We are saving the rest of the (patina) 2”x4” to replace the rest of the birdhouse roof pieces as they split and to make future repairs.




We used every inch of the original seat boards. They formed the top half of box (which holds the pots) and they also reinforce the two back legs.



We are pretty sure if I had not thought to repurpose it, bench would have ended up in garbage. All summer as I was eyeballing it, I was just thinking about where to put it. I did not think about repurposing it until Sunday night. Lightening bolt. I did the thinking and the running. My husband did all the grunt/construction work. He cannot in vision the steps, but he can follow them easily. He did a great job, it is very straight and very sturdy. And I wish I had thought to do this years ago. It had to be falling apart before it occurred to me, I guess.

I really wanted somewhere sunny for zinnias and mums. There is not enough sun in any bed. I do not put annuals in beds anyway.  With all my massive window boxes, it did not occur to me to build a big planter. And with the scale of our flower beds and house, it did have to be bigger.

And, it hides the air conditioner!

So very pleased.

New 2”x4” hold/supports pots from below.
You can see the corner blocks that support the weight.

Another view of insides from above.

 The remaining seat  piece was cut in two and screwed to the back legs for added support.

New 2”x4” holds very worn arm rest in place.

An old bench turned into a really great planter.

I had been eyeballing this bench all summer. My brother made it years ago. It has been outside. The squirrels like to chew on the edges.  It was starting to fall apart, the leg on the left side was getting ready to crash, a roof piece (far right) was cracked. It was headed for the garbage at the rate it was decaying.

On Sunday night at 7pm, I visualized a planter. Clear as a bell.

I realized the three boards that made the seat, and had the same patina as the rest of the bench, could be added to help form the box to hold pots. (I do not put dirt directly in wooden planters and window boxes).



My husband finished his part Tuesday night. It took three evenings for him to deconstruct, cut, repair, and reassemble. And I made at least three trips to Lowe’s for supplies.

Even though the pots were empty, Middle had to help my husband carry the finished bench out to the driveway Tuesday night. I had helped him carry it in the garage to work on it. But with  2” x 4” 's added, underneath to hold the pots, it was too heavy for me to carry very far when it was done.



Wednesday morning, I had to move, paver stones and a bin, early so my husband could help me put the bench in place before he left for work. I could not carry it from little bay of garage to driveway, but I could help move it 4 feet.

Then I filled the pots. Mums are planted now for fall. I will put Zinnias in this planter in the summer. I am buying a second set of pots so I can (hopefully) winter the mums in the garage (in 1st set of pots). And start zinnias (2nd set of pots) from seed, in the garage, in the spring.

And I was super super happy. Not only is the planter great, we saved something my brother made years ago. I wish I had thought of it sooner. Because I am very excited to have a place sunny enough for mums and zinnias.

It is in a sunny spot which is rare in our yard.

And it helps hide the air conditioner.

And it was a forced clean out of a spot which tends to gather clutter and could  be seen from the street.

The blue in the background is two kiddie pools. The bottom one is full of sod/dirt which is drying so it can be reused. The top pool keeps out the rain and dew. After it is all dry, the grass roots are easy to remove and the clean dirt will go around that Red Twigged Dogwood on the corner. 

It was a miracle I found (square!) pots which fit perfectly (in black!).

If we had been making this planter from scratch, I would have bought the pots first and built around their size. Second set of pots also serves as back up when one eventually cracks.

My husband drilled holes in bottom of pots. The holes line up with the space between the support boards underneath. There were very short little legs on the pots, they sit directly on the support boards.

I did not add a layer of stones to bottom (because of weight). Instead I put in a layer of weed tarp to keep the hole open for drainage. First time I have ever done that.

So water does not drain directly on the wood, and air can circulate.  We will see how that works.

Chipmunk traps back in operation

After major damage to a car last year, we started (kill) trapping chipmunks. My husband caught a couple dozen last October. And then average about one a day spring and early summer. So we are talking between 75-100 chipmunks. We have dogs in our yard every day. Neighbors have cats. So my husband puts the traps in houses to protect the other animals. The original houses were made of stone. The stone is now in walls all over the yard. We switched to treated wood houses with paver roofs. 

My husband finished building all the wooden chipmunk trap houses last week. 

Four are now set against the house, various places in yard. He has caught one chipmunk and 2 mice in the last few days. 

But ants are eating peanut butter bait. 

