It started out innocently enough. We had a grass-filled no-man's land between the back yard and our wolf's kennel. I had a few plants in pots that I wanted to keep away from my mischievous dogs, who think those are for playing in, not to mention being crunchy. So I said to DH “Would it be ok if I put down some plastic and covered it with wood chips so I could set a few potted plants in that little corner over there?"
Well, that worked out nicely, so “Hey, ok if I enlarge that area a little bit?” Heh heh!
Well, my husband is nothing if not an enabler: “They have a really nice fountain at Costco; you should go look at it.”
Ok, that's a sample. It only gets worse.
Ah, but little did he know: there was virgin territory ripe for further expansion! You see, we have goats. And we have a wolf.
Goats are just a bit stupid at times and would wander right up to the kennel fence, with the result that a few ears got, er, “cropped.” So, we put a fence around the kennel. You might be able to make out the fence around the kennel in this picture. (Which is an aerial photo taken by an itinerant photographer attempting to fund his flying habit.)
Unfortunately, with all that nice grass growing inside the area, the goats just wouldn't leave it alone and would find ways over, under and through the fence we'd put up. Gee, what's a good way to get rid of grass? Why, put down plastic! And of course you have to have something to hold that plastic down . . . soil filled pots work very nicely.
So slowly, the garden area has encroached around the kennel, first from one side and then the other.
Of course, with that much area to deal with, and with pots being as expensive as they are, a few low cost options have come into use. Much easier to dismantle that old dryer than to haul it to the dump and PAY to get rid of it, right? Sigh, you wouldn't believe how many different types of fasteners are used to assemble a dryer. But the sides and the tub were worth undoing all those little screws and connectors (I work cheap!)
And we came up with one or two other slightly unconventional containers. Brake drums from school buses have to be replaced periodically and since DH drives a bus for the school, we ended up with a few virtually indestructible planters. A little primer and paint and they look pretty nice! No, no, that white thing has nothing to do with school buses.
Pallets can also be converted into some rather civilized looking containers.
You might be wondering, “Why all the containers?”
“Why not just dig beds and plant directly in the ground?” Two reasons. You would not believe how far under that fence my sweet wolfie can dig, even with steel panels lining the entire interior perimeter of her kennel. But more to the point, most plants really don't like living in soup. Well, we might be able to grow rice. The entire area is sub-irrigated and gets just a trifle soggy come spring.
And nearly all the contents of those containers start here, in my little greenhouse. I grow almost everything from seed, although I'm trying to find places to put a few perennials.
Then came the day when DH brought home a load of the loveliest red gravel for the driveway. I took one look and said “Gimmee!” The following week I had a nice big pile of red gravel. And a shovel. And a wheelbarrow. Groan.
But, oh my, look how nice it looks with my grey stepping stones! And everything else.
But one of my favorite flowers? He blooms in the winter!
~*~
How delightful, Woofie! Your gardens are creative works of art; I love how you've used containers to master your 'too wet' soil. And recycling an old dryer, I'd never have thought of doing that. You made it work so well!
Thank you so much for sharing your gardens with us, what a fun and enlightening tour.
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Please join us again soon when Trish and I bring you another Garden Tour.
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