diy: building an outdoor room with a privacy fence

i grew up in california...the land where people believe that good fences make good neighbors. in the south, things are done differently. a lot of homes are completely without fences. backyards become big playgrounds for the neighborhood kids. people live in communities. i both love this and struggle with it at times. i absolutely love my neighbors but there are some days when i don't want to be visible for the world to see. i also like the idea of creating a space in my backyard that feels like an outdoor room. so, this is what we created...

we had an outdoor fire pit, a patio area and a metal and fabric canopy in one area of our yard. one day i'd love to build a pergola there but that will have to wait for a future post. to enclose a small portion of the patio and block off the lovely view of our outdoor garbage cans and the back gate, we put up two 8-feet sections of fence. you can purchase the 8-feet wide and 6-feet tall sections of fence at a hardware store for about $30.00 (at least that's what they cost here.) you will also need: (4) 4 x 4 fence posts, (4) 50 pound bags of cement, outdoor fence stain, some nails and a little bit of extra time.

lay your fence sections somewhere easily accessible and apply the stain first. you do not want to drip stain onto your patio area so this is a job best done elsewhere over a tarp of some sort. 

decide where you want your lengths of fence to go. you will want the good, flat side of the fence facing in and the railed section facing out. dig (4) two feet deep holes where you will place your fence posts. these holes need to be right next to your patio but they do not need to be in a specific place for the fence. as long as you are able to attach each 8-foot section of fence to (2) posts, you will be fine. each hole should be at least (1) foot in diameter and (2) feet deep.

fill each post hole with 1/2 of one of the 50 pound bags of cement. add water and mix to a thick but workable consistency. put in a fence post, making sure a flat side of the post is up against the edge of the patio. add the remaining 1/2 of the 50 pound cement bag and water. mix with the fence post in place. using a level, make sure your fence posts are perfectly vertical on all sides. allow the cement to dry. do this for all four fence posts. make sure you have stained all your fence posts the same color as your 8-foot fence pieces. 

once the cement for all four fence posts has dried, you are ready to attach your fence pieces. line up your fence pieces and use a level to make sure they are level. most patios are built with a downward grade so that water will run away from your house. you will not want to use your patio as a measurement for what is level as you'll end up with a crooked fence. using galvanized nails (i used 3 1/2 inch nails), attach the fence posts through front flat side of the fence section through the cross piece of wood and into the fence post. do this in several places along the fence post. i used two nails at the top, two in the middle and two at the bottom for each fence post. 

find some fun things to hang on your fence and decorate the space like it's a fun outdoor room. we have a ton of fun, painted pots that bring life to our patio. if you would like to learn how to paint outdoor pots so they will last, check out the diy here:  diy painted flower pots.

relax and enjoy your space. these are great areas to start an herb garden that you can use all year long...or just to sit and enjoy some beauty while your kids play. i'll take that any day.

operation green thumb: gardening in raised planter beds

my thumb is not even close to green. they are in fact both a very deep, dark black. my sweet grandmommie had the greenest of green thumbs......i did not inherit that gardening gene. in all truth, i have trouble keeping alive the plants that people insist i will be unable to kill and are described as "low maintenance" or "hearty". so, when my amazing landlords built raided planter beds in our backyard i was excited.....but scared. mostly scared.  

i hate failing (and there has been a lot of failing in my life lately). it wasn't about me though.....my two sweet boys were *so* very excited about the idea of planting and growing their favorite fruits and veggies so i decided to get over my mental hurdle and go for it. i did a little research (and called a dear friend for a TON of advice) and headed off to the land of orange shopping carts. i loaded up the car with a bunch of goodies and headed home to plant. (notice i picked plants and not seeds. i think they already have a fighting chance, right? they have already started to grow! no seeds for me this time. i am not that stupid brave. here's to hoping and praying that my theory is correct). 

it actually was pretty easy. I added a ton of soil to the beds and went to work planting. the kids had so much fun and so did i! it was a beautiful day outside, the sun was shining and it felt good to dig my hands into the soil and dream about the bounty of fruits and veggies it will (hopefully) someday produce in abundance.

tomatoes, basil and blueberries, oh my!

if you look really close you will see a tiny green tomato growing!

strawberries!

the *best* part was buying a 10 lb bag of worms and letting them lose in the soil. i was told it is really good for the plants and soil but the most wonderful part was spending time with the boys and seeing the wonder and excitement on their faces as we watched the worms dig their way into the soil and disappear. it was awesome! (and i forgot to take pictures, of course! ugh.)

will the plants grow? will they bear fruit or veggies? the truth is......i am really not sure. one thing i have learned is that there are no guarantees in life. what i do know is this; i took a risk. i conquered my fears and i tried. i tried!!!  i may fail.....it's a very real possibility.....*but* i didn't let my fear of that failure get in the way of trying. and, for today.....well, that is a really, really big thing.

diy stepping stones

i have been making some fun outdoor diy projects to go along with my spring gardening. i love this one as it is extremely easy, the kids can help, and it gives me a fun keepsake for years to come.

