Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Garden Shed fantasy vs. reality

I finally got around to reading my April 2011 copy of Country Living and when I turned to this page...

 


I got those sparkles in the eyes where you know the hamster wheels are turning inside and you're imagining how you can make this a reality in your home. As someone who does a lot of gardening I could totally use a space like this. Except my space was looking like this:


 Oh great. What happened here anyway? It looks like scenes from a natural disaster in a third world country. I would like to make the disclaimer that I did not make this mess.





This one-time-turkey-shed-turned-cow-shed-turned-disaster-storage-which-is-thiiiiiiis-close-to-falling-over-but-isn't-quite-ready is pretty close to the garden so it makes the perfect spot for gardening items. I put on my heavy duty boots and gloves and took everything out.

I was seriously concerned with the probability that I would be finding lots of spiders and wasps or yellow jackets but there was a pleasantly surprising lack of those. And no snakes either! Yay!

I did find this bird nest made of dryer lint. Tee hee. :)


I loved the beauty and functionality of the magazine's garden shed but I was not going to spend money on anything going in here. Which meant I had to scavenger hunt.

I moved a garage sale baker's rack in (the ground was so uneven I had to put it on cement blocks) and started stacking my terra cotta pots.


In the barn's lean-to I found a galvanized bucket to hold my garden stakes and then I kept finding crates of garden stakes and more stakes and more stakes. Who am I, Buffy? Sheesh. An orphaned pot strainer (I think?) held more and a rusty bucket thing holds the really tall ones.



An empty pot holds my garden row makers (stake one end into the ground, unwind the twine/string as long as you need, stake the other end in the ground and plant your seeds under the twine. Keeps your veggies in a straight line).




And another holds sprinklers.




I even managed to find a galvanized garbage can to hold my potting soil. I found this clear out at the barn with the lid blown off and only a handful of garbage items inside. I didn't even know this was on the property. Don't things like that make you wonder what goes on when you aren't looking?




The biggest difference between mine and the one on the magazine's glossy pages?
Well...we'll just call it patina. ;)




For spending no money and one afternoon I think I got my money's worth even if it isn't magazine worthy.





Also I got to look at this all afternoon.


Linking to:


Transformation Thursday




13 comments:

Natalie said...

awesome clean-up/re-org!

Cat said...

Wow, GREAT job! What patience you have. And to find time to photograph it all, too. ;)

shari said...

woo hoo, Molly!! AWESOME makeover! and i like your "patina" better than the magazine version! you are truly a wonder!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

WOW! That's a lot of work and a great job! Now you can enjoy it! ♥

lucy said...

great job, and it looks adorable!

KaseyQ said...

Your post made me laugh!! Nice little shed you have now, and, incidentally, I don't know where you live but if there ever is a nationwide vampire invasion I will track you down...

Beverly@southernhomesweethome said...

Over from Shabby Chic..Molly it looks great! You are one brave woman..My husband has a shed area like that and I am scared to death of it.. no way would I be brave enough to tackle it. What a great area for you now. Want to come do mine?

AJ Blanton said...

What a great job you did reorganizing and cleaning up. I actually think yours looks more realistic to live with. I always look at those magazine photos and think Wow but lets face it most are not cohesive with ones life and most important ones budget!
AJ

chris said...

thats awesome. i love the roof! and i also keep my soil in the same galvanized can, so now i feel cool.
:)

Rachael said...

Good job! Wouldn't it be nice if we could all have homes and gardens that looked photo shoot ready? But since we live in the real world, your version is very inspiring and realistic. Great job!

Lady Pamela said...

First let me explain - I AM NOT A GARDENER. I kill everything. Not on purpose of course. But your post was so precious. It made me laugh. You have such a wonderful sense of humour - thanks so much.

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud at the line "It looks like scenes from a natural disaster in a third world country." ha!

theUngourmet said...

The perfect day for organizing outdoors. I love the after pic! You did good! ;)