I’m so excited to show you the corner of my deck that I just decorated. How do you like my junky deck decor!
It’s been a busy, busy week around here. We have been getting the outside areas of our home cleaned up and ready for summer. It’s funny because I was just saying as we were pulling weeds, laying new mulch, and planting flowers that one of the reasons why I bought a condo was so I didn’t have to do yard work. Ha! I found out the HOA does not cover the side or back mulched areas. So I inherited gardens along the side and back of the house. Ugh. I say ugh because gardening is not my thing. In fact for the past six years that I’ve owned this house, I’ve pretty much just ignored those gardens and let the weeds grow. Yeah, I’m one of “those” neighbors. But in my defense, I didn’t know they were ALL weeds. I know next to nothing about such things. Seriously. I took pictures with my iphone to show “gardeny” folks at work and asked them if they were weeds or plants. Yep. Turns out most of them were weeds. Sigh.
We had work to do. And lots of it. Digging up weeds (they were way beyond the “pulling” stage).
I round up my unwilling helpers: Dan and my son, Alex (I’ll call them the “voluntolds”) and sent them off to get mulch and a weed barrier. Since we are not the gardening type, we didn’t even own a shovel. As we were contemplating how to get the mulch from the truck to the flower beds, I’m pretty sure I heard cheers coming from the neighboring condos and the guy next door actually drove off to a friends house to borrow a shovel for us. ; ) Update: we are now the proud owners of 2 shovels.
In anticipation of all this outdoor planting stuff, I bought lots of flowers for the beds and also for the deck railing planters. I kinda went a little overboard and had flowers leftover but nowhere to plant them. So I looked around inside my house and found a few things that could work.
How about a worm box! A worm box? Yes! Perfect. It was my Dad’s and I’m sure he made it. He didn’t buy anything if he could make it himself.
Oh my goodness, I wonder how old that dirt is that’s inside of that old box?!
I cleaned it out, filled it with fresh potting soil and Ageratum (at least that’s what the tag says 😉 Don’t they look pretty in there? I can picture my Dad looking down on his worm box and either shaking his head or laughing just a little! And because finding this old worm box in the basement brought back some wonderful memories of me and my Dad, I went looking for this photo:
That’s me and my Dad fishing. I was 16. OMG, 40 years ago! It seems like yesterday. Look at the ground behind me…..there’s the worm box!
This fishing creel purse …. do you sense a them here?…. it’s seriously unintentional, just a coincidence! …was heading for the donation box until I saw the planter potential:
I would be honored if you share or pin this post!
The little, chippy step ladder was a $2 yard sale find and the galvanized tubs were from Pick Your Plum. Dan almost threw away the old birdhouse in the corner, but I rescued it and think it looks perfect in this little junky vignette. My deck and flower beds look so much better. I can hang my patriotic banner on MY deck now ; ) And all of a sudden the neighbors are being really friendly ; )
And you know, I think I’ve had a change of heart and might actually like this whole gardening thing.
I link up to these great parties.
You sure did a fantastic job! It turned out so bright, colorful, and welcoming. Love it!
Thanks Jill. I’m glad you like it!
Everything looks beautiful!
Thank you Sherri! It sure does look a lot better.
Love the combo of pretty and family memories! Off to pin now.
Thanks for the pin Susan!
I love it! I am a firm believer in upcycling and often use different “vessels” to plant my flowers! I wouldn’t go this far but someone in my neighbourhood as an old toilet full of flowers and vines. I can’t wait to see your garden all planted!
Thanks Maureen. Yes, I have to agree that the old toilet thing may be going a bit too far ; )
Your deck looks wonderful – very inspiring! I love your term ‘voluntolds’ – haha…will have to remember that!
So the fishing creel purse… Oh my goodness!!!!!! I need to find me one of those and then convince my husband that I just need to but a “little” bit more flowers… even though I promised I was done for the season! 😉
Are we ever “done”? Now that I’m getting into this whole gardening thing, I have to control myself!
I love how this turned out! I wish I had a deck to use the ideas on.
Love what you did! the flowers in the basket and that little chippy step stool are perfect : )
Deb
Seeking Lavender Lane
Thank you Deb! It adds a finished look to the deck for sure!
Aww! What a sweet story, Jeanie! Love that you are using the box that your dad made and used for a long time. Homes are always better when we decorate with items that have family memories attached to them. Makes us smile a lot more, don’t you think? Well done! Catherine (newest follower of your blogging adventures!) 🙂
Thank you Catherine! And yes, I agree and love decorating with special family pieces and I love the memories that come back when I look at them!
LOL ~ That’s one of the reasons why my husband wanted to move to a condo. Luckily, we don’t have much to worry about. I am able to garden a little bit around or condo if I want to {and I want to}, but they mulch, trim and cut back. I even see them occasionally pluck a weed, but there are so few since they mulch real good that I just pull out whatever I see. Well, at least we don’t have to shovel anymore! It looks like you did a great job getting rid of the weeds. I love your repurposed planters.
LOVE all the repurposing! Your plants and upcycled containers look lovely. x
Lots of “junky” inspiration. Love the fishing creel. Last year I had a ton of junk on my porch and this year I haven’t put much out yet. You’re inspiring me to dig it out of the garage now!
Love the basket and worm box planters! They look great and I always prefer things with memory and story attached to them.
I LOVE your rustic touches, (the ladder!!! swoon) and that’s the pretties worm box I’ve ever seen! 🙂
Your junky deck decor looks anything but junky!! 😉 I’m loving it all! 🙂
Nancy
Love it all, but the fishing creel is my favorite!
You made me laugh. The deck looks fantastic….love the worm box and the story behind it. That is my favorite kind of decor!
Once you start doing your own gardening, it becomes an addiction!
Loved your stepladder pic on Pinterest so I clicked on it. So glad I did. I recently picked one up just like it for $2.50. I am still trying to figure out what plants to put on it since it’s in a shady spot. Sounds like you’ve discovered a hidden talent, gardening. Also, you are a talented writer. Enjoyed reading this blog and seeing the pics. Your writing style is very entertaining. “Voluntolds,” ha ha, very creative. I’ll have to remember that one. I love it!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Debbie. You just made my day!!!!
Growing vegetables yourself is an interesting, useful and profitable business. The number of people who grow vegetables in the world is increasing every year. The reasons are different: some believe that vegetables grown on the site are tastier than store-bought ones; for some, this activity brings a lot of pleasure. The deck needs to be given special attention, and not only decor, but also practicality; there is a lot of useful information on this topic here https://gardeniaorganic.com/make-composite-decking-less-slippery/