START OF CLEARING A NEW SPOT

Here is a new area I've started clearing.  I wish I had a before photo, because a year ago, it was covered in brush and random branches.  It's not entirely finished of course as the rain has slowed my progress but I took this photo to share anyway.

It's in the midst of a grove of trees and we thought this little clearing would make a nice spot for a small bistro table and chairs. I'm not sure what to put down under it, I think I would be OK with just keeping it mowed and put these there since they would be movable and it would be easy to get it all out of the way for yard work.

We're thinking just a small table and chair set for two would be best, something more personal for us rather than large tables/seating for groups at future dinner parties.

Yellow is pretty...

So is blue...

And of course there is always red...

It faces the neighbor's fence (and occasional cows) but it has a nice view of green and sky all the time as seen in the picture above.  We loved these yellow wildflowers that popped up just as Fall started to set in. The best part of all is that it also faces the general direction of sunrise so we can eventually enjoy a cup of coffee/hot tea in the morning and watch the sunrise.

I'm getting areas cleared this year so that next year we can start the process of buying outdoor furniture and things to put in those cleared areas.  Do the hard work now and the easier work of decorating later, ha. It's all part of the works in progress, just one spot of many around the property.  

Slow and steady right?  
After all, it's a marathon not a sprint!

CLEARING OUT UNDER THE PARTY TREE

This is the area I got chopped/mowed/dug up so far under the big tree over the weekend.  It's where we want to put an outdoor dining table.  I'm trying to get rid of as much as possible since it's totally shaded and the only thing growing is tall, grassy weeds.  I think (hope?) I made a pretty good dent.  There is just about as much cleared when turned to look the other direction.

I'm thinking it's at a good enough stopping point (soon anyway) for me to put down some landscape fabric/weed block cloth, throw some heavy stuff on top, and let it sit to "smother" out the leftovers.

The only thing I'm not sure of, is how much more I'm going to weed along the perimeter.  I like the green and leaving it natural, and whatever that grass is, it's growing just fine...it could also just be a lot more work that I could concentrate elsewhere for now, since so many areas on the property need work.  Then maybe next Fall, I could do some more clearing.  I'll have to put some sort of border around the edges anyway to hold in the pea gravel (or whatever ground cover we go with) so clearing it out totally is not really necessary, it's just more of an aesthetic thing.

PARTY / PICNIC TREE TABLE IDEA

Photo Courtesy of:  Sunset

Recently, I blogged HERE about our tree and how we hoped to put a table under it to make it into an outdoor dining area.  NO, this isn't what we did, ha, but we did find this picture online.  We love the more informal and casual look of this kind of setup.  We could totally see something like this underneath the tree.  It even has a pea gravel "floor", which several of you suggested.  Add some overhead lanterns and some white Christmas tree type lights wrapped around the branches (as was also suggested by several of you) and we would be good to go.  I'd even like to add some billowy fabric for a canopy to make it desert chic (another awesome suggestion!)  Now, I just have to keep my eye out for a table that is similar to the one in this picture.  So what do you think?  Is this a good inspiration for our picnic tree area?  We want something not quite so formal, something that fits a more rustic farmhouse.


That's something I'm always trying to look for online, something that the moment I see it, I go "THAT'S exactly the look we want".  Then I have a record of it here and I can look back and, hopefully, recreate it.  Now I just need to do a little retail therapy and find a table and some bench seating (love that part) like this...and some plants...and some lanterns/lights...and a whole truckload of pea gravel...and then all we'll need to supply is the manual labor, ha.

FUTURE OUTDOOR DINING AREA

As many of you who have followed the blog know, we have this awesome, old, Mesquite tree, that we've called the "party tree".  2nd Family has a similar tree and it becomes the gathering place at parties, you know, just like the kitchen in your house becomes the gathering place.  So they started calling it the party tree and now we do the same (even though we haven't had a party yet).

Recently, we got the area around it all cleared out so we could see what we have to work with later this Spring...

Here is the area looking from the front porch.  You can see the spot back under there where we would like to make a dining area.  There is also room for a lot more to happen "around" the tree, now that we have it cleared, my mind races at the thought of possibilities.  Maybe we should call it the dining tree?

