A Tipi at the Organic Farm

TipiJuly 28, 2010
Home gardeners know that gardening is not  just the bare basics.  Garden decorations enter the picture at some point.  Some aren't even intended garden decorations but meant rather to serve practical purposes likes pest deterrents or critter protectors like toad home.  The organic farm has a wonderful tipi constructed on a bit of open space.  Despite adding character, the tipi

Raised Beds at the Organic Farm

Strawberry BedsJuly 28, 2010
Imagine my delight when we pulled onto the organic farm to see 2 raised beds planted using the square foot gardening method and larger raised beds for the everbearing and June bearing strawberries.  Pictured are 3 of the raised beds for strawberries.  I didn't get a picture of the smaller (4' x 4' ) square foot raised beds.  I will be sure to get a picture the next

Three Sisters Garden Bed

Three Sisters Garden BedJuly 28, 2010
A few days ago a flyer arrived in our mailbox letting us know about a new organic farm operation in our area.  I'm always watching for this type of thing for the fruits and vegetables I either don't grow enough of or don't grow at all.  Yesterday we drove out to see the operation and oh my gosh it is fabulous!  The next few posts will give a bit more on some

Giant Hogweed

Warnings have been issued for southern Ontario regarding giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) aka giant cow parsley.  This is a  perennial, invasive noxious weed that reaches a height of 5 metres is a public health risk.  The sap contains furocoumarin, a chemical that renders skin extremely susceptible to UV exposure resulting in severe burns and blistering (phytophotodermatitis).  This can

Make a statement !

Just because your place is small does not mean you can't make a impact with your design. People often make the mistake of not using larger pieces, thinking it will take up too much space. Not true !!

A little bit of woodworking a little bit of home repair and One heck of a view

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do some work for a friend.  This friend has a house on a lake that needed some repair work done to a couple of exterior doors.  After many years of weather some of the wood finally started rotting. 

First of all this was my view at 7:30am Saturday morning……

 

 

 

 

 

I have to tell you it doesn’t get much better than this.  I have always been a lake guy even though I have never spent a ton of time on them and I love boats, so this view pretty much made my day.  I had to keep reminding myself that I am there to work not watch the boats go by.  So anyway…  To the work part of this…..

Take a look at the shots of the rot --

This is one of the doors. This one was the difficult one.  The one that scared me, the one that had me thinking for a few minutes what the heck did I get myself into, however after stepping back cooler heads prevailed. 

 

 

 

 

 

This one looks pretty bad but it was actually really easy to fix, so lets start here.

This is on a single open French door so this is the bulkhead between the door that opens and the static window/door.  The first thing we did was figure out how to separate the rotted board from the rest of the door or if we would have to build a patch.  We were able to find the seam and start to separate the bulkhead.

 

 

 

 

A little prying and she came right off.  You have to make sure not to pry to hard and damage the other side of the door.   Just take your time and go slowly.

 

 

 

 

 

I trimmed a board that was the same width of the bulkhead.  I just used a miter saw to cut it to size.

I attached the board using some finish nails.  I set the nails just below the surface and filled them with some caulk.  Make sure to use an exterior caulk.  One the board was attached I also ran a bead of caulk down the inside edge where the wood meets the door to seal any gaps, I did the same where the board meets the other part of the bulkhead.  One area that you want to make sure you get some caulk into is at the location of the original rot, make sure you get plenty of caulk at the bottom of the board between the board and the metal transition plate.  That way if there is ever any standing water it keeps the water from soaking into the wood as much as possible.

This is how that door turned out.  I painted the entire door frame and doors, in addition to the new wood that was installed.

 

 

 

 

 

Now onto the scary door…..

So you saw the rot from above.  I made some assumptions about the construction of the door that turned out not to be totally correct. 

*******  If my friend is reading this post please just skip this section.  This totally isn’t your house…   *************

  Once I started the demolition of the rotted area it became apparent that the door was not built as we thought.  Instead of being multiple pieces the door was a single piece or it was glued together so well that we would have destroyed the entire door trying to go the original route of removing the rotted piece.  Instead of being able to just pry the piece off like the other door I ended up having to cut this section out.  There was more rotted wood than what you could see with the eye so I cut a little bigger than the rotted wood so to make sure there was no bad wood left. 

To cut this section out I used a great new tool from Dremel tools, called the Dremel Trio this was a super handy little tool. 

From this point I started rebuilding the frame.  I used several pieces of wood to build up the thickness we needed to fill the gap.

Once I had the right thickness I was able to start test fitting the piece in the hole and fine tuning everything.

Here is what the section looked like after I got the piece built up, at this point I caulked the heck out of everything to make sure it was sealed up tightly.

 

 

 

 

 

After Painting caulking and painting some more here is what the door looks like now. What rotted wood and hole are you talking about.  I don’t remember any rotted wood or a large gaping hole in the door. 

