Gardening

Cheap way to cover a chainlink fence

June 7, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Welcome back to our third check in on our curb appeal project. One thing I really enjoy and struggle with in these types of projects are blending what I like, with budget, with what’s socially acceptable for the neighborhood. Most of us are well aware that pallet projects have been around, have hit their prime and are basically common knowledge. So today, I present to you just one more way to utilize those pallets.

This may not work for every neighborhood. But for my neighborhood, it’s a bit eclectic and by the beach. You know how creative and repurposeful those beachy folk get.

pallet fence with planter pots

The Cheap Way To Cover A Chain Link Fence

If you’ve got some visible chainlink fence that you want to liven up a bit and that you want to make a little more private, pallets can be a really cute, kitschy and inexpensive way of doing this.

Paint your pallet your preferred color.

Pose the pallet against the fence and straighten. Use heavy duty zip ties to secure it to the fence. You must use a heavy duty zip tie that is made for outdoor use.

Once secure, drill through plastic planter pots into the pallet for a pretty plant filled fence. Colorful, practical and cheap!

painted pallet for fencing project

heavy duty zip ties hold pallet to chain link fence

screw through plastic planter pot into pallet wood

Now that you’re armed with a new way to utilize those pallets, be sure to visit the other ladies participating in this curb appeal challenge:

The cheapest way to hide a lessen the eyesore of a chain link fence and add a bit of privacy to your yard

Love pallet projects? How about one on wheels! A pallet fence on the go? Yes…

How To Remove Bushes

May 31, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

It’s been a week since I announced my participation and plans for a curb appeal themed challenge. My curb appeal sucks. And so I’m hoping to do my best to get the area looking as better as I can get it in a matter of a few weeks.

It’s been raining nearly nonstop since last Tuesday. What a bummer! We did manage to get the bushes removed. It’s strange how much bigger the house looks without them. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a small house at 1,200 square feet, but it’s a strange illusion nonetheless.

Since there hasn’t been a whole lot else going on besides removing the bushes, I figured I ought to share exactly how we did it. We knocked out 6 bushes and 4 trees in less than an hour (we only removed half the stumps though, so there’s that additional time we still have to put in). There was a lot of sweat, so the rain shower we received just after was welcomed.

How To Remove Bushes:

These bushes were shockingly massive. It took taking them out and seeing how much yard they took up to see just how big they really were.

First, we used bypass loppers to expose the base of each bush. The branches were long do to make it easier to cut through the base of each bush, we used the loppers to cut off the lower branches so we could reach with the reciprocating saw.

Once the trunk was exposed we cut through it with a reciprocating saw (as I just mentioned). This just helped us cut down on the amount of branches we had to work around to get to the trunk.

Then using a digging shovel we worked our way around the base of each bush, occasionally pulling out the axe to cut through especially thick roots.

The rain was coming back over us so we only did the side we plan on doing the patio. But here’s the before and after!

In The Next Week:

What I hope to accomplish this next week is getting the patio set up. I’m not following traditional instructions for getting this put in because I’m lazy and our soil is tough with very thick grass.

The plan is to use these two products:

I’m also hoping to get a tree planted on the other side of the yard, a new mailbox installed, and I want to start working on a cute house number + planter project. Still lots to go! Pray this rain lets up for me, will ya?

Check in with the progress on the other’s blogger’s curb appeal projects here:

Paint Yourself a Smile

A Designer at Home

Seed Sorting: My Free System

May 30, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Even if you’re not an avid or successful gardener, a seed collection can pile up. Case in point- me! Whether I’m buying them myself or they’re being gifted to me, the pile seems to double on me at least once a year. Now that I’ve quit my job and have a bit more time on my hands, I want to start planting and actually using the seeds I’ve been hoarding.

But if you know a little about gardening, you know that every plant has an optimal planting time frame during the year. So a good chunk of my seeds aren’t meant to be planted right now and it’d just be a waste to do any planting work on them.

My seeds have been sitting on my kitchen countertop for a while now while I try to figure out what to do with them. I wanted them visible so I could actively try to come up with a solution. I didn’t want to spend much, if any, money on a solution because I’m working on making over our front yard and am still finishing up the dining room right now (and technically the bathroom, but there’s no more expenses for that, I just need to finish installing everything).

And then an idea sparked!

My Free Seed Sorting System

I used to get a lot of junk mail before I figured out how to stop receiving a lot of things. I always felt bad about the waste though and kept the return envelopes that came with a lot of things. I’ve got a pretty massive mile of them that are also waiting for their purpose.

So I grabbed 12 of those old envelopes, labelled them with each of the months, and sorted the seeds based on what the package recommended for my zone.

I now have a small section in a cabinet of my kitchen with each month’s envelopes. At the start of each month I’ll just pull out the corresponding envelope and pick which seeds I want to plant and execute that over the course of that month.

Recycling is an awesome system and I love finding creative ways of doing it in my own home. I know this idea is probably way elementary compared to some more extensive systems you’ll likely find. But given I didn’t spend a single dime, I thought this idea could help someone else out, too!

So remember, save those return envelopes from your junk mail, you never know when they’ll come in handy for seed sorting or something else!

Curb Appeal Challenge Week1

May 24, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

3 week curb appeal project a 1950's brick ranch front yard makeover. The plans a pergola, a patio, new plants and lots of paint

Story of my life: I enter a challenge, don’t finish on time, take a break then jump into a challenge for a different space before the previous one is complete. Oops.

