A PLACE TO GROW

Once a chicken house and then a workshop, this refurbished red shed is now Linda’s happy place. “It’s my little playhouse,” she says with glee. The family of a late friend gave her the structure, which had been named The Hut, and she was tasked with moving and restoring it for her purposes. A carpenter friend helped bring her vision to life by building ledges over the windows for license-plate awnings and window boxes made from metal window wells. Get the look of Linda’s window boxes by following these steps:

1.

Prepare the window well by hammering or bending the ends slightly to flatten into flanges that allow the box to be placed flush against the wall. Drill several holes to prepare the flanges for screws.

2.

Construct a planter bottom by cutting a board in a half-oval shape that matches the arc of the galvanized corrugated metal. Drill holes a few inches apart in the side of the metal box near the bottom, and attach the board to the box with screws.

3.

Measure the length of the planter box, and cut vinyl siding for the back of the box.

4.

Drill a 1" hole in the center of the wood bottom, and insert a drainage tube.

5.

Install the planter box by driving long screws through the flange holes, through the vinyl siding backing and into the wall of a garden shed.

6.

Line the box with landscaping plastic. Cover the bottom of the box with a shallow layer of gravel or packing peanuts, and fill with potting soil.

7.

Arrange plants in a variety of heights for interest. The soil should be refreshed each year for healthy flowers.

Roll a child’s wheelbarrow and an old seed spreader into your garden to use as planters.

Linda saves chipped china from the landfill by putting it to good use in the garden. She digs a shallow trench, inserts plates and platters, and backfills with soil to hold them in place. To produce a whimsical look, she mixes floral prints with solids and leans extra-large dinnerware on chairs and other garden features. Linda’s potting shed, now painted her favorite color, began its life as an outhouse at the church she attended as a child. She remembers when the small church installed a proper restroom, so this structure brings a smile to her face. To enliven the garden shed even more, Linda surrounds it with birdhouses mounted on posts of varying heights and a blue-and-white marbleized birdbath.