 

 

 

 

 

So here is the whole area all cleaned up and doors repaired and repainted.  I think it turned out pretty well. 

I know it looked scary at first but keep in mind there are very few things that cannot be fixed and usually they are pretty simple once you step back and take a look and think things through. 

Have a Great Day!

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: wood working,home improvement,DIY,Home repair,paint.

Weeds, Weeds and More Weeds

The combination of copious amounts of rain daily with high temperatures and humidity have spurred a surge of weeds in the raised garden beds.  I seriously don't mind weeds in my gardens because some of them are edible and others act as companion plants to protect the fruits and vegetables.  However at this point I have no choice but to weed especially when the weeds start overshadowing the

First Tomato of 2010

First TomatoJuly 24, 2010

I picked the first ripe tomato of the season on Saturday.  It is a Tiny Tim and as you can see from the picture of the tomato on 2 - inch ceramic tiles it does live up to its name.  While this little tomato won't be enough for a sandwich I used it in a loaf of Italian Garden bread.  I'm looking forward to many more tomatoes to come!

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©

Turning Leaves

Turning LeavesJuly 23, 2010
My Mom taught me to look to the sky for weather signs.  I learned from a very early age that turning leaves meant very nasty thunderstorms.  Combined with ominous stillness the turning leaves meant the eye of the storm is very close.  Outside the eye of the storm the winds gain speed.  Friday's storm brought the turning leaves pictured yet an eerie stillness before

Yesterday's Storm

We have had a very nasty bout of violent storms over the past few days.  Yesterday one of these storms blew up so I took a few video clips.  This video clip does not show the full force of the violence as I ended up having to take cover.  Cedar trees to the left just out of range of the camera moments later were bent almost in half.  The rain came down so hard the garden was barely visible. 

Please Welcome the Latest Inhabitants of the Gnome Empire

New ArrivalsJuly 22, 2010 
Many people don't realize that Gnomes come in a variety of sizes much like their human counterparts.  They also have a wide range of interests.  The smallest Gnome is an exclusive design from Cape Shore.  He is about 2 - inches tall.  Unlike working Gnomes this little one is all about lounging on the beach complete with drink in hand.  He sports sunglasses and a funky

Horseradish

Horseradish(Armoracia rusticana)July 21, 2010
I have always wanted to grown horseradish but had never got around to it.  This year bought horseradish online from Ritchers Herbs in late June and planted it in two pots.  I planted in pots for two reasons.  First horseradish can be invasive in the garden and second our house is on the market so planted in pots will allow me to bring them to the new

Kitchens !

Some smallish size kitchens for cool ideas !

A Brief Garden Update

My gosh the weather has been somewhat strange here.  The past few weeks we have had blistering heat followed by almost daily thunderstorms.  I've battled a few insects the first few weeks of the garden but now it seems that pests have gone by the wayside replaced with weather conditions.  Other than that the garden is looking rather good!  So here is a brief update:
progress - Marketmore

Waterball Garden Update

Waterball Garden UpdateJuly 16, 2010
Last month I posted on setting up a waterball garden using polyacrylamide decorative gel.  The waterballs had a wonderful, whimsical look so I used them to set up three vases of cuttings.  The gel works well and I have no complaints as far as starting non-edible plant cuttings.  They are quite pretty at first.  Pictured to the right are the crystal balls fully

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's LaceJuly 14, 2010
Queen Anne's Lace aka wild carrot is a fairly common weed here.  The plant was introduced from Europe.  It is a biennial that blooms from May through October.  Some consider Queen Anne's Lace invasive as it can crowd out native plants but most find this pretty weed easy to control.  The tap root which is a carrot is edible although the leaves are toxic and can cause

The First of the Zucchini Summer Squash

Zucchini Summer SquashJuly 16, 2010
I picked the first of the zucchini a couple of days ago.  The zucchini is growing in a 5 gallon container.  It has been looking quite promising but it will be interesting to see how the zucchini performs overall in the container.  I don't know the variety of this zucchini as the tag was missing when I bought it.  So far the squash is a bit misshaped but that

Rose of Sharon (Athea) in Bloom

Rose of Sharon"Athea"July 13, 2010
The Rose of Sharon is in bloom a bit earlier this year.  The bush has grown nicely apparently appreciating some of the clean out of surrounding bushes and trees we have done over the last couple of year.  I just love the double blooms on this Rose of Sharon!  Apparently the humming birds do too as one has been seen frequenting the garden.

Happy Gardening!

An open letter to Marija

The blissfully married Cory and Marija 

"Grief is the price we pay for love"
Queen Elizabeth II

Dearest Marija;

We found each other via blogging, communicating in cyberspace..........then we finally met, what was it, only 5 weeks ago?

