Landscaping a Pool

My good friend and Lawyer asked me if I would help her landscape her pool area. Since I have been toying with the idea of consulting in garden design......I agreed.
Her pool is a geometric shape with a free form patio around it. I will post some pictures once it stops raining. There was one request....nothing with flowers...NO BEES! The budget is $1,000. and I  have total control over the plantings. If you have ever bought shrubs, trees, groundcover and specimen plants for a large area, then you know that this is a tight budget.
Here are some of the natural designs I'm using for inspiration

Woodburn & Company

 

Creative Design Construction

DeCavitte Properties

Keith Willig Landscape

Betz Pools

This project should go fast. Do you have a favorite outdoor plant....that doesn't flower?

Pre-Season Garden Tour

These days I'm all about keeping my blog posts real. My home is as perfectly imperfect as yours. Some areas I love and some areas need attention.  When it comes to my garden, I never know what I will find at the beginning of Spring.
Let's do an evaluation together.
This is the vegetable garden that needs renovating.

The wood raised beds have decomposed.

The weeds are out of control.

This side needs more plants.

This is the back of my property. There is a chain link fence that surrounds the yard. I want to plant more evergreens against the fence. This area could look more lush.

Here you can really see how unattractive the fence is.

I would like to find something that will help keep the deer out of the yard.

The window boxes on the shed need fresh plants.

I have dug this weed out so many times....it's time for some weed killer.

This nasty weed has spread like crazy. I am not sure what I am going use on it....any suggestions?

Looks like Snowplow Jim's plow was set a little bit low. 

I need to rake this back into place.

It's a bit early, but I think the lavender that I planted may have survived the winter.

The white hydrangeas always look dead, but come back strong.

The Daffodil's look beautiful, and the Iris's need a clean up.

 I have tried to love these grasses over here....but I still don't think they work in this spot. I think I'll move them somewhere else.

This area needs a groundcover.

That's what my garden looks like when I start a new season. Have you made any gardening plans for your yard?

Organize Your Garden Stuff....Part Two

Yesterday, I told you how Lowe's challenged me (and sponsored me) to organize something. You may remember that I cleaned my tools before I organized them. If you are wondering how I decided to tidy up the inside of my shed....here is a clue.

This might be a good time to tell you that the disorganization is what lead to my bypass pruners obsession....but aren't they clean?
Now you need to see how I got here...It all started like this.

This is not staged....wait, it gets better

You know it would look so much cleaner if we didn't keep those golf clubs....just sayin.
On the other side, you ask

Do bikes and crutches go together?
Here is the best part, until this challenge...I didn't think it was that bad, well....compared to my garage.
Starting with this wall, I added two studs

A friend of mine used to say that the stud finder would go off every time he walked by it.
A trip to Lowe's for some pegboard cut to size (thank you Lowe's man who obsesses over measurements more than I).

Install the pegboard

Go ahead....add some trim around it....it's a girl's shed! 

Recognize the trim? You know how I like to use door casing.
Next, I added these full length shelves

Now this side looks like this

Can you see the bucket of oily sand? 
What about the other side? I'm so glad you asked. Using this system...I hung the bikes and the golf clubs.

Yes, that would be a 10-speed bike. It's vintage, and so is the man who doesn't rides it.
Other tools

I fell in love, that sounds a bit weird...with these hooks! 
As you can see, I have room for more tools...yeah.

Let's review....I went from this

To this

Now let's play a game....what is this?

For more great ideas, check out the updated Lowe's Creative Ideas page.

Clean and Organize Garden Stuff

I don't know about you, but I can definitely feel the difference in the morning air. Yes, we have some warm days left...but Fall is coming. This month, my Lowe's Garden Challenge is:
Address the Mess - Pick an area that could use a creative approach to organization or storage for your gardening tools and accessories. 
How fantastic is that? Lowe's is sponsoring me to organize something! You may remember that last month, I showed you how to improve the look of your garden shed

Well....I can assure you that the inside is in desperate need of organization. However, before I show it to you...I would like to share a great tip with you. 
How to clean your garden tools before you store them away for the winter.

This is super easy and a great way to prolong the life of your garden tools. All you need is three things; 1. A large bucket with a lid. I used a 5 gallon one. 2. Enough sand to fill the bucket. I used play sand. 3. A cleaning lubricant like Murphy's Oil Soap.
First, fill the bucket with sand

Next, add the oil soap to the sand...I used the whole bottle. You don't need to mix it...the shovel will do that.

Now find your favorite shovel that you may have left out in the rain one too many times. Yes, it is dirty, rusty, and sad....but wait! 

Plunge the shovel (or any tool) up and down into the oily sand

This is what it looks like after a few stabs into the sand. The oil and sand do all the work.

 Yes, I switched shovels on you...thanks for noticing. I forgot to take a before picture of this shovel. 
Now here are my two besties

They could use a bit more cleaning...but the season is not over yet, and I have big plans for them before I put them away for the winter. 

Here is my favorite part....cover the oily sand mixture until next time...or next year!

Want to see how I organized the inside of my shed? Me too...come back tomorrow for part two.
Part two is here Since the kids are heading back to school, hop on over the the Lowe's Creative Ideas site for some great Fall projects. Do you have any lined up?