Let's Build a Trellis

the easy way

Today's post is about a product I ran across on Pinterest.

I didn't like it when Pinterest started with the ads a few years ago but darn it if I don't find things I need through that feature from time to time. Clothes and shoes mostly.

But...I've had a situation at my house for quite awhile that I did not know what to do about till I happened upon a solution on Pinterest.

Last summer I bought a sweet pink climbing rose off Ebay.

Yes, I buy all kinds of stuff off Ebay including plants. I've bought hostas, lilies and this rose.

This rose was advertised as being native and hardy to my part of the country and I needed a rose that could survive the bright sun and heat that hits the front of my cottage in the summer.

Just looked up my past purchases on Ebay and this was an Antique Heirloom Seven Sisters Climbing Rose. I bought in June of 2017. Oh my two years ago!

It was just a little sprig of a thing. The first year, not much happened.

But this past spring I got some lovely blooms and it took off growing!

But as the summer progressed - this was the situation.

I knew I needed a trellis. But all the trellis's were made straight up and down.

I wanted it to curve and follow the arch of my front porch.

I debated making one of wire or copper pipe...which seemed involved and I didn't want a big trellis on the front of my house. I had seen hooks that you are suppose to drill into your house. But I did not want to drill holes into my brick. It's old and fragile.

So one day I'm on Pinterest and I see this ad for Magic Tape!

This stuff is suppose to hold up anything. And even works on a rough surface like brick.

It's double sided.

It will stick up very heavy things and when you are ready to take whatever down..it comes off without leaving a residue.

It's truly magic stuff.

Here's the link so you can watch the video if you have not seen it.

I bought from the site LifeBooster. I was skeptical and worried it wouldn't come but in two weeks it appeared in my mailbox.

I ordered the smallest amount. It was $14.99.

 I bought command hooks at Walmart. 
I bought these because they are clear.

 I cut small pieces of the tape and stuck it into the grout of my brick. I had done a test the day before on the back of my house to see if it would work and it did...stayed all day and came off very easily when I pulled it off.

I stuck up several hooks with the stuff and pushed the vine into the hooks. I had contemplated tying the stalk to the hooks with twine but decided to push inside. I may regret and be taking them out and tying next year because if the vines get large they will burst out of the hooks. 

Any gardeners have an opinion on this? 

There you see it close up. 

So this has been up over a week now and it's doing great. 

Still stuck very tight.

 

I guess as more branches grow - I'll add more hooks.
I guess...I don't really know how this is going to go.
It's an experiment.

 One day the front of my house will look like this!

 This magic tape is amazing. I fixed this little problem too.

I bought this mailbox a year or so ago because the weenies kept eating my mail.

I have a mail slot and it drops to the floor and the dogs run in there and get my mail before I do and scatter it around the house. This has been a problem since I moved in. But one day I was browsing Hobby Lobby and found this antique looking mailbox that was just the right color to blend with my historic house plaque on my porch.
This was the solution to keep the weenies out of my mail.

 I drilled holes into the brick and used anchors to hang it but there was no way to keep the bottom of the mailbox attached to the house. This really became a problem say if I got a magazine or a bunch of mail - the postman would cram it in there and I'd come home finding my mail box about to fall off the wall. Sometimes dangling. It just wasn't stable. It needed to be attached to the wall at the bottom as well. I tried several sticky things and nothing stuck to the brick.

But after I made my trellis, I cut a bit of the magic tape and stuck to the bottom on the back 

and ta-da!!!!

Now my mailbox is very secure. It doesn't move around at all any more.

I have no idea what else I'll use this magic tape for but I bet I come up with some other uses.

 A few photos of the porch as summer is winding down. 

It will be super hot here for at least another 4 weeks. So it will be awhile before fall goes out on the porch. I keep twinkle lights in the lanterns on my front porch year round.

 I love that nest pillow. 
I bought from my sponsor over on the right margin of this blog - 

shop here

This was the first pillow bought from her. 
But I have several that I change with the season.
I'm sure many of you are familiar with her designs. So lovely.

 They are always beautifully made. 

