2017 square foot garden & my new studio reveal

I'm a little early with my yearly post (last one was 9/2016), so maybe there is hope for me after all!

First, my studio reveal.  It was supposed to be a rustic garden shed, but my hubby got carried away.  He designed it and he and my son built it.

You can click on a picture for a larger view

I wish I had taken a picture of my 2 hardy hibiscus when they were in bloom.  

They are a deep maroon and both were covered in blooms. 

A side view showing the chicken house.  Our next project is putting in a real fence to
keep the chickens out of the garden.

Front porch

We lost some large trees due to storms this year and my son built this rustic garden bench for me. 

I've never seen elephant ears this large.  This is their first year, bulbs from Walmart

Fig tree in the back, red bud tree grown from seed in front by the hummingbird feeder.

Loft area with removable ladder.  This is where I sew and hide stuff out of sight.

Front corner with removable ladder out of the way against the wall.

 

I found this vintage Tennessee goose neck rocker at an antique store for $35.  It needs to be reupholstered, but I doubt it will ever get done.

Corner by the back door.  My next project will be to cover this pitiful chair.

Ladder in place

Front door

Front corner where I keep my beads. This is under the loft and the ladder is removed.

Front wall and left wall.  The enamel topped table is from my grandmother's.  I'm 68 and always spent the summers with her and I sure did peel a lot of potatoes and break beans for canning at this table.

Front wall and left wall corner

Back wall with ladder in place

My helper, Mr. Mable.  When we got him we were told it was a girl, so we named it Mable.  Soon we found out he was a guy.

Here is his brother, Mr. Molly

Back wall with peg board.  This is where I work.

Entire back wall, ladder removed

2 of my newest pieces

Name that shed! Here is my new pink playhouse where I do my jewelry & pottery. I need a catchy name for a sign, so help me out.

It originally was going to be a rustic shed with barn wood, but we got a little carried away with it. It even has a loft!   There is also a covered porch on the back. We still need to finish the porch decking, but that's all.  

Later this Fall we'll work on landscaping.  It's just too hot right now.

My hubby designed & constructed it. I'm truly blessed. 

This was my new booth display.  I was fairly pleased with it, but I think it looks too closed in with the table facing forward AND the screen.  I'll have to tweak it a bit more.  If I have a corner booth next time, I can always put the table at an angle to open it up.

Country Creek Relics barn sale.  I'm ready to head out the door to set up for a new show in Chickamauga, GA.  It sounds like a FUN show!  If you are in the area, come on out & see some fantastic vendors. 

Friday & Saturday, May 20-21, 2016.  10 til 6 both days
994 Dougherty Gap Rd, Chickamauga, GA

Bishop Bean Trellis update

An update on the Bishop Bean Trellis.  It WOULD HAVE worked if we had done our layout a little differently.   We should have planted the beans end to end instead of side by side.  The first box shaded the second one too much & harvest was poor on the second one.  Another thing that lessened my bean harvest is that my McCaslan beans were mislabeled and turned out to be white half runners, which are MUCH smaller & stringy.  I'll order my seed next year instead of going to my local co-op.

Part III, June 2014 garden

I'm almost finished with show & tell, so bear with me.

Just a little more on the vegetable garden.  We are trying a new trellis system that was featured in Heirloom Magazine from Baker Creek Rare Seeds.  It is the Bishop Bean Trellis (Elvin Bishop) and is an inverted trellis.   We are using it in 2 1x6 boxes that are side by side, but next year we will use 2 boxes end to end.  Even with 3' spacing between boxes, it is going to be crowded when harvest time comes around since the trellises are wide at the top.    Can you see the tarp covered mound at the far end?  That's my coveted mushroom compost pile.

These are McCaslan pole beans, a flat Italian type bean.

June 2014, Part II

Wow, 2 posts in 2 days!

I love Fedco Seeds.  I've also ordered quite often from Baker Creek, but Fedco has better prices, a much larger selection & FREE SHIPPING.

I ordered 2 sweet pea varieties & a new larkspur, Carmine.  It was their last year to carry Carmine, and I'm really glad I ordered  them.  They are double flowered, a rich pink & so pretty.  I planted them with a mixture of blue, purple, lavender & pink larkspur that I already had.

Here are the sweet peas.  The first one is America.  Fedco's description is very accurate, except I would call the color bright pink:  "An antique striated variety, arresting both to eyes and nostrils. Each blossom contains subtle variations of bright reds with creamy white streakings. Heavily perfumed. Looks lovely next to Cupani. First offered in 1896 by Morse-Vaughan. Vines grow to 3'."

Per Fedco:  "Oldest and among the most fragrant of all sweet peas. Celebrated its 300th birthday in 1998 amidst a surge of renewed interest. Named for the Sicilian monk who found these bicolors growing wild, Cupani combines deep maroon-purple upper petals with deep violet-blue lower petals. Grow Cupani for enticing intoxicating aroma. 5' vines."  Mine were planted against a fence with poppies.  The poppies grew about 6' tall & the sweet peas didn't get enough sun to do well, but the blooms are still very pretty & fragrance is outstanding & are a "keeper".   

If you are interested in non-GMO, open pollinated, heritage varieties you need to check Fedco.  Their catalog is printed in black & white, but you can always Google if you aren't familiar with something.  Their catalog is really interesting and they give lots of plant history and vintage line drawings.

I don't get any compensation or discount from Fedco, I just really like them a lot.