6/17/15 - DIY Patio Planters

In my last post I told you about the wonders of John. While he was visiting, he also helped me decorate my patio. And he gave me the idea to take notes and pics for this DIY feature. Awesomeness!

The pic above is from Goliad. I used that blue tub for so many things. In this particular photo I had treated a fire ant bed and I used the tub to cover the mound so that it would protect my dogs and any wildlife that might wander through.

Here it is with three larger red tubs resting behind the Super Spree trailer in Georgetown. You ask yourself, "What? How did that happen?"

They are feed tubs that the Palace Purchasers no longer wanted so my friends Billy and Judy brought them to me. We've been friends for years and they live near me (here), but they also own land in Goliad (there). Sweet, right?

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. There is a certain type of planter-look I have wanted for a very long time. Finally, on Pinterest, I learned how to make them myself. All I needed were the tubs. Problem solved!

Still, the tubs have been sitting for a long time. It was not a project I could have done by myself. Like everything in my life, this was a team effort. Thank you everyone!

My neighbor drilled drain holes in the bottom for me. Thank you, Helen and Gavin!

Next, John and I scraped the labels off and cleaned them really well.

I chose Cocoa Brown with textured shimmer for the primary coat. I think it's a beautiful color and my friend Judy took me to the store and helped pick it out.

John put the clean, dry tubs on old shower curtains I had saved, and I started spraying.

It was a beautiful paint but the glitter, uh, I mean "shimmer" kept gumming up the nozzle. Gavin gave me the hint to turn it upside down for 5-10 seconds each time before I quit painting, and then shake and keep spraying. Nothing but air would come out, and that cleaned the nozzle. That solved the problem but by then I had already clogged 3 cans and I only had 4! So John managed to clear one nozzle and we kept rotating the nozzle from can to can. For this project it took 4 cans. I did not paint the inside or the bottom center.

Note: I highly recommend plastic or rubber gloves. I chose neutral colors but some people on Pinterest had a lot of tubs and a large group of them look really good in a variety of bright colors. One person painted theirs with glow-in-the-dark paint and it made for a spectacular nightscape.

I also used a can of black paint, satin finish.

This can had a different nozzle and it made a huge difference in how long I could keep painting. I'm not sure how it would have worked with glitter in the paint, but it sure was easier on my hand.

I attempted speckling with a brush, but I ended up just spraying the black here and there in no particular pattern. I really wasn't sure what I was doing, but it was fun. I like the way it gave the planters depth. I also used the black paint on the inside of the blue tub a few inches down to where the dirt would be filled, but I left the inside of the other tubs red.

Fortunately, the RV Park where I live has gravel, sand and piles of compost for residents to use. All of which we made good use of for this project.

"We" put 4 shovels of gravel in the bottom of each tub.

My neighbor Judy gave me weed barrier fabric and John cut that to fit on top of the gravel.

I had been saving one gallon milk jugs for this project. We filled them with water and put two in the bottom of the red planters and one in the bottom of the blue one. That way we didn't have to fill the entire tub with potting soil.

Keep in mind that I had no idea how I was ever going to do this project. I just knew I wanted to so I was collecting items in faith. Thanks again team!

We then started filling the planters with soil from the compost pile. This took two truckloads and this time I really do mean "we." What with the heat, the humidity and the mosquitoes, it took both of us to "get 'er done."

Actually, originally, I had planned for this to be a 3-day project.
Day 1 - Prep
Day 2 - Paint
Day 3 - Plant
But I forgot. All afternoon and evening I couldn't figure out why it was so laborious and taking so long. I had spent hours comparing my notes to Pinterest and planning it out so that it wouldn't be stressful or too difficult. By my calculations we should have been through by mid-afternoon at the latest. I felt bad for John and I felt bad for me! Seriously, not once could I reconcile the difference. Until we were done - 12 hours later and were discussing plans. Oh! So that's what we were supposed to do the next day.

It freed up the next day but I gotta tell ya - this whole TBI thing is trippy sometimes. And the 2-in-1 day cost me. I wasn't really present the next day. Fortunately, John stayed an extra day.

It was a treat to finally see the plants in their new homes that evening. We found the Canna Lillies growing wild in the compost pile, and John bought the rest of the plants and the shepherd hooks when he bought the patio table. Merci beaucoup, mi amigo.

I chose Moss Rose to withstand the heat and sun, and Citronella plants to help with the mosquitoes so I can enjoy my patio all summer and Fall.

The flowers aren't in bloom and the Citronella hasn't filled in yet, but here is the finished look. I love it! What do you think?

-----------------------------------------------------------

COMING JULY 2015

Kaleidoscope 9, a collection of unrelated short stories by ... me

Enjoy this excerpt from Coming and Going:

"The parade was organizing and band members tuning. It wouldn’t be long. She saw Angela setting up chairs across the street. She had convinced Lucy to let Angela, one of her best field agents, sit with the boy and pretend to be his mother. It was a wonderful coincidence that Angela looked like Lucy and was trained in profiling and hostage prevention. Things were going according to plan. Erin turned to take one last look at the goon in the diner."