Monday, April 8, 2019

Building A Cold Frame & Other Spring Projects

It seems that spring has sprung on the mountain top, finally! We still have a long way to go until our last frost date, but at least there is no more snow showing up in the immediate forecast - woo hoo! Fingers crossed it stays that way!

The snow we got on Friday wasn't enough to stop me from getting out in the garden this past weekend and making some major improvements. 

It felt so good to cross a few things off my spring clean-up list, although there's still a lot more to do, of course, 

One of the HUGEST improvements to this gardener's life this past weekend was.............drumroll please...............

SWEETIE FINISHED THE COLD FRAME!!! 

That's going to make hardening off the seedlings significantly easier, no doubt, and I'm so incredibly pleased with how it turned out! 

Previously, I would take the seedlings outside every morning and back inside in the evenings, spreading them out on my kitchen counters. 


Now they will be able to spend both their days and evenings outside, where they should be! Less work for me makes this gardener one happy lady!


I'm thrilled with the design that Sweetie came up with - it was nearly flawless and only needed the tiniest tweak to make it totally perfect. 


He really has en engineer's brain, and I'm always amazed at his ability to bring my ideas to life. 


Look at that attention to detail - reinforced corners and joints - this baby is built to last! 


The windows open independantly, so that if I have more tender seedlings on one side they can stay protected another day or two, until they harden off a bit. 

I'm impressed with how snugly the two windows butt up against each other! Sweetie didn't want the seedlings to get drenched, should it rain during the night, so he made sure any gap was miniscule. Such a smart, handsome man! 

The only 'flaw' in the plan was the method for keeping the windows propped up. Although it seemed ingenious to use old ski poles cut to size, we were both concerned that a strong wind may lift the windows, and the ski poles would fall down, causing the windows to crash down. 


Sweetie to the rescue once more! He installed tiny cup hooks into the siding, and attached a length of chain to a small spring link, which can be easily clipped to the handle. It's the perfect solution! 


What I love about the new chain system also is the fact that I can raise the windows up more if it's a nice day, or keep them lowered a bit if, like today, we are expecting rain.   The seedlings will still get air, but be somewhat protected from the rains.I can hook any link on the chain to the little cup hook to raise or lower the windows. I can add something to the chains to extend them even longer if I have more tender seedlings in there, should I want to just open the windows a couple of inches. 

It's a wonderful system, and I'm delighted!  Thanks, Sweetie!!

In addition to the wonderful cold frame, I got some much needed work done outside this weekend. 


This was the nightmare that was the perennial bed on Saturday morning. This is always such a challenge, it really takes most of the day to clear out and it wears me out. 


Here's the same area, after much raking, snipping, pruning, cutting, bending, and hauling away of debris.  Needless to say, I felt every bit of it by the end of the day, and needed a nice long soak in the tub to even be able to function enough to get dinner on the table.


There's lots of growth already showing, and once this project is done I always delight in seeing how quickly this area will green up. 

The useless rosebushes have been cut down to the ground, but my body was too sore to even attempt to dig them out after all this work. 

Perhaps next weekend....if the ground is thawed enough. 


The perennial bed as seen from the deck. I removed the three obelisks that were supporting the useless roses - they will find a home once again once the roses are removed as I like the structure they add to the perennial bed. 


Phase II of clearing out the perennial bed each spring is cleaning up the garden steps. 

It's not as much of a nightmare as the perennial bed, but by this point in the day I'm always pretty worn out, so it has its own challenges. 


My little helper approves!  

The garden steps have spring and summer perennials on either side, starting the annual show with some spring bulbs, Carpet Phlox, Candytuft, and Dead Nettle. I'm always tucking in bits of ground covers here and there to try and smother the weeds...a garden is always a work in progress, don't you think?


When my guests park in the lower parking area and walk up to my house, it will be a far more pleasant experience now!


Another wonderful upgrade to the landscape this spring, thanks to Sweetie, was a new motion-detecting spotlight system - that was his very generous birthday gift to me, and much needed around here! 


There are motion lights along the deck railing, shining down on the garden steps and the path to the parking area. There are also motion lights at the front and rear peak of the garage, and on the side of the garage, shining on the path to Sweetie's parking spot. 


He had 5 lights installed in total, and it has made such a difference! I had put solar lights in those spots in the past, but they weren't sufficient for when we had guests over. 

We are overdue another dinner party, and I'll be excited to give those lights a try when hosting! 

The next challenging garden to be tackled is the Hydrangea garden at the front of the house. It's not as bad as the perennial bed, thankfully, but as I usually do it on the same day I do a few other gardens, I'll be totaly worn out by the end of the day. 


But the signs of spring all around us help keep me motivated - the Lilac buds are swelling, the summber birds are returning, and the bulbs are popping out of the soil. 


It won't be long until the hummingbirds return, and when they do I'll be ready! I replaced the suet feeder by the kitchen window with the hummingbird feeder....bring them on! 


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32 comments:

  1. Boy, you are so busy and your home is starting to look amazing. Your hard work is paying off

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    1. There's still so much more to do, Marty...it never seems to end!

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  2. Wow, what a workout! Lots of work you did. I need your energy. I love working out doors too. Are there Peonies in the perennial bed? Looks kind of like it. Your sweetie, surely is one! Nice looking cold frame and plants looks good. Your land looks sloped too. I am having a time with ours sometimes as the rain washes hard sometime down it and uses the front sidewalk as a gully when it a big one.
    I look forward to seeing what you plant and what is growing next.

