trying our hand at sustainability

This was me in ACO Hardware yesterday buying seeds for a discount at their changing ownership sale. Rob always laughs at me for getting so excited about the simple things but in reality isn't that a good thing?! Please just say yes. 

I got home and laid out all my packets, knowing I had inevitably bought way too much of certain items but not caring because I am starting from scratch this year! Our (awesome, can't believe we got so lucky) neighbors had a great selection of veggies and herbs when we moved in last fall and after my small attempt to grow veggies on our apartment patio last year, I decided that I would be a big girl this year and start from seed. Also, Greg (one of those awesome neighbors) knows a lot about it and I may have to pick his brain!! 

Last year we bought some already grown plants from the farmer's market near our apartment and transplanted them into small pots on our patio. They did ok but they definitely did not flourish the way they should have. I barely did any research and I bought the wrong dirt, so... that didn't help them at all. What little we yielded was exciting but not necessarily a sustainable process. 

This year we have a YARD! This year I have started my research early! This year we are setting ourselves up for success!

Here is our plan: mind it's hand drawn (pardon my handwriting) and we have to wait to see exactly where the sun falls once there are shadows again but it's a general idea of what we are thinking and dreaming about for our backyard space. Finger's crossed I can get a general idea today because the sun is actually shining! 

The most exciting thing is that we have space to work with and some decent existing plants that will contribute to the overall look and beauty of the yard! 

We are going half-sie with our neighbors on a new fence this spring (just along one side of the yard) to replace the chain link fence that has seen better days! That and tearing down the moldy, dilapidated shed in the back, will be our first steps at rebuilding this yard!  

Bye shed! You're cute, but you are rotting and you smell terrible!

So far we have these seeds: 

• Herbs: Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, and Flat Leaf Parsley
• Flowers: Dalia, Delphinium, Marigold, Zinnia, Alyssum, Hollyhock, and a Wild Flower mix. 

We are looking to add these seeds: 

• Veggies: Jalepeno, Tomato (a couple varieties), Zucchini, Cucumber, Beans (a couple varieties), Spinach, Onion, Garlic, Shallots and Lettuces
• Herbs: Dill, Sage, Lemongrass (in big pots to keep the mosquitos away)
• Fruits (these are all maybes): Cantaloupe, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Blackberries, Blueberries
• Flowers: not sure what exactly we want, but we want it to be beautiful and colorful so we'll pick what ever fits that bill and matches the sun that area will receive! 

I can't wait to get started! Now all we need is a thaw, come on Michigan, you can do it! 

swing and spray

Well it's been a while but we are still working hard on projects here and there. Today we took advantage of this beautiful Sunday to work outside and enjoy some of the warm not so freezing weather. While Rob worked on some of the weeding, particularly the plants that get stuck in the dogs coats and are a pain to pick out, I started to see what needed to be done to our new patio swing. The swing came from one of my dad's clients, someone who just didn't want it anymore and didn't want to put the work into making it look nice again. Well I'm always up for something free even it needs a little love. 

Honestly, I was even a little skeptical when it was dropped off, I mean look at that cover. Talk about moldy fabric and spider webs galore. This swing had definitely seen better days but it was well worth a little bit of elbow grease to get it back into ship shape. 

I decided the first thing that I would do was take the cover off - it dates the whole swing a little more than Rob and I liked and with all the shade the big tree in our yard provides, we weren't too worried about even making a new one to replace the moldy, ripped cover. 

Rob and I took some sandpaper to the whole unit, wiped it down to relieve it of any remaining bugs or webs and then I started spraying. We decided to go with Rust-Oleum Multi-Colored Texture Spray in "Aged Iron". It's a great product and can be found online for about $5 or in local hardware stores for about 9$, so shop around! One coat on the whole unit (not including the seat or the back of the bench) took three whole cans of the Rust-Oleum. Note: if you use this spray paint, know that it is great for sprucing up a piece but not great for full coverage - if that's your goal, I would use this texture as a second coat. 

All in all it took about three hours with a trip to the local hardware store in the middle for extra paint. Definitely not a hard project but well worth the difference a little sweat equity makes in something that was free!!

 

As you can see above (before) we were dealing with some rusting and the original paint was wearing thin and becoming green in some areas. It wasn't a solid color originally, maybe a two-tone textured deal? I'm not exactly sure but we just went right over that. 

The results are just noticeable enough and the whole swing looks a lot fresher than before. The pictures below are our "after" results. 

We are starting to love our little backyard, we even got a fire-pit the other night! Super cozy!

 

Everyone loves the outdoors in our family and we will be using this patio as long as we can before the snow comes! 

lots of love and until our next project, Lindsey

 

p.s. We got a new dog last weekend and she is great! Harlee, the black butt in the picture above is a 1.5 year old Australian Shepherd who is fitting in perfectly with Oswin, Rob and me. YAY!