Gardening Archives - Page 4 of 6

Backyard Landscaping Update

Update on Backyard Landscaping | Pretty Handy Girl

Things have been busy in our yard. There’s been lots of mud and dust flying around. I figured you’d like an update on our backyard landscaping. Put on your boots and let’s get dirty!

If you remember, I had big plans to give our back yard a face lift using Belgard stone products. It’s been super exciting seeing things take shape. The landscaper we hired (Arbor Enterprises, a woman-owned company in Pittsboro, NC) has been here working hard rain or shine. They leveled an area beside the house for the garden and shed area and built a small retaining wall using Keystone Stonegate wall blocks. You can see the drainage gravel in the back where the shed will go. And they will cover the rest of the area with weed barrier and Chapel Hill grit.

The blocks go together easily and are held in place with pins. This allows for a sturdy retaining wall that doesn’t need any mortar.

The Keystone Stonegate Wall Blocks are also being used as a seating wall on the new patio. I chose Mega Arbel mosaic pavers for the patio surface and am in love with the random pattern! The guys started laying the Belgard Granika steps off the patio. They weigh 275 lbs. each — I’m so glad I didn’t chose to DIY this project. Read more

March 4, 2016/4 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Before and After, decor, garden bench, Gardening, Landscaping, Landscaping & Gardening, Lowe's Creative Idea

Lowe’s Spring Makeover Tour

Have you been following all the Lowe’s Spring Makeovers? There were 10 in all, and each one is truly a miraculous transformation. If you remember, there were 10 bloggers who were sent to 10 different areas that were hardest hit by this past winter. We all combed through hundreds of applications to select 10 homeowners who deserved a fantastic makeover. There were challenges; there were lots of Lowe’s heroes who stepped up to help with those challenges; and there were lots of happy tears in the end. You’ll definitely enjoy reading each story and seeing the reveal!

If you’re ready to start the tour, grab a cold drink and head this way—>>> Read more

June 16, 2015/1 Comment/by Brittany Bailey

art, arts and craft, Crafts, DIY, game, Gardening, gifts, glass bead magnets, kids art

Boredom Buster DIY Projects for Kids

If you’re on a quest to keep the kids entertained, I have several Boredom Buster DIY craft projects for you and your kids that will keep you busy over the next few weeks or so.

Summer Calendar & Bucket List

Kids’ Thumbprint Envelope Pillows

Melted Heart Crayons

Sunprints (frame-worthy art)

DIY Character Magnets

Summer Garden Flag

Planning a beach vacation? Why not bring a few craft supplies to create some beach-themed crafts!

Writing in the Sand Art

Sea Shell Memory Game

DIY Dragonfly from a Whisk and Skewer

Potato Block Print Tea Towels

Easy Washi Tape Vases

DIY Yardstick Star

Spray-dyed Shirts

Decorative Chalkboard Clipboards

Kid Designed Monster Dolls

Indoor Hopscotch with Painter’s Tape

Wine Cork Animals

Doodle Shirts

Decorated Glass Jar Votives

Custom Painted Magnetic Mailbox Covers

Those ought to keep your kids busy for a little while and let you make summer memories that last forever. Happy Summer!

Pin for later!

June 15, 2015/3 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Build It, Decor Adventures, DIY, Gardening, Plants

Scrap Wood Planter Box

Hi, it’s Jessica from Decor Adventures, back this month with an outdoor project that’s perfect for summer. You know how your garage is filled with scrap pieces of wood from other projects you’ve done? Today you get to put those scraps to good use and make a planter box for plants or herbs. It’s very easy to use what you have and it won’t cost you much at all. Here’s how to make a scrap wood planter box.

The main box is made from 2″ x 8″ boards. You can make this box whatever size works for your space, or based on how much wood you have in your scrap pile!

Materials

The idea for this project is to use what you have on hand, so some of the sizes of your wood may vary. Here are the materials I used for this planter box.

2×8″ pressure-treated wood for box and legs (or 2″x4″ pressure treated wood for the legs)
ChoiceDek composite deck material for bottom of box
2″ x 2″ wood for bottom of box
Scrap triangles cut from 2″ x 4″ boards (Triangles can be cut out of 2″ x 4″s on a miter saw set at 45° degrees.)
Miter saw
Safety glasses
Drill
Screws
Potting soil
Plants or herbs

Instructions

The width of the three deck material pieces I used were 6 3/4″ each. This material was used to build our deck, so we had leftovers on hand and it’s great to use for plants since it won’t rot. The composite deck material is sold at home improvement stores and comes in different lengths and widths.

For the box and legs, you can use pressure treated lumber since it also resists rot and insects. The long sides of the box measure 19 3/4″ and the shorter end pieces measure 12 1/2″.

Cut your wood to size with a miter saw. Using your drill and screws, assemble the box into a rectangle. Place the ends on each side of the longer boards as shown below:

Screw the 4 triangles to the bottom of your box, into the corners, with your screws. Attach the 2″ x 2″s along each long side of the box also lined up with the bottom of the box. This should give support on the underside so you can rest the composite pieces inside to make the bottom.

Lowe’s Spring Makeover Reveal

**This project and post has been sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement. They are a company that works hard to give back to the community. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to make a difference in one family’s life. Thank you, Lowe’s!**

You guys, there is one thing I love more than a beautiful makeover. That one thing is giving a beautiful makeover to a deserving family. Elizabeth and Jörg moved to this home in September. They had no family nearby and didn’t know a lot of people in the area. And then one of the harshest winters on record hit. For this family, the winter brought more than cold and snow. They also dealt with their youngest being hospitalized and a miscarriage. Elizabeth’s sister, Sarah applied to give Elizabeth and Jörg a landscape makeover. As the oldest of three girls, I know how awful it feels when one of my sisters is hurting. And I know I’d do anything to help them.

That’s why it felt so good to give up four days (two travel and two work days) to give this young family a beautiful makeover.

If you remember, this is what the home looked like the morning we arrived. No landscaping.

No pathway. No railings. No plants.

No grass or defined play space. In one respect, we had a clean slate, but it left us with a lot to do!

And, I couldn’t have done it without all these heroes!

After two days of non-stop working, we kicked the homeowners out of the yard, sent them inside and told them they couldn’t look at their yard for the last few hours of the makeover. When they came out, their reaction was priceless: Read more

June 3, 2015/32 Comments/by Brittany Bailey