Garden Gate Updated

I have always loved the idea of a secret garden. You know, when you get just a glimpse of a beautiful, tranquil spot and it makes you want to see the whole thing. ​I have 2 gates that lead to my backyard that I've been dreaming of adding some kind of window to, to allow a peek into my garden. I found some wrought iron pieces that I decided would be great inserts.

There are 3 of them and they are the same design, but the years have left them a bit rusted and bent. Just my style. The gate that I decided to rework looked like this before I started;​

The first thing I did was to remove the diagonal 2x4 from the top section of the door. Then I held the piece of wrought iron in position and traced around it with a pencil. 

Using my jigsaw, I cut out the pattern I had traced.​

The last step was to put the wrought iron in the cut out and secure it. My original idea was to nail a few wood strips on either side to hold it in place, but I didn't like the way that looked. I ended up using liquid nails. That is just really strong construction glue that you apply with a caulk gun.​ It worked! I'm thrilled with the end result.

FYI: I was able to do this because this gate still has plenty of support with just the bottom diagonal in place, because it was divided into 2 sections. My other gate is built differently and would fall apart if I removed the diagonal because there is just 1 diagonal that runs the full height of the gate. That will be another project... Make sure your gate will still be structurally sound before you cut a hole in it. 

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This project surprised me by how easy it was to completely change the look of my gate. I took me 1 hour and 10 minutes from beginning to end. Really! ​

I'll keep you posted...​

Lynn

Hanging Baskets

Spring is here so that means it's time to replant my hanging baskets. I have a confession. I didn't plant my baskets this past winter, so they've been neglected for a while now and it shows. The birds and squirrels have had great fun stealing my moss for their nests. In some places, the dirt has even fallen out.  ​

Pretty bleak...​

A trip to the nursery was the first order of business. I knew I needed moss, dirt, and plants. This year I decided orange was my color. I bought  a couple of crotons, a small philodendron, an upright ivy I had never seen before with silvery foliage, and some orange impatiens.​

​I bring everything out to the basket before I start planting.

The moss I bought is a dry sphagnum moss, so I needed to hydrate it. I filled my ​green bucket with water and added the moss. Let it sit for a few minutes to absorb some water, then start filling in the basket. If you're starting with an empty basket, put the moss in the bottom first, then keep adding up the sides, putting in soil to hold it in place. For this basket, I just needed to fill in the blank spots.

Once all the moss is in place, I like to put all the plants in place in their containers so that I can see where to position them. ​

​Move the plants around to find the best placement.

Remember to think about how each plant will grow when you are playing around with the positioning. Make sure that the plants that will grow the tallest are in back. When you like how everything looks, just start planting. Be sure to soak it all really well after you're finished.​

I love the vibrant colors! Even though this basket is in the shade most of the day, I can see all the bright colors from my kitchen window and that makes me happy.​

You'll notice that I planted this basket so that it's pretty full starting out, but there is still plenty of room for the plants to fill out. I'll try to remember to take another picture when it's full in a month or so.​

I'll keep you posted...​

Lynn