Then you left............it wasn't supposed to be this way, we had plans, we did your BFF "pinky promise"

How often in life does an initial meeting turn into a mutual "WE WANT TO BE BFF'S FOREVER!" chant? In adulthood that is....rememberances of such utterances at 12 was not uncommon. At this age....... rarely. I am blessed with many wonderful friends; "sister" reigns as a "bestest", long time friends with shared histories,  new friends with a shared liking, unbelivable/always there friends like Joyce   ...........but you Marija were my first "everything" friend.

We planned your move to Wayne when the children finished school teasing Cory,  "we'll find another Greek Revival" to which Cory in good natured fashion replied "OK, I suppose we can do that", shrugging and raising an eyebrow of amusement, we were going to travel together to all antiquing events, meet your "precocious" Olivija and your "charmer" Nigel, work together on your landscaping

Our most immediate plans to go to Eddie and Jaithans  had us giggling with anticipation, "quick we need to get a flight!", your casualness on how I too could stay at your nearby clients "Come! She won't mind", delighted me. Then onto Washington, D.C. to see Michele of My Notting Hill, our other new friend, even plans to introduce Croatia your beloved heritage. And the THIS IS FUN!!! Let's keep meeting bloggers everywhere we go!

The twelve hour drive home was highly anticipated with so many "oh that story is too long, let's wait for the car trip"

The last Starbucks caffeine injection where you excitedly ran back to get your 'ATLANTA' mug. My watching you in awe; "how can someone be simultaneously childlike and elegant at the same time?"

Then the accident.....................

Marija...........I am haunted by the shared tragedy..........haunted that I lived and you did not.

Marija............. Grief stricken beyond belief that I asked you to drive, that I was too tired to keep going.

Marija.............questioning GOD, remembering and re-playing every detail, asking dear GOD WHY?! Why YOU!

Do know Marija that you left me with so much to learn. I may never get there friend but your example set a permanent guidepost.

     Discard jealousies and pre-conceived notions

     Give everyone a chance

     Try to be everyone's friend "it's easy and really natural, why not!"   

     Humility and intelligence is very attractive

     Self-deprecating humor is a gift bestowed upon others 

     Approach life with a child-like wonder 

     Share of yourself, be vocal about your thoughts, your feelings your life

And lastly dearest girlfriend to keep one's promises. We were and always will be BFF's, I just wanted it to go on

With all my heart and soul, loving you Marija, always

Debra

My First Marketmore Cucumber

First Marketmore Cucumber(Cucumis sativus)July 13, 2010
I picked the first Marketmore cucumber on Tuesday (July 13).  Marketmore matures in about 60 days.   produces a long 9 - 11 inch straight cucumber with white spines.  It is resistent to many cucumber diseases.  It's important to keep the cucumbers picked to prevent the seeds from maturing otherwise the vine will stop producing.

The cucumber

String Lights

Hi all! Sorry about my lack of post, I was on vacation over the fourth. Anyways, I spent a lot of times outdoors. One thing my eye is always drawn to is string lights. I love the vibe they give off. I have my eye on a tree in my yard that would look great ! How do you "light" your outdoor spaces ??

A Few Thoughts on 'Propagation Prohibited'

Yesterday I mentioned that the geraniums I had bought had propagation prohibited on the tag.  Essentially the plant developer holds the rights to that plant so you are not supposed to propagate the plant by asexually means such as cuttings or divisions.  You can however propagate the plant through pollination meaning you can collect seeds it produces.  On the surface the Plant Holder's Rights

Pinnacle Salmon '07 Geranium

Pinnacle® Salmon '07 GeraniumJuly 12, 2010

Geraniums have never been my favourite garden plant.  The reason being my mother would line every windowsill in the house with geranium cuttings in the fall so she would have geraniums for the following year.  I found the scent overpowering.  The past few years I have come to appreciate the simple beauty of geraniums.  They are available in a wide range

Rogue Daisy

Rogue DaisyJuly 9, 2010
An interesting thing happens after you rip out old garden beds.  Every once in awhile an old plant from the former bed reappears in the new garden bed or if the old bed was seeded/sodded through the grass.  A couple of days ago I discovered this pretty daisy poking through the now grass where a former garden bed was.  What really surprises me is this particular area was

A Petunia Garden

Petunia GardenJuly 10, 2010
Part of loving gardening is enjoying and learning from other gardeners.  Saturday we took the boat out for a wonderful day spent on the water.  I managed to snap this picture of a petunia garden from the boat.  I'm actually impressed at how clear it came out.  Aren't those frogs simply adorable?  They look like they are enjoying their quiet spot tucked in the petunias!