So I mixed up Borax Ant Poison. 

I put make-up remover cotton pads in peanut-butter jar lids. Poured poison on top. Husband put one in each trap house. 

Why, yes, thanks

Walking on one of the connecting sidewalks between the golf course, the pup found a golf ball offering, she was very excited.

Added a path on Saturday

I dug a shallow bed, my husband fitted the stones like casual puzzle pieces, we leveled by eye and feel, we replaced dirt between them.

Path from opposite side -

The pool is full of dirt, covered with rain forecast. When it is dry, we will be able to separate grass roots from dirt.

Digging grass roots, sometimes it is the only solution

Grass invaded this little triangle bed several years so.

It was most annoying. I tried pulling and weed killer, but could not get rid of it.

And it really bothered me.

Last spring, I realized the only solution was to dig thoroughly enough to get all the roots.

And I did. I had to take the creeping sedum down to the bare roots. And I had to pitch the dirt and replace it with fresh.

Then I replanted carefully.

It was an couple hours effort that was well worth it.

The clematis was a self starter. And it is very happy with the creeping sedum shading its roots.

Young House Love has a podcast

A friend kindly mentioned this podcast.

Very enjoyable.

Started with episode 1, working my way forward.

Their blog, I started with current day, but then I go back and read the ones featured at the bottom of that day’s post. So I am reading archives, of similar topics, in small increments, which is easy on my brain.

Silent Witness

I spotted a young Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch yesterday, so they are old, but well written.

BBC’s Silent Witness, on Amazon Prime, 22 seasons.

I am on season 7. My mother is in the teens. We are both enjoying it.

We did a house and garden tour earlier this month

It is an old area of town that has mostly been maintained. Many many houses have been totally restored.

The oldest house in that neighborhood was built in 1840’s, is brick, has one room downstairs and a loft upstairs and a fireplace. That is it.

The houses on the tour this year were built in 1887, 1875, 1869, 1894, 1910, 1867, 1895, 1872, 1914,  1867.

Many houses have old stables that were converted to garages or guest houses.

Most of the houses are inhabited and wonderfully done.

A couple houses (on the tour every year) are in the process of reconstruction. Two this year did not even have inside walls. Those are our favorites, because next year they are likely to be on the tour, complete.

As much as we love the houses, the gardens are really fun, because this is an old section of town with small lots, or narrow/deep lots.

The houses are very close together.

And people have been very creative in very little space.

They have figured out how to have a lot of privacy while close to lots of neighbors.

One year we walked into a backyard that had an in ground pool (and we could not believe it).

The plants are great, but mostly it is the design we notice: paths, stones, furniture, water, fences, decks, outdoor buildings, terraces, balconies, roof top decks.

Most of the gardens, on the tour over the years, are magazine quality.

Every bit of every space has been carefully considered and used. They are very polished and very clever.

In our yard, the area at the top of the driveway, where we just put in an upper and lower walled garden, is the same amount of space as many of their (whole back) yards.

It is like a blank canvas to me. My husband has been leveling out the ground all summer. There are three trees and two raised beds, with a nice space around them.

And we are pretty capable around here. So I am considering floating wooden decks (they sit on the ground, not cemented in ground) and large pavers and other options.

I would be interested in finding someone who works with design in that old neighborhood to help me with ideas for my space. Because I would like it to have that clever, small space feel.

We have just sort of winging it so far.

But the end result is three stone walls in the back, and they are exactly the sort of design details that I love in gardens.

Tableau (Not in my yard, these are all from around my neighborhood)

I did a double take

Looked out the living room window on Tuesday and something looked funny.

There used to be a trampoline out there. Neighbors took it down while I was running errands on Monday.

It was under huge trees and the kids had to sweep it in order to play on it, so they did not play on it very often.

The two families their kids play with have trampolines in their yards. They play on those all the time.

It left a huge dirt area where it killed the grass. So they will have to reseed.

It makes a big (positive)  difference in their yard and ours.

Two remain

We helped our backdoor neighbor take down the hedge between our houses, Saturday.

The bush right behind their swing set, we left. 

There is one further down that we left too. 

I had taken out 6 dead ones earlier in the spring. We took out the nearly dead ones (maybe 7) on Saturday. So just two remain. 

My app says they are viburnum. 

My app also says we have three viburnum on our driveway (that thrive). 

Hopefully the last two hedge bushes, and my flower beds, do much better with more light and air.