I don't believe I have ever talked about the Chimney planter in my Georgia Garden. This planter is on the East side of the house so it receives little sun shine being in the morning hours only. 
I had pansies in the planter all winter long during a really mild winter. The deer ate them the following year so no more pansies in that spot. 
Another year, I put several different things in the planter. 
The Purple Queen took over to the point that you could hardly see anything else in the planter!
The following year, the Purple Queen returned and I allowed it to be the main focus with putting some Victoria Blue Salvia in the back. The plan was to allow both to multiply and intermingle with little care from me. 
The following year, the Salvia thrived but the Purple Queen was damaged by what I believe to be a Vole. I put a Potato Vine in the opening of the Queen and the bugs had a good time munching on it. 
Most of the Purple Queen had died out as of last spring so I planted some Carrot seeds in front of the Salvia. The planter had been neglected as it is kind of out of sight and out of mind being on a side of the house we rarely see. Even though you see it as you approach the house by car, we just don't spend much time in the yard on that side of the house. This is the side where the deer are fed so we must be careful what we plant in the planter. As you can see in the above picture, the planter was starting to separate at the joints.
The stacked timbers were starting to be pushed out by the soil. This is a healthy planter as I put all kitchen scraps in this planter until I started a compost bin last year. It is usually filled with worms but not so lately with my neglect.
The Saint and I decided it was time to make a few repairs to this planter and let it once again thrive as a planter. He took the front timbers off the planter and dug the soil from the front out of the way.
He took the back of the axe which is a sledge hammer and knocked the timers back in line. Then while holding the timbers in place with my assistance, he took a long drill bit and drilled a hole through all 3 timers while stacked.
Then he hammered rebar through all 3 timbers and into the ground to secure the timbers in place.
The Rebar is flush into the top timber in 3 spots per side. He put 4 in the front as it is longer and needed the extra support.
See how straight and secure this side is after the repairs?
With all 3 sides secure, we decided to give a bit of extra support to keep the sides in alignment. 
The Saint took metal strips and screwed them into the insides of the corners. This will just give a little added support and hopefully keep the sides where they belong. 
I pushed the soil back in place and now we have a secure planter ready for spring planting! I took out the carrots soon after we made our repairs. You saw those carrots on the Veggie Garden update in February. The Salvia remains as do some daffodils. I am not sure what I will plant in there this year but it is time to bring this planter back to life again. 
Floppy-ear bunny and bear were patient throughout the PLANTER REPAIRS, In the Garden...
Note: The weather is perfect this weekend so we will be busy in the yard. I will check in here when I can but know that all comments will be read throughout the day even if not replied to by me! Everyone have a nice weekend and I hope you have some nice temps as well...
SPRING THOSE CLOCKS FORWARD TONIGHT...
Couldn't wait to see what you'll have in those planter this year.
ReplyDeleteBlossom, I do wonder myself what will be planted but something soon as the weather is spring here in Georgia!
ReplyDeleteWe have a long list of stuff planned for the yard today so we will be busy and having fun in the sun! Finally, Spring is here for us in the Deep South...
Everyone have a nice day....
I think everyone is at there computers a little less this weekend! Good job on repairing the planter, if it's shaded wouldn't some bright impatiens looks terrific there?
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the repairs, Skeeter. Now that it is all fixed up you are going to have fun replanting. I have a raised planting bed where the combination of purple queen and potato vine spill over the front. It is a vibrant display throughout the hottest season of summer.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time in the garden this weekend. So nice to get out.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
The planter looks great and I love the bunny with the bear, how cute! Madame has another majorettes meet today.
ReplyDeleteGood mroning all.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the secretia and carrots and everything did so well-the east side of a house is perfect for planting. Especially in Georgia. Looks good. I really like the secretia, potato vine and salvia combo. Just beautiful. Have a great day in the garden. I too am out and about. Washing decks:(
Good Morning Everyone,
ReplyDeleteSkeeter that planter looks terrific now. Great job repairing it. Have you tried hosta there. Maybe it gets too hot.My hosta are on the East side of my house. That is where I put shade loving plants.
Have a great productive weekend all.
You all did a great job on the repairs, esp. adding those corner braces which I would not have thought to do.
ReplyDeleteWe, also, will have a wonderful, warm, sunny weekend, and I am looking forward to being outside. Enjoy your garden this weekend.
Jan
Always Growing
Tina, what a fun spot to plant. I love the statuary and the potato vine in contrast to the dark plant was beautiful. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete~Heather
What smart reapir ideas! Landscaping timbers do have a way of migrating to places they aren't supposed to be in, don't they? That planter looks as good as new.
ReplyDeleteIt's supposed to be nice here too. I'm hoping the rain we get later will take away most of the rest of our snow cover, especially in the back yard. I guess that remains to be seen though. I can't wait to get started on my vegetable garden!
Have a fun day in the garden.
