A Gardener's Notebook » Elsewhere

Re-use: Futon frame as garden gate

Douglas E. Welch — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:54:03 +0000

I LOVE creative reuse of materials in the garden (and anywhere, in fact) and I was blown away by this project I first saw on Pinterest.com. (BTW, you can follow me and my garden finds on PInterest, too)

This gardener used an old futon frame, hung on end, as an interesting garden gate. I have on older futon I am about to give away, but now I am thinking of doing something similar with it. The sleek modern lines of most futon frames work well for this type of arrangement. It might be a bit too modern for some gardens, but I am sure there are ways to paint and theme to fit in almost anywhere.

It is great to see such creative thinking and reuse of materials that might otherwise simply be thrown out.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Douglas on Pinterest

Re-use: Futon frame as garden gate is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Project: Steel pipe garden edging

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:09:24 +0000

You have probably seen my photos and videos of our wine bottle garden edging project. This photo shows a similar approach using an entirely different material. I am not sure where you would source enough of this pipe cheaply, but obviously this person did.

One issue with using unique items for your garden edging is that their small diameter means you need A LOT of them. The wine bottles are probably 4″-5″ in diameter but that is still much smaller than a brick, a stone or using some bender-board edging. This also means it takes more time to install, as you have to lay each piece separately.

I like that the gardener filled each pipe with soil and stones and then planted small succulents. I think this is a great use of otherwise wasted space in the edging.

Still, I really like the look of our wine bottles and these steel pipes. Click through on this Pinterest link for more garden photos and ideas from the original blog.

Source: floradoragardens.blogspot.com via Douglas on Pinterest

Project: Steel pipe garden edging is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Video: Vertical Garden Installation at Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, CA

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:37:40 +0000

We haven’t made a trip out to Descanso recently, but this would certainly be cool to see in person. There is a lot of interest in vertical gardening lately and this does it on a grand scale.

Link: Descanso Gardens Web Site

Vertical Garden Installation at Descanso Gardens from Descanso Gardens on Vimeo.

Video: Vertical Garden Installation at Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, CA is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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DIY: PVC Pipe Strawberry Planter

Douglas E. Welch — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:45:18 +0000

Vertical growing, whether upside down (tomatoes) or right side up (the strawberries below) has been a big trend of late. The fact is though, vertical growing has long been a way to make the most of small space. Espalier is a way of pruning fruit trees to have them grow in a flat plane i.e. against a wall and yet still produce abundant fruit. I have recently seen pallet gardens — shipping pallets filled with soil and place vertically — for growing on apartment balconies, too.

This creative idea builds on the concept of the traditional strawberry pot, but allows you to plant as tall as you might wish. This picture I found on Pinterest links to a Flickr set of photos, but it seems pretty clear that they have taken a length of PVC drainage pipe, cut out holes for the plants and then filled it with soil. I could see 3 or 4 of these in a row along a sunny fence. Water is probably added from the top and allowed to flow down each tube.

Source: flickr.com via Ananda on Pinterest

DIY: PVC Pipe Strawberry Planter is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Elsewhere: Recycled Garden Tool Organization

Douglas E. Welch — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:32:47 +0000

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Here a recycled rake head is used as a hand tool holder in the garden. Garden frugality at its best.

Source: diyideas.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

Elsewhere: Recycled Garden Tool Organization is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Education: Southwest Yard and Garden Series – Season 1 from iTunes U

Douglas E. Welch — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:48:00 +0000

There is a host of great information available from universities and organizations around the world via iTunes U. Over the next several weeks, I will be highlighting some of the more interesting shows and classes that I find there. You can check out the entire catalog at the iTunes U information page ordirectly in iTunes.

Southwest Yard and Garden Series – Season 1
by New Mexico State University, Media Productions

Description

Each episode features a travel destination with two gardens and a public garden from elsewhere in the Southwest. Innovative gardeners and basic how-to information will be part of each show, which will have segments from several states.

Education: Southwest Yard and Garden Series – Season 1 from iTunes U is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Elsewhere: DIY shade finder tool takes the tedium out of solar surveys

Douglas E. Welch — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:33:47 +0000

Nothing like applying a little science and technical ingenuity to make an onerus task easier and faster. I could see this being very useful to a gardener who is trying to site a new plot, tree or home plantings. I have toyed around with using video or time-lapse to accomplish this task, but this is certainly easier and much more accurate.

DIY shade finder tool takes the tedium out of solar surveys

[Steven Dufresne] does a lot of tinkering with solar-powered applications, a hobby which can be very time consuming if done right. One process he carries out whenever building a solar installation is creating a sun chartto determine how much (or little) sun the target area will get.

The process requires [Steven] to take elevation and Azimuth measurements of many different points, which often consumes about half an hour of his time. While taking measurements recently, he started thinking about how he could improve the process, and came up with a stellar solution that reduces the process down to a one-minute task.

Read the entire article

Elsewhere: DIY shade finder tool takes the tedium out of solar surveys is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Elsewhere: Books: 100 books about the world around us: Nature, science, math, and applied crafts.

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Lots of great ideas here for reading online, from your library or buying. I am adding a lot of these books to my To Read list at GoodReads.com, too.

100 books about the world around us: Nature, science, math, and applied crafts.

Sometimes a book is the best way to visit a place, idea, or possibility. Max wants to know how everything- from the hen to a house to a volcano- works. So the world is our oyster. I used an asterisk to indicate the books which can be found for free online. Because so many great and marvel-inducing things can be found for free online.

A Child’s Story of the Animal World by Edward G. Huey

A Practical Guide for the Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell

A Weaver’s Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers by Rita Buchanan

See entire list