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    1. My land is very sloped, Betsy - my house is on a mountain so pretty much everything is sloped around here, with the exception of the homes along Main Street. I planted three peonies in the perennial bed when I moved here, but only one survived, and it has yet to flower. I planted 7 more in another bed, and they all flowered for the first time last year - I love peonies so much!

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  3. I'm so glad things are finally thawing out for you!! I don't know the first thing about a cold frame, but that one looks fabulous! So glad it will make things easier for you and you don't have to keep bringing plants in and out every day! Also glad you were able to get some things checked off the "to do" list. I always feel better when I can do that! Love and hugs!

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    1. It's a huge project getting my property cleaned up in spring, Benita - I have to break it down in sections, doing one area at a time, so that I don't get completely overwhelmed.

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  4. Ahhh i love your home Debbie!!! Sweetie did a good job with the cold frame too!

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  5. That cold frame is genius!! Your post made me think that I really need to plant some seeds. So less expensive than buying started plants in a garden centre. I can imagine how sore you were after all that clearing! I haven't started that yet - tons of raking to do! -Jenn

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    1. I detest raking, Jenn, so that doesn't make it any easier! I just have to think of it as a workout....and man do I need many more workouts in my life!!! Yes, starting seeds is so much cheaper, and for the most part I've had great success. The Cleome and Petunia seeds are a flop this year, but everything else is doing amazingly well! The initial investment (grow lights, seed trays with lids, etc) really pays off when you run the numbers. I don't know about you but our garden center is pretty expensive up here....of course they have no competition on the mountain top, and so many of their customers are wealthy people with second houses up here....so can you blame them for charging what they do?

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  6. That cold frame is perfect! You got a lot done this weekend.

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    1. It feels good looking at it now, Penny, although I didn't feel so good at the end of the day when I could barely stand up!! :)

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  7. Wow, you two have done a LOT of work. My energy level is just not what it used to be, and I miss my sweetie, as we always worked together. I do what I can, when I can. ;-)

    Happy Spring ~ FlowerLady

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    1. I completely understand that, Lorraine!! I am truly blessed to have my sweetie in my life - I try to do as much as I can myself, but sometimes I just have to admit when certain projects are beyond my capacity. That's when Sweetie comes to the rescue!

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  8. He is of great help to you with your DIY projects! And sounds like he really knows what he's doing.
    Brenda

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    1. He's a good man, and I'm lucky to have him in my life, Brenda. There are certain tasks I know I'm just not good at (anything involving a saw, for instance!) and Sweetie takes care of them for me. I'm very blessed.

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  9. No wonder why you're soar. You did tons of work. Your cold frame looks great and will be a blessing for you.

    Everything is looking good.

    Cindy

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    1. Tons of work, but yet so much more to be done Cindy! I can only do what I can do, and since I work full time I can only squeeze in what I can on my days off....when Mother Nature lets me!

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  10. What A sweetie you have! He did a great job on the plant boxes! Motion lights are a good thing. Especially with bears around.
    Lisa

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    1. That's a great point, Lisa - my neighbor down the road just had her first bear spotting last night so they are awake and out of hibernation....sigh, it was peaceful while it lasted. Time to take the bird feeders down, poor birdies!

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  11. I have always wanted a cold frame. Please update us how yours does. I used to plant our seeds indoors in our last house and they did great. Tried in this one and they just do not grow right. Not sure why.

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    1. I use grow lights downstairs Betty, so I'm not relying on just the light from the windows - I think that's what makes the difference. I bought cheap grow lights on frames from Amazon a few years back, they're great. Once the seedlings get off to a good start they can go out on nice days to get 'real' sunshine - there's no substitute for that! I'd seriously love a greenhouse some day, but I don't see that happening anytime in the near future, that's for sure. Budget simply doesn't allow!!

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  12. Hi Deb,
    Your place is looking so great for Spring to arrive and new plants to fill in. I love the cold frame. How cool is that! I am just excited in another month we will be planting our gardens here in Illinois. Hopefully!!!!
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. I know, I'm excited too!! The Pansies and Snapdragons will be out before that, Kris - they can take some cold. I'm watching the weather - soon I'll pot them up and put the pots out on the deck!! :)

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  13. Wow...So much work u guys have put in,a greener version of workout. Loved your cold frame idea...Cheers!!

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    1. I definitely get my workout in the garden during gardening season - it's not unusual for me to get over 20,000 steps in a day when I'm working in the garden! Thanks for visiting!!

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  14. We are finally having some signs of spring here, too...and yesterday and Monday were actually 70 degrees and sunny! I can't tell you how good it felt to be wearing short sleeves and sipping coffee on the porch in the morning, as well as having all the windows open in the house. But those two days were all we're going to get of the nice weather for awhile. Today is only 35 degrees with rain and SNOW!! It looks so ugly and wintery out there again today. :-(

    Your BF's cold frame he built for you is amazing. He reminds me a lot of my grandpa who would build all kinds of things from scratch like that. Such talented men!

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    1. It was cold and windy here yesterday too, Melanie, but thankfully no SNOW!! Today is better, a high of 48, and the laundry is out on the line, drying in the sunshine! Saturday looks like a nice day, I should be able to get another workout in the garden and get some more of my property cleaned up....yippee!!

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  15. I am so impressed with that cold frame!! He is amazing. There's nothing better than a guy who can DIY. ;)

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    1. He amazes me, Kim - for a guy who was white collar all his working life, he's amazing with his hands and can build just about anything!!

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  16. Thank you for sharing at Homestyle Gathering, Debbie! I have LOTS of friends that would be interested in this tutorial! Pinning!

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    1. Great, Julie! It's been a Godsend for transitioning seeds this spring!!

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