Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Planter Rehab

By SKEETER:
I am sick of being sick! Anyone else ever feel this way after dealing with sickness for two weeks? I decided I had been out of my Georgia Gardens long enough. I took a box of tissues and off I went with my runny nose to the yard.

Our first project was to rehab the planter where the Oak Tree was taken down last fall. This was a 90 foot (if not taller) tree and it was too close to the house for comfort. One similar was hit by lightening and I feared this one was next. So down she came along with 3 other trees in this area. You can see another stump in the background. With such a large tree to cut, it damaged the rotting timbers to the planter of Liriope below. New timbers and we are ready to rehab. Two piles of split wood waiting for the free taking! Our woodshed is full and our pile for backyard campfires is plenty so we are giving the remaining wood away.
We found the same type timbers and decided to go with that as it would make things easy. So we thought anyway. See the end of the old planter? It was jointed by a slice of a timber knocked into the ground.
Well, funny thing, when we replaced the timbers, they were shorter then the old timbers. Ha, consumer beware! Timbers are now a bit shorter probably to save money for the company manufacturing them. Grrrrrrrrrr... No problem, I had an idea and the Saint put it into motion. We made forms on each corner. Not pretty forms but doing this on the cheap and quick.
Each corner was a different size.
We had a bag of quikrete on hand and picked up an extra bag just in case we would need two. Of course both bags we had were small and the Saint had to make a quick run to town for one more bag to finish the last corner. We never calculate properly with bags of anything. Like gravel, sand and quikrete!
Amazing how adding water turns this power, sand, gravel mixture into concrete.
Once we had our oatmeal just right, we poured it into each form.
I had four tiles laying around and decided to top off each corner with one for a bit of interest.
The next day, we tapped off the forms and Bingo! Perfect corners for our new planter. They are just the rustic look I was hoping for!
We now have a new one of a kind planter! This is last years Liriope with a slight hair cut before we started placing the timbers. In no time at all, it will cover the sides of the planter. What is that on the stump and what is the Saint doing by the grill?The Stump has a beautiful black cat face on it. Thank you so much Lola for this wonderful gift. It took me a while but I finally found the perfect spot for it! I can see it from my sun-room windows. The birdbath is not staying there. It was just there for the meantime. Question, Should we try to cut the stump top even or leave it as this? The Saint likes it as is for some reason when I would prefer it level to hold a plant. Hum, I could put two plants and stagger them. Ha, I may have just answered my own question.
Ah, the Saint was grilling some awesome chickens! We have enough left overs so I don't have to worry about cooking dinner each evening this week. I can play in the garden and not have to worry about dinner as it is already there waiting for the heat up.

There you have it, a PLANTER REHAB, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

25 comments:

  1. It looks great Skeeter..so, sorry your nose is still running..but like the great gardener you are, sniffles and all out to the garden! I love the tiles you placed on each corner. Oh and I think two planters on the stumps is the answer, combinations with spiky for height and trailing...oh, la la!

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  2. Sorry to read you are still under the weather. Hope you feel better soon. I love your new planter and absolutely LOVE your four corners with the tiles. I like the uneven stump, for two planters. It has more interest than if it was cut off straight.

    Happy Gardening and Be well.

    FlowerLady

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  3. The concrete posts are awesome and look great! You are most creative to come up with that idea. Good thing you had the four tiles laying around too. Yum on the chicken! The cat face looks right at home. Lucky whoever come and gets free firewood! I hope you start feeling better soon. P.S. Leave the stumps staggered. More interest.

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  4. The fix for the corners of your planter are great. I really like that you added the tile. Put some plants on those stumps and they'll look wonderful. Free plant stands. So good of the saint to make you some extra meals. Have fun in the garden!

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  5. Hello everyone! Overcast with chance of rain today but not going to keep me out of the garden unless the rain falls. I have a goal set by the weekend and I will make it!

    I do think I will keep the stump staggered. I like the idea of Darla with spike plant and then a draping plant below!

    Off I go now…

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  6. Thanks for the heads up on the variations on timber....those rascals. But you fixed up what could have been a disaster into a creative, one of a kind planter! I like the addition of the tile. Very nice!

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  7. A little garden therapy is good for the soul! I like the concrete corners with the tile on them, very clever.

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  8. Good improvising on the cement and tiles! Sounds like you had a busy but productive gardening weekend.

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  9. So sorry that you have still been under the weather. I am glad that you are able to venture out a little. Your idea to solve the problem with the timbers was a great one. I love the decorative tile that you added. Carla

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  10. Your new planter looks great, Skeeter--I love the corners with the tile on top! A great job of turning a "mistake" into something unique. I agree the staggered stumps with a planter on each would add just the right finishing touch. Hope you're feeling better soon!

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  11. Thanks everyone! We do a lot of improve in this yard. Sometimes it turns out well and sometime not so. That is the nature of the beast of working on a budget…

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  12. I love how you addressed the corners Skeeter - really adds a wonderful touch to your newly-renovated bed.

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  13. Awesome job on the planter and the tiles are just great. One of a kind that looks great and I know whatever you come up with for the stumps will be just as great.

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  14. Wow, you got so much accomplished. I am trying to refininsh my deck between downpours and cold weather.

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  15. Looks great--and the corner tiles just make it! What a good idea. Don't you just love new planting opportunities! :)

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  16. I'm sorry to hear you're still not feeling well... :( I love the tiles at the four corners of the planting bed, and the cat face is great!

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  17. I do hope your day in the garden made you feel a little better. It certainly looks like you were busy

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  18. Raining a bit now so I am back in the house ready to work on another project thatI hope to show you soon. I ran to the Garden Center and found my first Hellebores in our garden center! I wonder if their buyers are reading the blogs! This will be number 2 for me so I am on the way with my collection! I also found 6-packs of violas for .50 each and had to jump on that bargain by getting an entire flat of them! I picked up a spike plant and some ivy for the two pots on the stump I showed today. I will pass along a pic with my next post....

    Now to my indoor project....
    Everyone have a good evening...

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  19. Oh, I'm always so sad to lose a tree but I understand. It would be worse to lose a house! We had to do the same thing to a box elder only we left half of it and now it is the ugliest suckering stump ever but, oh well, the birds love it. Your new bed looks great and the tiles on your corners are beautiful. I am fond of stumps and I'm sure you will find a great way to show them off.

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  20. OH! I meant to say that grilled chicken looks so so good ... can't wait for warmer weather up here!

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  21. Poor Skeeter, hope you start feeling better soon. This was a truly clever idea! I showed hubby and he was impressed. :)

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  22. Wow Roxanne, those are really lovely arrangements for your garden. That tree was so big, so you produced lots of timber, that can already sum a lot here! The corners look great, as if i can sit on the ledge and put my cup of coffee on the new tile. The staggered stump is more artistic, look at Ikebana arrangements, they are staggered to mimic heaven, man, earth! And i can smell the roasting chicken, hmmm, now i'm hungry. Hope the happiness in the garden is enough to get you well.

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  23. Hello all.
    I love your "new" post for the bed. I did notice the "kitty" over seeing your wonderful ingenious idea.
    Sure hope you feel much better soon.
    Nice here to do gardening. I've been so busy. My ggs helped me Sat. to plant bush beans, okra & squash. Then he cut briers from one of my flower beds. He is a workaholic.

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  24. I've missed a lot of posts while we had our company. I love what you did with the planter, what a really are great idea! I'm jealous you have bbq weather already, I can almost smell the chicken grilling.

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