Life: It's Filling In!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
DIY: Tutorial - Framed Vertical Succulent Garden...
...or as I like to call it, Living Art!
UPDATE 3.19.11: It's filling in...
I have a small pile of vintage frames collecting dust so I thought I'd use one to make a hanging succulent garden. I didn't have much luck finding one particular tutorial that best suited my needs so I gathered mental notes from a few sites, measured my frame and went off to the hardware store with little more than a concept of how it was all going to come together. I also brought Farilla alongto help carry supplies for moral support. He was none too pleased once he realized I was kinda making things up as I went along...but he finally came around!
My Supplies:
1- Vintage frame with a 16" x 20" interior opening
1- 20"x24" piece of 1" Chicken Wire
1- 9' long piece of 2"x"2"
1 - 22"x 26" piece of oak plywood for the backing
a bunch of nails (some 2 1/2 " & some 1")
1 spray can of clear satin water based outdoor Varathane Diamond Spar Urethane
~10 lbs of cactus soil
50+ succulent clippings
Tools:
Work Gloves
Wire cutters
Hammer
First, I applied about 4 coats of Spar Urethane varnish to the front and back of the frame. I let each coat dry completely before applying the next.
With the frame laying face down I pressed a large piece of 1" chicken wire down though the interior opening making sure it was flush with the front of the frame. Farilla then stapled the chicken wire into place on the back side of the frame. We removed all the excess wire with wire cutters. I highly recommend wearing work gloves while cutting the wire. Those edges are sharp.
Next, we used the 2 1/2" nails and secured the four 2"x2"wood strips (cut down from the 9' long piece noted above) to the back of the frame like so...
In order to keep the cactus soil from falling through the wire I lined it with Spanish moss.
Once the wire was completely covered I filled the framing to the brim with the cactus soil.
Then, Farilla secured the plywood to the wood strips with the 1" nails.
As a precaution, I slid an extra piece of plywood under the front to help keep the soil/moss from squishing out through the wire mesh as we flipped the frame up-right. This thing is seriously heavy!
Once we had the frame facing right side up I began filling it with the succulent clippings I've been collecting during walks around our neighborhood.
I also picked up about 15 more succulents from the 99 cent store....the best deal in town.
The ultimate goal is to fill the entire frame with plants. I'll be sure to post a photo once we get it all filled in. Due to the weight I don't think we'll be hanging our vertical garden but I'm convinced it will look just as lovely leaning up against the wall on our back patio. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome thus far!
A couple things worth noting: Next time, rather than 2"x2" strips of wood I'll only use 1" thick strips. And then I'll use screws to attach those wood strips into the back of the frame (rather than nails). This thing is so heavy the screws will help make it more secure.
UPDATE 3.19.11: It's filling in...
I have a small pile of vintage frames collecting dust so I thought I'd use one to make a hanging succulent garden. I didn't have much luck finding one particular tutorial that best suited my needs so I gathered mental notes from a few sites, measured my frame and went off to the hardware store with little more than a concept of how it was all going to come together. I also brought Farilla along
My Supplies:
1- Vintage frame with a 16" x 20" interior opening
1- 20"x24" piece of 1" Chicken Wire
1- 9' long piece of 2"x"2"
1 - 22"x 26" piece of oak plywood for the backing
a bunch of nails (some 2 1/2 " & some 1")
1 spray can of clear satin water based outdoor Varathane Diamond Spar Urethane
~10 lbs of cactus soil
50+ succulent clippings
Tools:
Work Gloves
Wire cutters
Hammer
First, I applied about 4 coats of Spar Urethane varnish to the front and back of the frame. I let each coat dry completely before applying the next.
With the frame laying face down I pressed a large piece of 1" chicken wire down though the interior opening making sure it was flush with the front of the frame. Farilla then stapled the chicken wire into place on the back side of the frame. We removed all the excess wire with wire cutters. I highly recommend wearing work gloves while cutting the wire. Those edges are sharp.
Next, we used the 2 1/2" nails and secured the four 2"x2"wood strips (cut down from the 9' long piece noted above) to the back of the frame like so...
In order to keep the cactus soil from falling through the wire I lined it with Spanish moss.
Once the wire was completely covered I filled the framing to the brim with the cactus soil.
Then, Farilla secured the plywood to the wood strips with the 1" nails.