A few cement rabbits tucked here and there.

 My impatiens are doing really well now. 
I didn't have much of a budget for flowers this year.

I bought one group of six impatiens for $1.98 in the spring.

With that one group of six tiny plantings...I've filled four big pots full.

Actually, when I buy impatiens I look for gangly ones...
ones that have gotten long because I 

nip them off and stick the part I nipped off into damp soil in a pot and keep it damp for a week.

At the end of the week...those little cuttings have started growing in the new pot and the old ones are better for being groomed. I do it over and over during the summer till I have lots of impatiens around here. 

linking up to this party

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Keith's Garden

 Today, as promised a tour of my co-worker and friend Keith's wonderful garden including his 

new pea gravel patio.

His house is a sweet little tudor in one of OKC's Historic neighborhoods.

 He freely admits that he neglects his front yard because for him it's so much more fun to make 

the backyard beautiful. 

He has intention to do something more to the front but it has not been a priority.

His front flower bed is full of cactus...which is very low care.

That's a banana tree to the side of the front patio.

 Keith says he ignores his front yard but the front porch includes this amazing planter.

I think it all looks very nice...perhaps not as fully realized as the back...but still beautiful.

this planter full of a nice variety of plants

 Now, we step out his back door and one of the first pots is planted in hostas.

I am so doing this! I have not had much luck with hostas in the ground but a potted one...

I bet I can handle.

 

There are many planters here and there around the backyard.

 

 This photo came out blurry but it was a nice composition so I included.

 His yard includes a large variety of types of planters and many kinds of plants.

 

 In the center of the yard is the new round pea gravel patio. 

A flagstone path beyond leads to the furthest part of the yard.

 Bits of glass art dot the landscape.

 This gravel patio was created by spraying the yard with round up and then putting

down black landscape cloth. Then a few inches of pea gravel are shoveled on top.

The view to the back of the house.

The pergola was added onto the house by Keith.

 The back corner of the yard is watched over by this Buddha.

 A happy fellow.

 This rusty rooster is big. He stands about four feet tall.

 Here we have a few succulents in a planter.

 This is a giant panda. Keith found it at a Restaurant supply place.

He came from an old Chinese restaurant. He's big - like 5 feet tall.

He hides among the smoke bush.

 more of the pea gravel patio

 This yard his so full of plants! This is the far corner of the back of the house.

 A bubbly fountain sits right outside the dining room window.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of Keith's yard. 

I'm kind of amazed by all the plants in it. He just keeps adding and adding to it.

Very inspiring. 

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Morning Glories

Last week I planted Morning Glory seeds in a few pots around here.

I figured it would give me lots of green and color for little money.

I soaked the seeds in water over night after piercing each seed with 

a nail to cut through the tough outer coating.

This lets them sprout much faster.

Three days later I had little sprouts coming up. 

I'm watering twice a day and waiting for them to grow.

 In the past I only thought about Morning Glories growing up on trellises.
But they can grown from hanging pots downward too.
I love that a dead tree is covered in Morning Glories in that photo above.

Have you done Morning Glories before?

I did a few years ago in one pot in back and I really loved them.

This time I planted on the front side of the house.

I have not forgotten about showing you my friend, Keith's 

pea gravel patio.

His yard is amazing!

I got to the party just as the sun was setting because I worked late.

So I am going over again next week to take photos.

I'll share when I do.
all photos from my Container Gardening folder on Pinterest.

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Obsession

Pea Gravel

 I'm more than a little obsessed with pea gravel patios.

I've wanted to do one for quite awhile to the side of my deck along the back of the house.

 They sound super easy to accomplish although the work may be back breaking.

 I've been thinking about doing one for the last couple of years.

 A couple of weeks ago, one of the other designers at work created one

in his backyard and he said it was super cheap and not that hard.

 Yes, it did involve much shoveling and back and forth with a wheel barrow.

But in two weekends he had a new pea gravel patio.

I've seen a photo but next week he's having a garden party so everyone 

can see how well it turned out. 

I'll be sure to take photos to share!

All these photos are from my folder called Pea Gravel on Pinterest.

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