Happy Halloween!
Posts from the ‘Around the “Farm”’ Category
Oct 31
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Oct 13
Time for the House Plants to Shine
The Most Beautiful Begonia
I hate to say it, but if I was responsible for our house plants, they’d all be dead. I may turn them occasionally when I think they’re growing into the sun too much or repot them. Other than that I do nothing.
Now that our outside garden is getting ready for Fall/Winter it’s time for our indoor garden to shine. Since this is where we’ll be hiding for the next six months, we’re happy to have the green and beauty in the house to keep us sane.
Not only do we have the pictured Begonia but we have many Aloe, African Violet, Christmas Cactus, Wandering Jew, Spider Plant, Cacti and a couple random nameless plants. I got most of these plants for free by taking a small cutting from another plant, including the Begonia — we took a cutting from one of my mom’s plants. This is a great and inexpensive way to start a house plant collection.
Some time before our next big freeze I need to dig up the Aeonium in the outside garden and find a spot in our tiny house. They’ll be a nice addition to our indoor winter garden.
Aug 11
Reed Fencing Covers Ugly Chain Link
Front Fence Covered With Reed Fencing
I’ve been trying to find something affordable to cover the ugly chain link fence along the south side of my yard for over four years now.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find 6′ x 15′ rolls of reed fencing for $22 each at Lowes. I didn’t know such a thing existed!
I picked up five rolls and started covering the fence the VERY SAME DAY.
The front yard after picture is above. I don’t have any before pictures because I hated the fence so much I never took pictures of the flower beds.
The back yard ‘in progress’ picture is below – you can see the weeds growing from the neighbor’s side of the fence. As you can see, I still need to do some trimming but it already looks 100 percent better.
Anyone can do this little project in a couple hours. All you need are the rolls of the reed fencing and some black zip ties.
Back Fence While Adding Reed Fencing
Back Yard Fence After Reed Fencing
Update 4/29/2012: Our fencing lasted almost 3 years in our wet Seattle weather. I just ordered some bamboo fencing (at $60 for a 4′ h x 8′ w roll) to replace the reed fencing — in hopes that it’ll last a little longer. This option is a little more expensive.
Jul 6
Front Entry Mini Makeover
Front Urns
Back Yard Urn
Every couple years my front porch starts to look a little shabby. To spruce it up this year, I painted the porch a nice black color and replanted the urns. One of these days I’m going to resurface the front porch with stone and replace the front walk with a more natural walkway. Until then, a new coat of paint does wonders.
Left (front yard urns): Boxleaf Hebe, Aurea Heather, Black Mondo Grass & Scarlet Leader Cotoneaster
Right (back yard urn): Orme Hebe, Spring Torch Heather & Scarlet Leader Cotoneaster
In just a couple hours I went from hating my front porch to accepting it – almost liking it. I bet when the urns fill out – I’ll love this spot even more.
What’s funny is that last time I painted the porch I pretty much just painted it the color of concrete. Then because I picked a laytex paint it scratched off the show the green paint underneath – I hated it from day one.
Front Porch BEFORE
Front Porch AFTER
Click here to see what my house looked like when I bought it in 2005.
Jun 28
Help Needed: It’s Time for a Patio
Back Lawn After Mowing
We have a patch of grass in the middle of our back yard that acts as a patio with our outdoor sectional, bar-b-que, fire pit and table.
Every week we move all the furniture to the pathways to mow the grass. When done mowing we move it all back. This is very annoying.
We need a permanent patio. I’d like to add large pavers/stone where the lawn currently is with a ground cover between the pavers. Then add stone paths to the driveway and garage door – again with ground cover between.
By using ground cover we won’t have to mow but we’ll still have a green look.
This is where we need your help. The shape of the space is triangular and we can’t agree on how to create a patio design that looks natural and provides the two walkways to the garage and driveway. We also disagree on the type of stone, rock, pavers to use. I’d love to hear what you think about this project.
Gardening in My Rubber Boots 