As a precaution, I slid an extra piece of plywood under the front to help keep the soil/moss from squishing out through the wire mesh as we flipped the frame up-right. This thing is seriously heavy!
Once we had the frame facing right side up I began filling it with the succulent clippings I've been collecting during walks around our neighborhood.
I also picked up about 15 more succulents from the 99 cent store....the best deal in town.
The ultimate goal is to fill the entire frame with plants. I'll be sure to post a photo once we get it all filled in. Due to the weight I don't think we'll be hanging our vertical garden but I'm convinced it will look just as lovely leaning up against the wall on our back patio. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome thus far!
A couple things worth noting: Next time, rather than 2"x2" strips of wood I'll only use 1" thick strips. And then I'll use screws to attach those wood strips into the back of the frame (rather than nails). This thing is so heavy the screws will help make it more secure.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Art: Vertical/Hanging Garden In Silver Lake
Art: Vertical/Hanging Garden In Silver Lake
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
Last weekend we started making something similar to this vertical garden but on a much smaller scale. So far so good. Stay tuned...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Life: End Of July Garden Update...
We (still) have a ton of ripening tomatoes.
I harvested our first three Beefsteaks! Although, as you can see, they're not very beefy.
Yellow Peppers are finally starting to yellow. I was convinced they would never turn.
One of our Swiss Chard plants is still going strong as is our Kale. Lettuces and Spinach are all done. Our two hot pepper plants are producing like crazy! If you want some let me know. Corn is still not doing much since the incident. Eggplant has a bunch of flowers so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Cantaloupe has a few flowers...again, fingers crossed. Zucchini is doing well and producing a few zukes right now. Most of the herbs are flourishing. And we're getting another round of strawberries! Hopefully we'll get to them before the critters this time. I think it's time to start plotting out our Fall garden plantings. I'm thinking we need to do another round of onions, some broccoli and more tomatoes. We'll see!
I harvested our first three Beefsteaks! Although, as you can see, they're not very beefy.
Yellow Peppers are finally starting to yellow. I was convinced they would never turn.
One of our Swiss Chard plants is still going strong as is our Kale. Lettuces and Spinach are all done. Our two hot pepper plants are producing like crazy! If you want some let me know. Corn is still not doing much since the incident. Eggplant has a bunch of flowers so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Cantaloupe has a few flowers...again, fingers crossed. Zucchini is doing well and producing a few zukes right now. Most of the herbs are flourishing. And we're getting another round of strawberries! Hopefully we'll get to them before the critters this time. I think it's time to start plotting out our Fall garden plantings. I'm thinking we need to do another round of onions, some broccoli and more tomatoes. We'll see!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Life: Straight Off Of Our Apple Tree
Life: Straight Off Of Our Apple Tree
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
First apple of the season! Apparently this tree has never produced edible fruit before. Lucky us!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
LIfe: Mid-July Garden Update
First, the bad news: City workers trampled our garden a few weeks ago while trimming back our Eucalyptus tree which had intertwined itself in the power lines that run down the back of the property lines on our block. Boo! Artichoke was squashed but seems to be recovering. Tomato plants lost a few branches. I found the one hot pepper we had growing at the time lying in the dirt next to the pepper plant. And our Corn.....*sigh*...well, the corn received the worst of it....
Our lovely little stalks were mangled. The tall center stalks were even missing on a couple of the plants. We've tried to stake some of them back up and we've continued to water and care for them but they seem to be stunted. Little to no growth has occurred since that afternoon. I couldn't be more disappointed.
The good news:
We have tomatoes! They FINALLY started turning red last week. Our five tomato plants are as tall as I am and they're FULL of fruit. This almost makes up for our crushed corn.
Tomatoes v. Corn:
Our lovely little stalks were mangled. The tall center stalks were even missing on a couple of the plants. We've tried to stake some of them back up and we've continued to water and care for them but they seem to be stunted. Little to no growth has occurred since that afternoon. I couldn't be more disappointed.
The good news:
We have tomatoes! They FINALLY started turning red last week. Our five tomato plants are as tall as I am and they're FULL of fruit. This almost makes up for our crushed corn.
Tomatoes v. Corn:
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Life: Corn Silk'd!