start by taking a trip to your local home depot, lowes or other home improvement store. buy several plastic liners that are used as to catch water run off for potted plants. these can be purchased for about a dollar or so. you'll want a few of them. they can be reused but will only last about two or three times before you have to toss them.

coat your plastic form with something to keep the cement from sticking. i used vaseline the first time and then switched to a non-stick cooking spray. they both worked equally well and the cooking spray was much faster. 

while you are at your home improvement store, purchase some cement. buy the smallest bag possible but make sure it is a sand based mortar. if there are rocks in your mortar, the surface will not be as smooth as you will want it. mix up your cement in a container you don't mind ruining. cement will pretty much destroy your containers. i used a disposable ziplock storage container that i threw away afterward. it worked perfectly. 

fill up your container with the dry cement and add water a little at a time until you reach a brownie batter consistency. then you are ready to pour into your plastic container. fill up your container leaving a small bit of room at the top so your cement doesn't fall over the sides. smooth out your cement, creating a flat surface.

start adding your decorations. if you want to do a mosaic, you can purchase mosaic glass pieces at a craft store. the box below made about three stepping stones. start with your glass tiles in the middle and work your way out. 

if you are wanting a stone with your kids' hand or feet prints, try using some glass gems to create a border. these are easy to put into your cement and they stick well. decorate your stepping stone with the pieces of glass when it is still wet and press the pieces into your wet cement to ensure the pieces will stay in the cement as it dries.

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if you are doing your child's hand print or foot print, wait for the cement to dry for about a half an hour or so and test it. do an impression with your own hand and see if it will stick without the cement filling back in. if it does fill back in, wait a little longer. if it does not, carefully press your kids hands into the cement. make sure you are pressing deep enough that the impression will be noticed. 

if you want to add your child's name, you can simply write into your stepping stone or you can use plastic letter impressions. i found these at a craft store as well and i like how clearly they will stamp in the name. again, wait until your cement is firm enough for the letter impressions to stay.

wait a day or so before you try to remove your stone from the plastic. flip your stone over and gently remove the liner. you can then use your liner again. wipe off any cement debris with a wet cloth and you can display your stones in your favorite garden. 

growing a green thumb...

gardening has become my newest hobby. before recently, i was pretty convinced that i had the opposite of a green thumb. everything i touched seemed to die. i have several plant carcasses as proof.

there is a large spot of land that is directly behind our property. it is part of the community trail. most of the trail area is wild, wooded area but the particular parcel of land directly behind my house was cleared to put in the community water run off from the gutters. it became my ugly pile of weeds that i had the pleasure to look at each day.

i'd finally had enough and asked our HOA if i could take over the land and do some planting. they were more than happy to take that particular area off their hands so it became my project. knowing absolutely nothing and through a process that was mostly trail and error, i began planting. hours and hours of work later (and some money poured into it as well), it is slowly becoming my little patch of farm land. that's right, folks, just call me old mcdonald.

i've started to gather some knowledge from the internet and magazines. eventually i need to buy a huge comprehensive book on fruit and vegetable gardening but, when faced with the purchase, i always choose to buy more plants instead of a book. i know there are better experts out there but i'm going to share a little about what i've learned.

this is a pretty easy place to start. if you have a patch of land, this can be done without building a planter box like i did above. to make the mounds like you see below, you'll first need to till your soil. this can be done by hand (unless you are a super hero, i wouldn't recommend that) or by using a roto-tiller. we happen to own one but they can be rented for pretty cheap from a home improvement store.

once the soil is tilled, put it into a mound in a long row. to this mound of dirt, add top soil and fertilizer (i just buy the bags at a home improvement store). cover the mounds with weed guard. this keeps the weeds away and keeps the soil moist and warm. over the weed guard, we put mulch. this is added insulation and keeps the area looking nice. the finished mounds will look like the picture above.

once you are ready to plant, pull away the mulch and cut holes in your weed guard in spacing as as far apart as your seed packets recommend. i have family in town so i put my little army of workers to work removing the mulch and making holes for the seeds in the soil. i use my hands to move the soil around to make room for the seeds. plant several seeds together in each hole, cover with dirt, replace the mulch and water well.

you can read the directions on your seed packets to find out when the seeds will start to sprout. you'll need to thin out your little sprouts to only keep the strongest once they pop through the soil. we planted corn last night so we'll have to see how it turns out. pumpkins should be going in soon for a fall harvest. in most areas, it's not too late to start some planting but you will have to water well so be prepared for your water bill.

it doesn't take much work and you'll reap a ton of fruit and vegetables. this is my row of cantaloupes. each little yellow flower will be another melon.

these watermelon vines were started about a month ago. they are starting to blossom and i've got my first baby watermelon growing. i have to say, i don't think i could be more proud than if i'd given birth to that little sucker myself!

i know it may seem daunting or out of your comfort zone but i cannot tell you how rewarding this process has been for me. as a parent, how often do we get to see nearly immediate results to some of our labor? it doesn't happen very often. these little vines of success make me so happy. and i'll take that, any day.