Here, I am standing in the spot where we'd like to put an outdoor dining table (as indicated in red by my lifelike graphics skills).  This is looking toward the back area behind the tree and the property behind ours.  As you can see, we I still have more stuff to clear out back there, including small trees and vines and other things popping up.  You can also see that grass doesn't grow, because it's pretty much shaded all the time.  Does anyone have an idea for a good ground cover that would work like a "carpet" under the table?  Something to walk on, that would hold up to foot traffic but not get too tall?

Here is the view in the same spot, looking back toward the house.(see, the table is still there, beautiful huh?)   I wish I could have a picture of how nice it is underneath there.  It's shaded, and cool, and tall, and very peaceful underneath the branches.  There are none that are too low, it's just perfect for walking around.  There are even a couple of branches that would be perfect for holding a light fixture of some sort.  Candles?  Lanterns?  Electric lights?

Planning is half the fun!

So any suggestions for plants?  Table/chair ideas?  Other things?

 

OUR FIRST BURN PILE

Burn Pile!

It's our first burn pile.  I know, I know.  For most of you in the country, this is probably a regular occurrence.  For us, in the city obviously we can't have this and even in the country, there has been a burn ban in effect for over a year and no one was able to do any burning at all.  All of the stuff I have cut down and put aside, has just been in a pile for the better part of six months.  Flash forward to this past weekend when 2nd Family came up to the house and did a TON of yard work for us as a surprise and when we got out there, they were just starting the burn pile.  We got to help get it all set up and burning and then we were in charge of stoking it and keeping it going.  As you can see, there was a nice breeze blowing the smoke AWAY from the house...

Burn Pile Closeup

It was kind of exciting, and a mini milestone for us.  It's funny, we stood around for probably 30 minutes just staring at the fire.  What is it about a fire like this that is so primal and fascinating?  Of course, it was a nice cool winter day and the cool breeze and warm heat was awesome.


It also turns out that this is a GREAT location for a fire (on the property) as it's away from trees and away from the house.  So I'm thinking this might be a great place for a DIY ground fire pit that we have in mind.
I'll post more on that later. 


Until then, WE HAVE FIRE!


Woo hoo!

PLANTERS ON FENCE POSTS

Planters on fence posts

While we don't have a fence out there just yet, I really thought this was a cool idea.  Putting planters like this on each post and filling them with plants.  I could see them filled with tall flowers, or something pretty and colorful cascading down the sides.  Should be very easy to do.

I'm guessing a galvanized bucket would be the best thing to use (at least that's what we would use) but you could probably just as easily use plastic or anything else you find.  Just drill a hole near the top edge, put a nail on the fencepost, and then hang the planter just like you would hang a picture on the wall.  Oh, and don't forget a drainage hole in the bottom either, otherwise your plants will "suffocate" from too much water.

A neat and simple project!  We can't wait to do little "extra" things like this!

OUTDOOR CHESS SET - FARM COOLNESS

Outdoor Chess Set

I'll admit, I've never been a big chess player, but when I saw this online, I thought it would make an awesome idea for "someday" on the property.  This would be such an easy DIY.  A couple of benches, a big square table, a painted checkerboard pattern on a large piece of wood, and you'd be done.  I bet the hardest thing would be finding large playing pieces.  Hmm, you could even do checkers, and for that, you could very easily find something round to substitute for the actual checkers themselves.

Anyway, just a random thing that I thought was a pretty neat idea.

OLD BIKE AS GARDEN PLANTER

Old bike planter (click to enlarge)

I think I forsee buying an old bicycle in our future!  This is such a cute outdoor decorating idea.  Similar to my post about the old tractor as yard art, only easier!

I think I even know a tree where this would look perfect.

OUTDOOR DINING IDEAS

Another thing we've always wanted, and of course couldn't have until we had

actual large yard / land, was an outdoor dining area, for al fresco dining.

So I've been saving pictures, as I run across them, of outdoor dining "rooms" to give us inspiration.

So here they are, in no particular order, some of our favorite ideas.

