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A Place to Potter and Ponder

DIY PROJECTS· IN THE GARDEN

1 Aug

July 2018 ~ a stunning perennial border from the gardens of Floors castle, Kelso

Hello August and hello to you! Its the 1st of the month today, but I have a feeling it will be the 31st in a blink of an eye. The days are whizzing by and autumn is on the horizon; so say the Chrysanthemums I found in the garden centre at the weekend. And even though I really don’t want summer to end, I couldn’t help but pick up a couple of autumnal coloured ‘mums’ for my front door step as a nod to the upcoming season.

mums-in-pots
front-step

Anyway, on to the main topic of todays post. The potting shed! Did you catch the blog post where we built the shed? If not you can read all about how the shed came to be here. Once it was built, it was very quickly filled to the brim with seed trays, pots of tubers, bags of seed sowing compost and other paraphernalia needed to start the growing season off. Then things got away from me, and the shed became a bit of a dumping ground for discarded pots, tools and the like. Come July and it suddenly looked like this.

I know, I know…

A very good excuse for a makeover I say, and who doesn’t like a good before and after post. I started with the paint…

Wall paint ~ Willow Green by Cuprinol

I went with Cuprinol again for the interior. The paint dries waterproof and is supposedly weather proof for 6 years.

Paint drying…still not interesting but helps explain the effect I was going for

Instead of 2 proper coats. I put on one, then did a swishy affect for the second, so the shed ended up with a more aged look, with touches of the original orange ever so slightly visible.

Whilst waiting for the paint to dry I harvest some courgettes.

Floor paint ~ Urban Slate by Cuprinol

My 9 year old son helped me paint the floor. Well, for all of 10 minutes until the smell of roasting chicken came wafting up from the kitchen and he was off like a shot. The floor got two proper coats of paint with an hours drying time between them.

tractor-stool-before
tractor-stool-after

The shed was sorely lacking a place to sit down for a cuppa, so I sourced a vintage style tractor stool from Wayfair online (similar here) and spray painted it Oxford racing green. I may add a cushion at some point.

funnel-DIY-1
funnel-neck-DIY-2
funnel-neck-DIY

An old funnel makes a great spot for twine. I popped a hole through it and hung it to the wall.

A couple of days later and another courgette harvest.

making-the-potting-bench
potting-bench-ready
storage

The potting bench is available from NOTH. Although, I got mine from Amazon on sale. Its sturdy once put together and a good height to work at. We found some extra gold hooks in the garage which were perfect for hanging hand tools from. You’ll never guess what happened next…

Yup more courgettes, which I gave away to friends and neighbours. At the time of writing this post I have harvested 51 courgettes in total from just two plants. Needless to say next year, I shall only be planting one!

rowen-and-wren-wall-planter
front-close-up
potting-shed-exterior

The outside was spruced up with a door handle (exciting times!) and a rustic zinc planter from Rowen and Wren potted up with violas and ivy.

And here you have it. A dang sight prettier and not staged at all, ok well a little bit, but for inspiration purposes only. 😉

The shed is such a welcoming spot now, that I love to escape to for a read, or to watch the latest YouTube episode from Garden Answer and of course to have a cup of tea in the peace and quiet.

I’m still on the hunt for some galvanised bins for compost, sowing mixes and grit, but all in good time.

The shed is from Tiger sheds and is 8 x 6 ft. A great size, especially with the full length staging table.

And there you have it my little bolt hole behind the beech hedge.

Before I go, here are a few other jobs we (Andrew and I) tackled in July:

  • The 5th raised bed was built and is ready for garlic planting in late Autumn
  • A winter crop of beetroot seeds were sown where the spring onions were harvested.
  • The rose garden area was cleared out and and a hedge of english lavender and the first rose were planted. The rose variety is a beautiful climber called, Teasing Georgia by David Austen.
  • The broccoli plants have been pulled up, and winter cropping leek (Musselburgh) and spring onion (White Lisbon) seedlings have been popped in their place.
  • Lastly, I started off an experiment with some pea seedlings (Kelvedon Wonder) from Harrod Horticultual. Its very late in the year to be growing them up here in Scotland, but you never know!

Until next time! x

2---lavender-hedge
1---raised-bed-number-5-from-quick-crop
1---a-pea-experiment
1---deadheading-on-repeat
1---potting-shed-view
1---the-first-dahlia
1-a-very-green-cutting-flower-garden
bed-number-5
1---winter-cropping-leeks
2---teasing-georgia-rose
sunlight-on-the-house

2 Comments

« The First Growing Season ~ 15 Lessons Learnt
DIY ~ How to Tile a Kitchen Back Splash »

Comments

  1. Tracey says

    August 21, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    The shed looks great. I like your choice of colours.

    Reply
    • dianayates says

      August 22, 2018 at 7:16 pm

      Thanks Tracey! Its my little spot of calm! x

      Reply

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A Little About Us…

A spark has been ignited in both Andrew and I, to continue the garden transformation, grow more food and focus on the idea of creating a sustainable do it yourself lifestyle around us, incorporating our new found loves of sewing and even more DIY renovation projects.

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A Sunday well spent... I hope the weekend was good A Sunday well spent... I hope the weekend was good to you. ❄️💛
There is no gardening happening here. There is pra There is no gardening happening here. There is prancing about in the snow digging about for leeks, lots of sewing of pretty things for the shop and warmer seasons to come. There is very little sleeping because PTSD. There is gratefulness for the staff at A&E who treated Mia and got a spiralling infection under control quickly on Friday night. There is relief that Andrew’s cell phone was found and handed in and he got a second chance to backup photos and videos of Joseph that otherwise would have been lost. There is more snow forecast and that’s ok. Each season has its place after all. But there is no gardening happening here. Instead I’m planning and daydreaming about a bountiful summer garden, daydreaming of harvesting a loofah, and ginger for the first time. Who knows if they’ll even grow here. I hope you’re doing good and life behind these little squares is treating you well. 💛

To all the new insta-pals that have joined me here. I’m Diana, thanks for following along. You’ve caught me at a difficult time but I’m still moving forward. There will be gardening and decorating to share soon, which I hope you’ll stick around for. 🌱

#instareality #snowday #snowspam #kitchengarden #wintergarden #scottishgardens #raisedbedgarden #countryliving #countrylife #veggarden #growyourown #gyo #vegpatch #organicgrowing
Deep in their roots all flowers keep the light. 💛 #summerthrowback #gardentherapy #dahliasofinstagram #garden #aimingforpositivity
Happy Friday, I’m getting ready to head out in t Happy Friday, I’m getting ready to head out in to the most beautiful winter wonderland to post happy mail. It’s a balmy -5 today, so my thermals are having an outing too. I’ll be starting off some seeds indoors this weekend once I’m all set up. I thought about doing some stories explaining how I sow and my indoor set up. I wonder if that would be helpful? 🌱 Anyway I wish you a cosy and comfort filled weekend. 💛 

#winterview #loveofcountryhouses #seedsowing #snowdays #wintersunshine
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