Today is the first day of a fun challenge my friend Deb of Seeking Lavender Lane brought together a group of us to work on upgrading our curb appeal. Mine is bad. So this is a really good opportunity for me to shift focus on my home’s first impression. If you’re like me, you like to work on spaces you actually use first, but I don’t want to wait until we’re trying to sell this house to make it pretty.

Here’s what I’m starting with: *warning: things are about to get real*

1950's built brick home before a curb appeal makeover project

brick range in need of curb appeal attention

Desperate side yard in need of yard maintenance

Just.. don’t ask. Things were crazy this past year and this whole area was priority 1,000.

So anyways, I gravitate towards a cottage bungalow vibe when I look at homes online or when I’m driving about. But I’m also all about that boho. So that’s the style I’m after. If I were to get everything I want done to this front yard done, this would be the list:

~~Replace roof.~~ completed just a couple weeks ago
Edge Lawn.
Pull the bushes out. Replace the bushes in front of the living room (far left) and the far right window with a garden bed full of banana leaf plants, azalea bushes, gardenia bushes, beachy grasses and hostas.
The middle window’s awning gets removed, a pergola put over this space to provide shade for a patio in between the porch and the garden bed in front of far right window.
On this patio put a small seating area and proper storage for the garden hose and front yard toys.
A solution for drying shoes.
The other awnings stay but get a good cleaning and a new paint job. In the good ol’ 4 season state that Virginia is, we get hot summers these awnings help protect the temperature in our house from and they help protect the windows from high winds and rain that come with our hurricane season.
Paint the brick a cream/tan color.
Paint the porch, porch railings and front door.
A second tree will be planted in the right side of the yard to help provide shade for the bedrooms.
Remove the pseudo lattice and repurpose wood to make planter box.
Repaint the house numbers and hang them.
Replace and hang mailbox.
Replace chain link fence with wood fencing.
Fence in front yard with a white powder coated iron fence.

Most of that won’t get done but those are my goal. Beautiful front yards take some time to grow into their look. Follow along these next 3 weeks to see how much of this gets done and to see how my friends below transform their spaces:

Simple Nature Decor

Seeking Lavender Lane

The Deans List

Mom Home Guide

Curly Crafty Mom

My Life From Home

Lehman Lane

Knock It Off Kim

Paint Yourself a Smile

Our House now a Home

Pro Plant Purchasing Tips

April 12, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

plant purchasin tips

I have bought hundreds upon hundred of dollars worth of plants. Seriously! And through all that I’ve had a lot of practice picking which plants are easy to care for, what to look for when buying houseplants and red flags. Since I am amidst a full overhaul of our dining room I needed (yes, needed ;)) to buy a lot of plants and it struck me, “Hey! I might know a thing or two I can share with my friends on the blog.” So after a large plant shopping trip at The Home Depot over the weekend, I’m ready to sit down and chat about all the things I look for, avoid and think about when buying new houseplants

My place of choice for buying plant? I like to buy my plants from The Home Depot. I have less problems with pests and diseases when I buy my plants from them. I also have a local nursery that I favor just to make sure I’m putting money back into my local economy, too.

The one thing I can’t stress enough: Do a bit of research on the plants you’re interested in caring for. You won’t regret this. It’ll help you when determining if the plant you’re picking up at the store is healthy and you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into once you get it home.

Signs of sickness: Yellowing that shouldn’t be there, droopy leaves, dull color and lack of new growth are all signs that a plant isn’t faring too well. Unless you’ve had practice reviving plants, these may be things you want to avoid. Aldo check the base of the plant for softness that shouldn’t be there, small bugs, and spots that may indicate bugs have been eating on it or have laid eggs on it. Bringing home 1 sick plant can ruin all of the hard work you’ve put into your other plants.

Personal Tip: I spray all my plants down with a Insecticide/Fungicide/Miticide Spray when I first bring them home. This one is my favorite because it’s organic and works well.

Super Pro Tip: Find a pot with 2 healthy plants- split them and you’ve saved yourself from buying 2!

Fancy pots vs Ugly: Are you buying a plant because you have a pot to fill or are youbuying a plant that’s also going to need a pot? If you already have a pot, make sure you’re not paying extra for a decorative pot. You’ll pay a lot more than you should for the plant because those decorative pots normally don’t hold up very well. And, chances are pretty good you’ll have to repot soon anyways since oftentimes plants are sold in pots they’ve already outgrown.

Super Pro Tip: Buy bushier plants that have outgrown their pot at the smaller pot size instead up paying the upcharge for the same size plant in a larger pot. I see multiple different sizes of pothos all the time. Usually a small pot, a bigger pot and a hanging pot. Most of the time the plant is the same size in each of the pots, so I buy the cheapest one and that’s usually the small pot.

Which Plants To Buy?

My favorite viney plants are Pothos and Philodendron

My favorite big leafed plant is the Fiddle Leaf Fig

My favorite tropical plant is the Dracaena

My favorite decorative plant is Lucky Bamboo

My favorite low light plant is Sanseveria

My favorite bright light plant is Peace Lily

Easiest To Care For: Pothos, Lucky Bamboo
Moderately Easiest To Care For: Peace Lily, Dracaena
Plants I’ve obliterated: Succulents, Air Plants, Elephant Bush, Yucca

These are just the ones I’ve had the most success with personally. It takes a bit of trial and error. Like some people do wonderfully with air plants and succulents and you’ll notice I didn’t share either of those (technically the sanseveria is a succulent but we’ll save that for another day)

I hope these tips and advice is helpful to you! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to get you an answer. Caring for houseplants is so therapeutic and choosing which plant to purchase doesn’t have to be so hard. I have to say though, go for a pothos- they’re awesome!

Pro Plant Purchasing Tips