Life: Corn Silk'd!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
Little know fact: I refuse to eat corn on the cob because any food that gets stuck in my teeth freaks me out. So, I suppose what I'm saying is if you have a birthday coming up within the next few weeks guess what you'll be getting!?
Life: Harvesting!
Life; Harvesting!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
Were getting to the end of our leafy greens. I've been harvesting like crazy. Shown here: Russian red leaf lettuce, Swiss Chard & Kale. There will be a lot of salads and green smoothies in our near future!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Life: June Garden Update!
Some very exciting progress is being made in our garden.
3 of our 5 tomato plants are producing fruit...
Sweet corn is in full effect...
And our Kale is gigantic...
3 of our 5 tomato plants are producing fruit...
Sweet corn is in full effect...
And our Kale is gigantic...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Life: Garden Salad, Literally!
Life: Garden Salad, Literally!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
We've been reaping the benefits of our garden all week. Tonight's salad includes Russian red lettuce, arugula, green onions and radishes...all grown right out our back door!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Life: Ladybug Orgy
Oh, the woes of being an organic gardener. Bugs are eating everything! We decided to fight nature with nature by unleashing 1,500 ladybugs on the little monsters late Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning our Ladies were everywhere...
I think it's time we invest in this...
I think it's time we invest in this...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Life: Early-May Garden Update
We've started harvesting!
Things we've made with food from our garden:
Herbed Goat Cheese Paninis (green onions, basil)
Green Salad (red leaf lettuce)
Green Smoothies (Red Russian kale, Swiss chard & Bloomsdale spinach)
Leafy greens explosion...
One red, Two green...
Tomatoes...
Our garden is flourishing! We couldn't be happier about this considering we pretty much just threw some stuff into the ground and then asked it, albeit very nicely, to grow. We did lose our broccoli plants which, rather than producing broccoli, started flowering. Who knew broccoli doesn't like temps above 80 degrees?! Well, now we do. That warm spell we had a couple of weeks back seems to have pushed the little dudes over the edge. We'll be pulling those guys out this weekend. What will replace them is to be determined. Oh and our parsley, while still hanging on, is mostly just a pile of wilted yellow leaves. We'll likely be replacing this guy soon too. On a brighter note our yellow pepper plant has a pepper! w00t!
Things we've made with food from our garden:
Herbed Goat Cheese Paninis (green onions, basil)
Green Salad (red leaf lettuce)
Green Smoothies (Red Russian kale, Swiss chard & Bloomsdale spinach)
Leafy greens explosion...
One red, Two green...
Tomatoes...
Our garden is flourishing! We couldn't be happier about this considering we pretty much just threw some stuff into the ground and then asked it, albeit very nicely, to grow. We did lose our broccoli plants which, rather than producing broccoli, started flowering. Who knew broccoli doesn't like temps above 80 degrees?! Well, now we do. That warm spell we had a couple of weeks back seems to have pushed the little dudes over the edge. We'll be pulling those guys out this weekend. What will replace them is to be determined. Oh and our parsley, while still hanging on, is mostly just a pile of wilted yellow leaves. We'll likely be replacing this guy soon too. On a brighter note our yellow pepper plant has a pepper! w00t!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Life: Look Who's Back!
Life: Look Who's Back!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio
We think this must be the baby opossum we caught Sammie "playing" with a couple weeks ago. Glad to see he survived but sad to see that he was never reunited with Blossom and the rest of her brood. I can't get over how big this little guy has gotten since we last saw him. Seriously, check out those fingers!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Life: Mid-April Garden Update....
The garden is really shaping up! Here are a few recent snaps...
Tomatoes are flowering...
Spinach, Red Leaf Lettuce and Chard explosion...
Our first strawberry...
These onions are on a mission...
Broccoli florets....
Citrus Tree Surprise...
(We have no idea what type of citrus tree we have but we're super excited nonetheless!)
Veggie Of The Day: Radish Srpoutlings...
(These little overachievers were just planted FIVE DAYS AGO!)
Tomatoes are flowering...
Spinach, Red Leaf Lettuce and Chard explosion...
Our first strawberry...
These onions are on a mission...
Broccoli florets....
Citrus Tree Surprise...
(We have no idea what type of citrus tree we have but we're super excited nonetheless!)
Veggie Of The Day: Radish Srpoutlings...
(These little overachievers were just planted FIVE DAYS AGO!)
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