Category: Current House

We’re taking advantage of this warm but not too warm spring weather with an outside project that has never been a priority.  Apparently I don’t have many pictures of the cobbled together rock planter, seen on the right, likely because I’ve always hated it.

It divides the flat parking and the steep driving sides of our driveway, with nearly a four-foot height difference between the two.  The planter is needed to help bridge the gap of elevation difference, but is difficult to navigate around with bigger vehicles.  A native Ponderosa Pine grew in the planter, taking up even more space.  We did like the height and interest it added, but weren’t sad when it died from beetle damage and had to be cut down.

Aside from the too large size, the planter construction was an ugly cobbled together mixture of leftover rocks.  Sandstone boulders from the property, left over landscape blocks, and thin sandstone stacked together made a wobbly structure.

Earlier this spring, I transplanted the peonies that were in here and starting pulling out the loose rocks.

In order to prep for the new planter, Ben used the bobcat to dig out the big rocks.

He dug down four feet to create an area to set the new planter in, which will get back filled after.

We intentionally left a 30 inch space between the wooden walkway and the future planter.  I’ll add plants to fill the gap, but also trail down the front slope.

So what type of planter are we installing?  Well, we kicked around several options.  Maybe a square plate steel design, similar to these:

Or a poured concrete shape, like this:

Perhaps even a horizontal wood one to mimic the balcony and deck railings.

All would be great, but I decided I wanted something softer and not angular; something round.  Preferably something with thin walls to allow as much planting space inside, without taking up more of the driveway.  Ben suggested a section of culvert, and though it seems strange, I really like it.

I prefer the parallel grooves compared to the angled screw thread pattern.  To better blend with the house materials, I hope to rust the metal to bring a bit of the rust steel to the planter.

Inside, I want to add a compact tree and surround the base with lavender to greet guests (and us) with that beautiful scent.  For now, we wait for our culvert section to come in.  Until then, I’ll be searching for trees, but I’m leaning toward an Ivory Silk Tree Lilac or an Amur Maple tree.  I’d love to hear your tree suggestions, keeping in mind we are zone 4 and want something that maxes out around 20 feet tall.

Spring is easily my favorite time of year.  It’s glorious to get out of the house after a long winter; seeing everything come to life again is a fresh start.  I’ve been spending as much time as possible outside, transplanting a few plants, pulling weeds, and filling my empty pots.

Back when we started landscaping our steeply sloped lot, we spread a lot of limestone rock.  Since then, I’ve slowly added plants throughout, and with several years to grow, things are finally filling in.  The Russian sage tends to spread, so I pull what I don’t want and leave the rest.  Free plants are a win in my book.

Along the road frontage, I’ve tucked a mix of succulents into gaps between the big boulders.  Lamb’s ear and lavender are drought tolerant, but form big, mounding piles that cover a lot of ground for one plant.

The row of Stella de Oro daylilies are filling in along the driveway, softening the edge.  Three Royal Purple Smoke Trees have tripled in size since planting, but are slow to fill out.

For a nice welcome at the top of the driveway, a clematis sits in a pot between the two garage doors.

Depending on how it does in the planter, I’ll build a bigger trellis, but this small one works for now.

Lining the front walkway, the row of Karl Foerster grasses will soon be at eye level, creating a living fence of sorts.  The swish sound in the wind combined with the nearby lavender scent is the perfect summer calm.

This spring, while checking out plants at Lowe’s, I saw two concrete pots for $28 each and quickly loaded them in the cart.  A lilac plant adds height, with succulents and a purple sweet potato vine to fill in.  Come fall, I’ll transplant the lilac near the top of the back hill.

Off to the side of the stone path, I set a Shepard’s hook into the rock with a hanging basket of succulents for a somewhat sculptural interest.

My first plant additions are thriving, though I now wish I had added more variety,  for more height and color.

The view from the back stairs is my favorite.  What looked like this in 2013, right after adding all of the limestone:

Now looks like this:

A viburnum proudly stands nearest the stairs, with a succulent below.  I think the deer carried a few little pieces of another over, which is a happy little accident that I let grow.

