We had a project thread but it's buried somewhere in the past, so I was hoping this one might be more useful.

Okay, now I can get serious about more permanent trellises and yard art. Jamie and I just ordered a mig welder, I can weld a trellis or espalier support as I build it. I have all kinds of broken shovels, hoes, and rakes in the barn waiting to be made into something.

Ric, you will love it! my husband got one a year ago. He has repaired a lot of things, made me a bottle tree, and I have plans to give him for a few plant stands and trellises!

I was thinking today about creating a custom trellis out of copper pipe. I'm going to put my new Carolina Jessamine on either side of the fountain out front. I figure I can have two leg panels where the plants will be set, and merge the panels into one structure just below the top of the fountain. Have it go up another few feet, and then curve in over the fountain like a canopy. That way, the vines will create a background and I'll be able to run a wire to the top for a remote controlled LED of some sort.

The weather was too miserable to start ripping out the shrubs in the front, but I'm itching to get started.

As far as the yews are concerned, you can sort of see what I'm talking about here...


The inside is literally hollow and very little green for the first 12 inches or so above the ground. The branches are 2-3 inches around from the ground to half-way up. If I were to cut it all the way to say, 6 inches above ground, would it come back?

I swear Rick you could almost cut them to the top of that hosta and they would come back much fuller. Besides, if they don't begin to grow out in 2 years, then you'll have a reason to rip them out, and tell Larry someone gave you bad advice.

If you want a less extreme approach, I would cut back the outside branches of the Yew(s) by 1/3 to 1/2, and take enough of the dense top growth off to allow light to penetrate. If it doesn't fill in this year, you can always whack off more next year.

So, about that planter project in front of the porch....

Now you see 'em...


Now you don't !


Phase 1 COMPLETE!


Those suckers came out way easier than I thought they would. The large roots were brittle, so they just snapped off. The fibrous roots were in mulch, so they came up really easy.

The big black thing to the left is a fountain. You can see how much space I've picked up. I told Larry that if we wanted to, we could move the fountain back a bit. Of course, if we do that, the whole planter plan will need a rethink.

I'm just glad I finally got to rip those suckers out!


Phase 2:
Level the ground and position the planters. I need to make a HD run though to get some concrete slabs to put under the planters.

It was nice enough here yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning up the barn. That seems like a never-ending-story.

Another thread somewhere was discussing copper toxicity to plants. Hard for me to think it is a big problem what with all the copper garden stuff, and I did find a link, I think, saying it really cannot travel in the soil anyway.
Copper spray paint works great for me on blue, green or black plastic pots. I'm tempted to try it on pvc for faux copper pipe projects, might take more to cover the white well, or might have trouble sticking on that new smooth pvc versus my scratched old pots.

I'll post a pic of a wicked looking effective weeding/tilling hand tool I found at the Lotte. Well, a cheaper version of this Ho Mi tool.http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/transplanters/ho-mi-ez-digger-9841.0.html?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=MerchantAdv&zmam=80483139&zmas=1&zmac=24&zmap=9841.0&source=google_johnny_seeds&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_GOOG&utm_term=shopping&utm_content=sZLqOmgWX_dc|pcrid|71808251533|pkw||pmt||&&gclid=CNOP9uin_tICFZCCswod_rgOYA
I did not pay over 10$, mine has a raw wood handle but the blade is sharp as heck, and heavy duty

My design daughter says the copper and cool aqua go well together

Very nice -- and good with that rosy tone in the pavers, too.

Sally, try going over the PVC pipe with some sand paper before spraying. The roughed up surface should help it stick better.

Hm Jill, terra cotta pots might mix ok then.
Thanks Rick.

Sally, that tool should work well in your soil.
The mig welder Jamie and I ordered came and he snatched it to go home and play.
I got a real shock yesterday. My internet kept shutting down, or I should say not responding, like every minute. I switched to Microsoft Edge and found out my Win 10 license was expired. What the flock. It's only a week old.
I opened a chat with Dell to find the license key is embedded. The tech I chatted with offered to fix the problem. Yes, Please. 15 mins. later we said bye and all was well, and I could breath again.

I just picked up a gently used Troybilt cultivator/tiller at a yard sale. $150 or about half priced. I prefer to turn my garden with a digging fork so as not to breakup the soil structure, but that's becoming difficult. This should help, and if used sparingly should do minimal damage. We had a smaller one and it was great for turning in compost or other amendments. I also got a new handle for my digging fork @ about $14 at Ace instead of $35 for a new one.

Good deals!. Yeah, a compromise by tilling just once to add amendments seems not to ask too much of the soil.

Google Docs, another tool. I use a chromebook and so google docs are a feature I'm slowly making use of. I can access from home or work (shhhhh!) and it saves all changes. The other night I used small tables on a basic document to lay out a garden plan. One row of six blocks for my tomato row, one row of eight for peppers etc. I always used paper, but it was easier to grab the Cbook and do this.

Oh, I forgot the sample pic.

Tools I can't live without (other than the usual):

My solid steel leverage garden fork
My scuffle hoe (sharpened several times per season)
My poachers shovel (narrow deep blade)
My Uproot Weed Remover (it is SO cool)
My stainless steel trowel
My Orbit fan nozzle (it is metal and not plastic)
My drill auger
My mattock with the grub hoe on the back side, and
My solid steel spade.

I know where part of terabyte is going to go. JR is downloading a game, I ask why was it taking so long and he said it is 7.7GB. My first computer wasn't that big.

Eric4home said:Okay, now I can get serious about more permanent trellises and yard art. Jamie and I just ordered a mig welder, I can weld a trellis or espalier support as I build it. I have all kinds of broken shovels, hoes, and rakes in the barn waiting to be made into something.

Espalier, I am interested to hear this build. I am thinking about an espalier but using wire on a chimney to train........?? Right now I am thinking an Asian Pear. What plant(s)are you thinking about training?