Garage Door...Bench

So what did my old garage door turn into? 

If you guessed a bench than you win the prize!

Except I don't have a prize..... you'll just have to live with the satisfaction of knowing you are so smart and creative! And you were right. And we all know how much we all love being right.....Right? 

Now let's see what's left (Wahaha) of my garage doors!

I took two of the middle sections and used the better one for the top and the lesser one for the supports.

Because it was quite heavy, I added a support in the middle and braced the two ends with some high quality cabinet grade wood we had from one of our rentals. I was not in love with the gray but wasn't sure I wanted to tackle making her nekkid. But when I saw my friend Amy's window sill she had just striped using a heat gun, I quickly changed my mind. She let me borrow it and I was not disappointed. I  was not concerned with getting it down to the bare wood. I wanted it to be a little rustic and loved.

 I also know these pillows are not vintage enough but I'm working on it and I will show you what I came up with after we finish our annual summer party this weekend and we return from vacation the next week! THese pillows only cost $3 each at the local thrift. So I got all 6 because I know when you find good pillows and in a large matching quantity like this, who cares what they look like because you can always recover them in the fabric of your choice.   Just like matching lamps at the thrift. DO NOT PASS THEM UP! or you will be seeing them on someone else's blog and you will kick yourself for  being a DIY poser.

 This was supposed to be used for my super cool, huge farmhouse table I scored on the trash. (I was stalking that house for days, just waiting for the moment they took it to the curb. The moment it happened I grabbed my amazing son and we took the dolly down two blocks,  wrestled it on and wheeled it back up our alley and into the back yard!) Ya' know, with me, you do not get boring.

 When I put in place by the table it looked like a beast! Too high, too long, too everything.

Sigh.

I thought about cutting off the two end panels, or just making the supports shorter but have you read my post on my 4th of July dresses recently? Patience Kimmy-san.......something will come to you.....

As I was working on this, we had ripped out all of my plants along this wall and moved them in preparation for a deck.....which we then decided to postpone until next year. So this wall actually started to look like a great place for a vintage, reclaimed wood, garage door couch!

I love it. It looks and feels like it belongs. It is amazingly comfortable to sit on and my girls have already started to enjoy it at night while waiting for the fireflies to come a-knocking.

So, did I do good?

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!      

 

 

Container Garden Ideas and a What will it be Wednesday?

I went plant shopping on Monday went to work immediately getting them into their new homes.

Thought I'd show you some of the ways I use different types of containers to bring color into my little garden.

This used to have a green glass insert until I broke it. I decided to line it with moss and use it as a planter.

Wet the moss down a bit and lay it against the sides. Line it with a small baggie with a few holes punched into the bottom. Fill with soil.

Plant your plants! Odd numbers of anything always looks pleasing to the eye and this goes for plants as well. I used white Caladium, not sure what the vines thing is and Colabrachia. I also use the following formula for my containers. 1 tall, 1 short mounding, and 1 trailing. Vary the color and shape of the foliage as well.

The spikes are fake! The Caladium needed some support and it works!

Save those packing peanuts!! They are amazing at providing drainage with no added weight to your container. I bet those circus peanuts would work just as well. They are even harder and less likely to break down. Think of what they do to your digestive system!

Lobelia in purple. 

Hanging them on either side of the door draws your eye up, again to add height to my garden that isn't there yet, and it draws your eyes to the original door which I love. Yes, I did just notice that I haven't scraped the paint from the panes and I guess it will have to wait until I paint the door black before that gets done. For real.

Use a cool bowl or vase (how about a trifle stand?) for little plants. A few of these containers different heights and sizes will make a beautiful grouping.

How to fill large containers: A few tips...

My kids got me these HUGE copper containers last year for Mother's Day. Big containers need BIG plants. Please don't fill them with impatiens! It doesn't do either the plant or the container any favors. 

Rule of thumb for buying plants for container gardens. At least one of your  plants should be 1.5 times as tall as the height of your container. I have 6 plants in this container but it is visually appealing due to the color combos and the varied heights. 

The exception to the rule is those tall, thin containers. Think of them as pedestals. The plant you put in them should be kind of unique, like you are putting it on a pedestal to show it off. The plant obviously can't be 1.5 times the height! But it should be very interesting to look at in my opinion. It is being showcased.

This was about a week after I planted these so these plants fill in very quickly. I used 1 of each:

Purple Fountain Grass, variegated Coleus, Asparagus Fern, Purple Ice plant (a sedum), Purple Potato Vine, and Creeping Jenny.

4 of the plants have varied shades of purple. 2 have some chartreuse, and all have different foliage shapes.

2 are trailing, the asparagus is half-mounding and half trailing, the Coleus and Ice plant are mounding and of course the Fountain Grass is there for the height. 

I overwintered the container this year and the potato vine and asparagus fern made it. Only one fountain grass came back and I see some creeping jenny returning slowly. Try it. Overwintering can save you some dough on plants. You might only have to buy half as much. You might have to cut them back a bit to keep them from getting too leggy but it is worth it. I took quite a few cuttings of the ice plant, potato vine, and coleus when I was cutting them back and now have new plants so that can save you some moohla as well. Take the cuttings in the Fall and root them and then put them in little pots and keep them going over the winter. Now you have your plants for this spring!

OK-on to What Will it be Wednesday?

Can you even guess what these were to begin with?

These were the original tops of the downspouts on our garage! Gorgeous Huh!?! I saved them for about 3 years. So glad I did! Can't wait to show you. And just because they are on my table with dirt and plant stuff doesn't mean a thing. Just needed a place to photograph and I was outside so it worked. Please feel free to comment and tell me either what you thought they were or what they will be.

This is how our sky looked on Monday after I finished up the plantings. 

I think God has the best paint brush ever...

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are.