Re-purposed Planter

When the clothes dryer died, I saved the drum in the event I might want to use it later.  (this makes Guido crazy!)  It sat in the backyard for a few months until I could come up with a good idea.  This spring our Robellini palm had to be transplanted due to the aggressive roots of the near-by Queen palms. 

I put the drum in the hole left from the Robellini,  it didn't look too good at first,,,,.......Actually, it looked like an old dryer drum left in the front yard.   I considered painting it, or putting back splash tiles on it, but in the end, I chose to make it a Gabion.  

I cut 1" hardware cloth larger than the diameter of the drum.  I assembled it in place and secured the middle with wire ties, and anchored the bottom to the landscaper fabric.    The space between the drum and hardware cloth was about 4".  It took 8 bags of Mountain Granite  (Home Depot) to fill the space.

For the lip, long-cut peat moss was laid in and secured with over-lapping mesh.  This will be a perfect medium to grow hardy, miniature succulents.   To ensure proper draining, I filled the drum with broken cement edgers, rocks, and broken clay pots.

The finished planter.  

Spring 2013

Spring 2013

This spring finds me trying to remember why I am a nurse living in South Florida.  It has been super busy at work and incredibly stressful.  I live here because of the beautiful weather twelve months a year.  Yes, I said 12 months/year.   Even when it's 95 degrees and 90% humidity, Florida is a wonderful place to live.

This winter has been anything but,,,,,, no freeze yet.....!   It has been wet and then suddenly dry with the arrival of February. 

This photo was taken in late March 2013.  You can see how brown the grass has become without rain.  The front flower bed needed an overhaul.  Between the two Queen Palms was a robellini that never thrived due to the roots of the palms.  In the picture, you can see a round metal thingy...  That is the drum from an old clothes dryer.  Don was NOT happy that I insisted we save it.  (lol)  It is soon to become a planter.  

Gabions are wire baskets filled with rock to secure land from moving water.  In this application, I am going to make a planter with the dryer drum, hardware cloth, and mountain granite. I secured the wire mesh to the drum, leaving a 4" pocket.  Then added the rock.

To finish the top, I considered keystone-shaped cedar or eucalyptus wood.  The long-cut Peat Moss was easier to execute.

Note to Self,,,,,   Peat moss is better when damp.  The wind was blowing and the first hand full blew away before it was secured.

First stage of planting.  Sanseveria, Aloe, Elephant plant, and Crassula paragoda.

The beginning of the Arroyo (dry river bed).  The path chosen will deliver run-off rain water to the far end of my yard.  The "island" in the middle is a white Oleander.  Beneath it, I planted mimosa, and a pyramid-shaped sedum.










The far end of the yard has Chinese Loropetalum, Lily turf, Croton, Bugle weed sausages,
Sea Grapes, and a variegated Bougainvillea.

Now all.......... I have to do is dig out and level the pavers. 

Patio Phase 2
I found this GREAT DEAL on pavers at the RE-Store.....enter... the next Big Idea...
Those pavers would make a great patio!!!  I started digging....and digging...and moving the dirt in my Gorilla Cart to other ends of the yard.

Somewhere I read that you should put down landscape fabric first.  That was wrong, as hindsight is enlightened;  I know better now, but I'm NOT going to dig out the 6000lbs. of gravel I hauled in AND compacted.  If you look closely you can see that I dug too deep.  At that point I realized I needed another 3000lbs of gravel.  The thoughtof hauling and shoveling more gravel was too overwhelming. So there is sat for 6 months.

 In Florida, summer is the rainy season.  This gave me another great idea........  Lets build an outlet for all that water!









 Later I had the bright idea to put boards up to show where I wanted the top of the pavers and establish the slope.  The boards were even at the time, but winter set in and there they still are.  Since then, I have decided to hire a professional.  Doh...............

But the river is working. 




 ..

A Garden Visitor

The Florida box turtle. He is  a respected native in Indian River County.  When our hospital was trying to expand, they found a nest of these guys in the area they wanted to pave for parking.  They had to buy land for them and  move them to their new habitat.   Some laws are smart.  I am glad he visited my garden.

Water Herding

Once the retaining wall was up and performing it's function of keeping rainfall in my yard, it was time to address the pooling water after a rain.  In the first photo above, you can see the back of the house and all the junk it collects.  In addition to junk, when it rains, the paver patio by the grill would be under water.

This gave me my Second-Big-Idea.  I need a large patio that will channel the water away from the foundation.  Once I started digging, I couldn't stop.  There is something very therapeutic about digging up sod and leveling the ground.   The pavers above channel water from the down spout away from the house.

One Year Anniversary

Just about a year ago today, I embarked on a project that by now, has all the characteristics of an addiction.  What started as a landscaping project has become a patio, river/arroyo, rock garden, bridge and woodworking projects galore.
But addiction-schmadiction.....  it has been fun.


But a year ago, my yard was like all the others in the neighborhood.  We had about thirty feet of scraggledy Bahia grass that was steeply sloped to send all  run-off water to the swale.  The Bahia grass was mostly crunchy from lack of moisture but the weeds in the ditch were lush, green and five feet tall. Since our lawn is not irrigated,  any rain we got went to feed the weeds in the ditch!  That was when  I got my first big-idea.--  "A retaining wall would help me keep the rain that falls on my property."
  

One Hundred and Fifty Feet later, I had a retaining wall with plants and mulch.  When choosing plants, I explored drought tolerant and native varieties. My goal is a living fence.

 This is locally known as a coral tree.   My daughter named it the Dr. Seuss Tree. 

Toffee the cat, patrols the perimeter for lizards.