Spring blooming viburnum is a great pair to the hydrangea near the deck.  Unfortunately, it had a terrible aphid problem last year that I could only fix by cutting off the new growth.

Viburnum tend to get leggy, so it worked to keep it compact, but also decreased the amount of blooms.

Off the right end of the stairs is a cut flower garden with a mix of peonies, coreopsis, daylilies, hyssop, and a honeysuckle training on an orb.

Catmint have grown so, so well that they dot throughout our property.  Soon, they’ll be covered in unruly purple blooms and the bees will love it.

Another great grower is lavender, with the bonus of the amazing smell.  Angelina stonecrop has spread into the crannies of large rocks, carrying chartreuse color all around.

We haven’t put the table back on the deck, but the lounge chairs are out.  Our kids especially love these.

Flanking the chair are (chipping) pots loaded up with purple butterfly bushes and lime green sweet potato vines.  Though they look pathetically small right now, I hope they’ll fill in as the seasons progress.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working on a side project: a teacher lounge update.  Some days involved planning and shopping, while others involved sewing and painting.  The final install happened over the weekend, when a friend and I loaded in everything we’d been stockpiling.  First, let’s look at the before:

Everything was a mish mash of garage sale finds or left over school furniture.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with garage sale stuff, but it all served just one purpose and took up extra floor space.  Over on the opposite side, there’s a built-in cabinet and sink, a refrigerator, and a door to a supply room.  Please note the lovely wallpaper border with cans and lemons.

Freeing up more floor space while giving more storage was the main goal, with bonus points for style.  Oh, and we had a $1000 budget to make it all happen.  To save money, we kept the full-sized refrigerator, drink fridge, and chest freezer.  The tables and chairs were okay, so we kept those too.  The sofa, bakers rack, and random desks/tables left to make room for a full wall of cabinets.  To maximize the budget, we bought two unfinished base cabinets from Home Depot for $157 each.

For a dose of color, we painted these Sea Serpent from Sherwin Williams.

Ben built us a 12 foot long laminate counter top and I stained twelve-foot long 2 by 12 pine boards, to create open shelves.

Before, the built-in cabinet had bypass sliding doors that no longer slid smoothly.  After removing the doors and tracks, I painted the cabinet to match the new ones.

For a little flair, I chose to sand and stain the shelves.

Finally, last Thursday, we got to work in the room, giving the walls a fresh coat of light gray paint, Campfire Ash from Behr.

Already, the room looked bigger.  After painting, we quickly moved the furniture into place, snugging the table ends against the wall.  Straightening the refrigerator left enough room for the chest freezer.

The old sofa had seen better days, so I spruced up a mid-century modern beauty I had planned to use in the pool house, but no longer needed.

Allowing the paint to dry on Friday let us get in on Saturday to start installing the cabinets and shelves.  It only took a few hours with Ben and allowed us to use the vertical space that previously was ignored.  The small drink fridge tucked neatly between the base cabinets.

That evening, we organized all the drinks, snacks, utensils, plates, and the other goodies.

A cabinet full of dishes is equally beautiful and functional.  We’re looking forward to seeing other quotes pop up on that letter board.

Baskets of snacks anchor the center of the two shelves, with extra dishes on either side.  Two matching microwaves allow multiple users to make lunch.  A few teachers asked for an ice maker, so we happily bought a counter top machine.

In our quest to make the lounge feel more comfortable and homey, I created two botanical engineer prints to hang from the tack strip.  A big impact for less than ten bucks is great for our slim budget.  Faux succulents add a much needed look of life, without the hassle of someone having to actually take care of it.

A parent donated the wood art above the sofa and it’s a perfect addition.

Our biggest difficulty was the lack of outlets, so we had to get creative with our arrangement.  Placing the Keurig, coffee pot, and jar of K cups on the table end created another work zone to prevent cramped working spaces.  Though the teachers knew we were updating the room, we kept them out while working on it to make it a surprise.  Monday morning, they were surprised to see the new space and all gave rave reviews.  It certainly functions and looks better, but that starting point made nearly anything an improvement.  Teachers work so hard, we are really happy to give them a space that shows our appreciation.