Garden Signs

I love garden junk art, and I have it all around my yard. 

Well, usually I have it all around my yard. Right now most of it is packed away in the shed while the new sprinkler system is being installed. Are you as surprised as I am that the sprinklers aren't finished yet?    

First, it rained, and then the contractor got sick. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better soon and have the new sod in before the temperatures climb much higher. I'm afraid it's too late now for a vegetable garden this year, and the summer heat will have us waiting until next fall to plant new bushes and perennials. 

There must be a silver lining around here somewhere... oh, there it is: with no yard to fiddle with I'll have lots more time to work on indoor projects this summer. 

 

Elizabeth & Co.

My dear friend, Sharon, is hosting her June Garden Party at Elizabeth & Co. and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'd never show up to a party empty handed, though, so today I'm sharing an easy garden art project I made last year and first showed you on my urban garden post here.

 Last summer I made these directional garden signs as a little garden humor because my yard is so small that you sure don't need a sign to find anything!

 I chose a spot for them at the corner of the house between the side yard where the vegetable garden beds are, and the back yard where the deck and shed are. You can see it all if you simply turn around, but I think the signs add some charm and whimsy to an otherwise empty expanse of fence. They make me smile!

 You might remember this old milk can, now sitting beneath the signs, that I faux rust-painted back in this post. I'm thinking it would make a good perch for a potted flowering vine to twine around the gate. What do you think?

 My husband built the gate that I shared in this post. He built it to keep a couple of sneaky tomato bandits out of the vegetable garden. 

Sneaky tomato bandits.

 The signs were super easy to make. I cut some 1" x 2" lumber into 12" lengths and trimmed the ends to a point. I dry brushed a couple of swipes of acrylic craft paint on each piece and painted the place-name over that. To seal and protect, I went over it all with some Minwax wood stain. 

No one will be getting lost in my yard thanks to my cute little garden signs! 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my garden today. 

I hope you have a great week! 

Please come join the fun parties at 

Elizabeth & Co.
Coastal Charm 
Green Willow Pond
Common Ground 
Rooted in Thyme 
My Repurposed Life 
 

Rebuilding My Yard

I went outside today, camera in hand, to take photos of my yard. It wasn't until I looked around with an eye towards sharing it with you that I realized I have no yard worth sharing! 

So I've decided to share the process of building our new yard instead. 

This was my backyard last July: 

Green, lush, shaded, and full of healthy plants and flowers.

And this is my backyard today. (It actually hurts a little to look at it!) 

 We had the large old shade tree removed earlier this spring for safety reasons, and now must redesign our yard to survive the high desert sunshine left in its absence.

 

First, since the fence had to be taken out for the tree removal, my husband replaced all the old posts and side rails before putting it back again. Then he rebuilt part of the deck and added a new stair where the tree trunk had been.

 We're having automatic sprinklers installed soon in both the front and back yards, but our main water line wasn't adequate. The water company said we're one of the last old homes in the North End to be updated, probably because I've been watering the yard myself one little section at a time for the past twenty-five years! I can't tell you how excited I am about not having to do this anymore!

 After the street service was updated by the water company, we had new larger pipes installed all the way to the house by another excavator and plumber. The entire front yard was pretty much dug up by the time it was all done. 

 

Meanwhile, we used hoses to map out where we want our new planting beds and grass in the backyard. (The black hose is where the new border will be.) As you can see, the old shade grass didn't last long in the sun, and we are planning a smaller lawn of drought and sun tolerant grass. We're also having the sad-looking front yard grass replaced with a new healthier drought tolerant lawn.

The tall Karl Foerster grasses that we removed to make room for the tree removal equipment will go back in along the fence with more drought tolerant sun loving plants filling in the larger beds. We're also adding a couple of smaller beds on either side of the new deck stairs. We borrowed the huge plastic pots for storing the grasses from our local nursery. 

We don't have any homes nearby directly behind us and can see the the cute houses on the next block over and the snow capped mountains of the Boise Front off in the distance over the fence and through the trees. 

We also love seeing the huge thunderheads building up in the sky over the Rocky Mountains. It all makes our tiny yard seem much larger than it is, and for living in the middle of a city we think we have a great view. 

  

 There is a house behind us on the right, though, and it will be screened by this new tree we planted. We chose an Eastern Redbud that will stay small enough not to interfere with the power lines above and won't drop messy fruit on the sidewalk leading to the alley below. On such a small city lot, every little decision matters. Unlike my favorite Dogwood Tree, this Eastern Redbud will tolerate the hot full sun. It also gets pretty pinkish red flowers in the spring.

It sounded so good for our tiny yard, in fact, that we planted a twin on the other side by the shed to screen the house there on the left from our view, too. We've had problems with the squirrels damaging trees in the past, but they don't seem to like chewing on the Redbuds for some reason.

This is my side yard with the cute potting bench my husband made me last fall. I'm dying to fill it with my gardening tools and share it on my blog, but as you can see, the mess around it doesn't make for good photos. 

 These are roses we've had to dig up and store in buckets until the sprinklers go in. They're sitting in the raised garden beds that normally would be full of spinach and radishes by now. Everything is on hold for the sprinklers, and I feel completely discombobulated by missing my usual spring routine of digging and planting. 

I have to keep reminding myself that Rome wasn't built in a day and my new yard and gardens will take some time.

I'm happy to report that at least the clematises I planted last year are doing well, safe from being moved for the sprinklers because they grow up out of the way on their trellis.

So, progress is being made. It's just not very photogenic progress. I hope to have photos of fresh new lawns, dewy with drops of automatically sprinkled water, to share in a few weeks.

Please join me today at the fun new Garden Party at Elizabeth & Co.  

Elizabeth & Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{ If you're interested in seeing more of my former yard, please visit the My Urban Garden tab at the top of this page.}

May Garden Party at Elizabeth & Co.

I have some great news!

My friend Sharon over at Elizabeth & Co. is hosting a new link party!

 


Elizabeth & Co. is one of my favorite blogs, and Sharon is one of my favorite people. Sharon's usually busy painting vintage furniture for her famous tag sales. 

Sharon's yellow and white cottage dresser at Elizabeth & Co.

Elizabeth & Co. Tag Sale

 And hosting her popular Be Inspired at Elizabeth & Co. link parties. 

She's one busy lady! 

On top of all of her many other activities, Sharon is an accomplished gardener.

Sharon's beautiful flower pots at Elizabeth & Co.

And now Sharon has graciously invited us to her new party!

 "Link up any outdoor/garden related project you'd like to share - what's growing in your yard or garden, patio gardens, landscaping, outdoor related craft projects, garden furniture or décor and of course we love pretty porches and patios!"


How fun is that!

My kitchen garden

I just linked up the very first garden post I ever wrote (about preparing organic bedding soil) and I'll be outside later this week taking some new photos for another May Garden Party link.  


Because you know I'm a party girl!

My Urban Garden

Elizabeth & Co. will start a new party on the second weekend of each month, and we can link up as often as we'd like!

Sharon's gorgeous spring garden at Elizabeth & Co.

I can't wait to be inspired by all the gardening links to the new Elizabeth & Co. Garden Party. 

I hope to see you all at this fun new party soon. 

Thank you for hosting, Sharon!