It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh today. I took the opportunity to work in our "yard". Our only outdoor space is a small patch of concrete enclosed by chain link fence and plywood. It's hideous. I'm actually too embarassed to post "before" pictures - so please, just know that as humble as the after pictures are - it is a huge improvement. This poor little patio has been through so much lately. In addition to the usual job of housing our garbage cans and the puppies' outside time - the contractors working on our house used my flower pots as ashtrays, left garbage everywhere, tore up the plants (dormant trees that just look like sticks - but still!), and generally wreaked havoc.
Last summer I had this bright idea - basically I wanted to put a line of cinder blocks all around the house and fill the holes in them with dirt and plant flowers in them - like window boxes, except on the ground...and made of concrete. Well, I got as far as purchasing the cinder blocks and piling them up in our "yard" so that they took up most of the little space we have. So today I moved them - block by block - to make a wall of sorts around part of the perimeter of the yard. It freed up a lot of room and looks so much better. Of course, now that I'm in bed I can feel back starting to hurt and I'm sure I'll really be feeling it tomorrow.
Last summer was the summer of ideas I never saw through. In addition to the cinder blocks, I also purchased and old, rusty claw foot tub that I hoped to turn into a planter - but it sat empty over the winter. Well today I sanded it (the best i could), spray painted it (with car paint that Keystone was selling at 3 cans for 99 cents!), and planted the berry plants in it. Bathtub planters kind of walk the line between trashy and shabby chic - but I wanted more than just potted plants. I think it's cute, and it will let me plant things that demand more soil than a 14" pot can offer. Maybe I'll even get some berries out of it!
It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh today. I took the opportunity to work in our "yard". Our only outdoor space is a small patch of concrete enclosed by chain link fence and plywood. It's hideous. I'm actually too embarassed to post "before" pictures - so please, just know that as humble as the after pictures are - it is a huge improvement. This poor little patio has been through so much lately. In addition to the usual job of housing our garbage cans and the puppies' outside time - the contractors working on our house used my flower pots as ashtrays, left garbage everywhere, tore up the plants (dormant trees that just look like sticks - but still!), and generally wreaked havoc. 
Last summer I had this bright idea - basically I wanted to put a line of cinder blocks all around the house and fill the holes in them with dirt and plant flowers in them - like window boxes, except on the ground...and made of concrete. Well, I got as far as purchasing the cinder blocks and piling them up in our "yard" so that they took up most of the little space we have. So today I moved them - block by block - to make a wall of sorts around part of the perimeter of the yard. It freed up a lot of room and looks so much better. Of course, now that I'm in bed I can feel back starting to hurt and I'm sure I'll really be feeling it tomorrow. 
Last summer was the summer of ideas I never saw through. In addition to the cinder blocks, I also purchased and old, rusty claw foot tub that I hoped to turn into a planter - but it sat empty over the winter. Well today I sanded it (the best i could), spray painted it (with car paint that Keystone was selling at 3 cans for 99 cents!), and planted the berry plants in it. Bathtub planters kind of walk the line between trashy and shabby chic - but I wanted more than just potted plants. I think it's cute, and it will let me plant things that demand more soil than a 14" pot can offer. Maybe I'll even get some berries out of it! 
ooooooooooooo how nice!!!
ReplyDeletedo you think you'll use the bathtub as an herb garden too?
ReplyDeletethe bathtub looks great--can't wait to see pictures of it with flowers in it.
ReplyDeleteOne idea for our patio we've been looking into is staining the concrete (would work on the cinder blocks too, I think).We saw some great work in a magazine where it looked like old world mud flooring.
now, if we can only keep the groundhog from beating us to our berries ...
ReplyDelete