Here is a nice table set up under a tree....

Several picnic tables next to each other make for a nice casual area, but they've got it decorated so

nicely, it turns it from casual to semi formal.  Very nice.

Not sure we need anything this long, ha, but it sure would be fun to have this many people to dinner at the farm.  Of course 2nd Man might have a nervous breakdown cooking for that many people, but still, it would make for one memorable evening!

Colorful and homey, a nice picnic type area under a shady spot.

The checkerboard tablecloth is a nice touch.

This table is nice, but I love the checkerboard grass pattern underneath, what a cool idea.

This might actually be closer to what we end up with, we have a similar spot under the Mesquite party tree i blogged about, and the assortment of random, mismatched chairs looks very inviting.

We already have a tabletop, I'll have to take a picture of it, it used to be a door that Ma had in the house.  My plan is to attach legs to it, seal it with some weatherproofing polyurethane, and re purpose it

as an outdoor tabletop.  Living in Houston, we have access to lots of thrift stores, as well as more garage sales every weekend than you could imagine.  Finding chairs shouldn't be a problem.

I'll keep you posted on the progress, until then, enjoy these outdoor dining experiences.

POTTING SHED IN AN ARMOIRE

Random cool idea picture of the day.

Potting Shed in an Armoire

I've always liked the idea of using armoires for things other than

their original purpose (i.e. clothing). 

Here, a nice old armoire is turned into a spot on the patio for keeping all your

potting and gardening supplies together.

Sort of a potting shed condensed into one spot.

Great idea!

OUTDOOR SOAKING TUB PART 2

After my last post on "outdoor soaking tubs", click HERE for that...

 I decided to post some more pictures I found online.  Here is one next to a house, almost like an outdoor room, very nice.

This is another one of those cool, old, retro style galvanized tubs.  Love the shower above!  And even a mirror and a place to hang a towel on a tree!  Way cool!

This one is fenced in, not something we'd do or need, but it's still nice to see another style.  I like the small table beside it, I could do that with a thrift store find, some Rustoleum, and then I've got the perfect spot to put my wine glass!

I've been getting visitors from doing searches for outdoor tubs.  Who knew this was so popular?  I am currently gathering ideas and will, of course, share them here. When we start working on ours, I'll be sharing our own "before, during and after" photos, each step of the way.

OUTDOOR SOAKING TUB

This was a great idea I read about once and always told myself I would do that at our future farm. I started doing some online research and found it's not that uncommon.  Here are some pics I found.  All you need is an old tub, and those are very easy to find either someplace like Craigslist or a store that sells recycled parts of homes to be torn down.

This one is kind of cool, in a retro, old west kind of way.  Sitting it on a deck of some sort would certainly make it easy to get started.  This looks to be two timbers and a small deck.  Love the crate for the towel and the lantern.  Not sure about the fact that it sits in the full sun though, my goal is to get OUT of the sun and relax. 

I really like this one on the flat stones. It's closest to the kind of area that I will be putting it in, shady, inset in a grove of trees.  Also like the white tub. 

How most of these are set up is to have a nearby source of water, usually a hose that can be brought over to it.  You fill it up, put in a stopper and then get in. Simple as that.  It's not really for bathing, though I suppose you could do that, it's more for just putting on a bathing suit and sitting in there to relax after a hard day's work outside.  I guess maybe it's a sort of "poor man's pool".  The drain is easy, it simply needs a hose hooked to it and then run to wherever you want it drained.  It's greywater so it's safe for your plants/yard.

Here is the area that I want to put our tub in.  It's nice and shady, though it might not look like it in this picture, there is a larger tree canopy over the area.  There is a perfectly natural spot in between two trees where I could put down a bunch of flat stones and then put a tub right on top.  It's also convenient to the back of the house where there is a spigot and a hose that would reach.  The drain could just just run discreetlly into that grove of trees.  I can see some woodland plants, a few lanterns in the trees, some flowers for color, some new green grass, and a nice glass of wine....

what better way to unwind after a day of hard work?

CLICK HERE for part two of "outdoor soaking tubs"