Skeeter, No wonder The Saint is The Saint! The deer and the bunnies have had a smorgasbord at your house! I look forward to seeing what's growing in the planter as the spring progresses. It is already warm here with a hint of rain in the wind! I hope it's a lovely weekend for you! gail
ReplyDeleteThe repair job is great and floopy bunny and bear like it! I also think impatients would look great driving in.
ReplyDeleteNice here in Maine also. 72 degrees right now. Go figure, 72 with all that snow on the ground. It sure will settle today.
The potatoe vine is lovely. I like to mix the dark purple variety with the lime green one.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, well done it looks really nice!
ReplyDeleteTyra
The Saint did a great job fixing the planter(-: I am sure you will come up with something fun to plant in there(-: The Deer request roses!!!!
ReplyDeletespring time, how lovely it is !!!
ReplyDeleteKathrin aus Bremen mit ganz herzlichen Grüßen !!!!
Looks very nice all fixed up. Now the fun part of deciding what to plant there. Have fun outside today!
ReplyDeleteHi Skeeter, no hidden links in here are there? HA. This area SCREAMS for a trellis of some kind. Home made, best, or store bought, either way you need some VERTICAL in there woman! Morning sun is the bestest kind of light for so many things. Clematis comes to mind, or even annual seed sown vines would be good too. So much that could be done with this, now that you have the timbers nice and secure. And good soil too. Go into the woods and get some cedar poles and make you a trellis, very primitive and cool. Maybe the Saint would be a saint and help out with the power tools. :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
Hello everyone, just popping in here for a minute as we are headed out the door for more supplies for more projects. Wow, we do get active this time of year! I have the planter full of fun spring pretties, if I get a chance tonight I will add a pic to tomorrows posting. We knocked down most of our list but more to do tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI had impatiens in this planter one year but they needed more water then I was willing to give them. They are thirsty things and in the heat of a GA summer, I dont like to water stuff daily if Mother Nature is not providing rain fall.
There was a trellis in this planter when we moved here but the Saint said it had to go. We feared the squirrels would climb up it and onto the roof. We do not want rats in our attic! So out came the trellis and Pyracantha but I agree it needs something vertical and I may work on this issue with screws, string and morning glory’s...
Guys,
ReplyDeleteGlad you got it repaired. Being the liberal handyman and all I'll let you know a tiny secret. You make the beds slightly smaller and overlap the corners of the landscape timbers and spike them by either drilling or using 6 inch nails and they will never come apart again, at least until the timers are beyond repair themselves.
Well it looks quite nice. I also liked the look of that chartreuse potato vine with the purple too.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Tell the Saint he did a great job on the repair of your raised planter bed! It shouldn't be going anywhere now. Have a good weekend in the garden!
ReplyDeleteRandy, this planter was already here when we bought the house. Yep, we would have overlapped the timbers if we had built it from the get go. I grew up playing with Lincoln Logs so I know the importance of overlapping. lol. Or maybe I would have gone with bricks or stone as I am not too crazy about the timbers as they do rot in time. Thanks for the tip :-)
ReplyDeleteBrenda, I liked the potato vine and so did the bugs! It is a bit difficult to see in this pic but it was full of holes from bugs munching on it. I may get another potato vine this year and keep a closer eye on it with placing it elsewhere as I do enjoy them...
It has been a long day in the yard today so time to relax with a glass of red wine and a movie! Night all....
Raquel, I will pass along the cudos... Thanks and good night...
ReplyDeleteHi Skeeter,
ReplyDeleteIt was fun seeing the different things you've had in your planter. Thanks for showing the repair. We have one around a tree that may need a new frame for, but I am going to show my husband what The Saint did, to see if he can do that.
I'm glad you were able to get some projects done, and look forward to seeing what you've planted.
I think this planter has lots of possibilities--some low maintenance perennials would looks nice in here. I'm all about low maintenance:) And once again I have to agree with Hubby's name--he is indeed a Saint to put so much time into repairing this! It does look great.
ReplyDeleteI grow that purple queen plant although I have to take cuttings in the fall and bring them inside. It looks very nice with the yellow/green potato vine.
ReplyDeleteThe fixed up planter looks much better. Reminds me of the garden ties I have to fix up in my yard.
Sue, thanks and I will let the Saint know that our idea may be passed along for someone else to use. That is great to know that we may have helped someone else with a garden issue....
ReplyDeleteRose, Low maintenance is the way I would like to go as this area is sometimes over looked by us. The purple Queen was coming back as does the salvia then with a few other low main things such as petunia, marigold, it should have been a easy planter but the purple queen being munched on by the voles messed up the entire thing and the salvia looks a bit scraggly at times so maybe I should move it to some place with more sun. I do like my Saint!
Dan, The purple queen returns as long as the Voles dont eat it! Arg, those little mean critters. Get those ties ready as you will be planting before long!