Pruning Evergreens

Midsummer is the ideal time to prune evergreens because they are semi-dormant. Evergreens that can be pruned midsummer include those with random-branching growth patterns like yews, arborvitae, hemlocks, cedars and junipers. Arborvitae can be lowered by 20 percent to a lower branch crotch. The branch tips should be lightly pruned to balance the overall shape. Junipers can be pruned to remove

Powdery Mildew

My experience with zucchini and cucumber is they tend to be prone to powdery mildew.  Powdery mildew in the cucurbit family is is a fungal disease caused by Sphaerotheca fuliginea.  In severe cases it will destroy the entire plant as well as spreading to healthy plants.  As with any plant disease recognizing and treating the problem early can make a huge difference as to whether the crop is saved

The First of the Marketmore Cucumbers

Marketmore CucumbersJuly 7, 2010
The marketmore cucumber plant went in the herb bed along with the main garden planting in late May and early June.  It showed a few signs of transplant shock but all new growth has been quite healthy looking.  The lower leaves have a few brown spots possibly Alternaria leaf blight caused by Alternaria cucumerina fungus on them so I will spray with a milk solution

Chicago Cardinal Red Daylilies in Bloom

Chicago Cardinal Red DayliliesJuly 6, 2010
Daylilies are just spectacular garden performers!  They are always such a delight to see.  The Chicago Cardinal Red daylilies started off well with a bright, showy display.  The clump has spread a bit from last year so that is nice to see as well.  The heat wave quickly started affecting their blooms causing them to fade a bit quicker than normal.  We

Emergency Container Resuce

Ontario and Quebec are experiencing a heat wave with hot, humid weather.  This is the type of weather that can end up killing off a few container plants.  The problem is even if the container is watered thoroughly in the morning by early afternoon it may need watering again.  This year I added SoilMoist™ granules to my non-edible planters to help with water management but even that is proving to

Watering Globe Update

I posted back in mid-May about the automatic watering globes I bought.  I thought these would be a nice water management tool especially for indoor use.  I've had a chance to use the watering globes for almost 2 months now so thought I would report back on my experience.   The watering globes are very easy to use.  You simply fill them then insert into the planter.  However I did find that the

Eight days of Madness

                                                                photo courtesy of Pearachute Media      
We all have internal gifts, be it the gift of gab, of charm, of good looks, or humor (that's a good trait), others a natural sense of style, an ease for entertaining, the skills of a master chef or maybe the "eye" for seeing the possibilities in everyday objects.  Eddie Ross possesses all of the above and shares his knowledge engagingly.

 

We could not wait................the anticipation and prep was challenging but fun

The brilliant team of Eddie and partner Jaithan Kochar came for eight days and yes, did stay at my home and yes, that guest room did get cleaned..........and yes, we now miss them terribly 
NOTE; CAN ANYONE POSTING IN BLOGGER TELL ME HOW TO CORRECT THE BLURRING OF A NAME/WORD THAT IS NOT IN THEIR DICTIONARY?

Even Cooper seemed to know the party  was over. But let's look back.................

First was the WOW party, Without the Work, a how-to for easy entertaining that Eddie and I co-hosted. But, when you are hosting an event for 100, it takes many hands. See how fortunate we were, just like one on-going party!

Michele came from Washington, D.C. and is the blogger of 'My Notting Hill' (a long time favorite)

Albert from Pennsylvania, a professional event coordinator; The Chicago opening was flawless with Albert at the helm.

The effervescent Joyce from Nashville

Marija, my new BFF and brilliant (yes.......I choose well ) designer and blogger of 'Holding Court'

Richard, the genius concrete artist, from Atlanta surrounded by the Scentimental Gardens "family". Sarah, Sister, Vicky and Susan.

 Eddie introduced the Fresca/Vodka/lime summer refresher our sustenance through out.

Why 8 days of madness?

• getting my home ready for guests.........major
• preparing for the WOW event
• trying to open the new shop in Chicago SG Grand (take a tour!)
• Hosting the Grand Opening party for 300!
• Day after the party join Eddie and Jaithan at the Randolph Flea market for a Chicago Tribune story
• Next day, set-up, cook and host a garden party on my grounds.........the day after a mini tornado (read downed trees) for the Chicago Tribune story.
• Off to Dallas for the gift mart
• Currently setting off for my southern 8 day antiquing trip with my new friends Marija and Joyce.
• Dinner in Atlanta with Eddie and Jaithan, a happy reunion.

                     W H E W!

Next posts...........The how to's of the WOW party
                          The opening of SG GRAND with a surprise, think Ellen Degeneres and Oprah!

                                 s t a y    t u n e d

xo
Debra

A Short Garden Update

I thought I should give a short garden update.  The raised beds are looking rather good.  The lettuces have not done well but that is to be expected with the warmer weather so perhaps I will have better luck in the fall.  The radishes are lagging a bit too although I'm not sure why.  The much anticipated the first zucchini fizzled.  I'm trying to figure out why and the only thing I can come up

Patio Space

If you have limited space outside (and yes I know a lot of people have NO outdoor space) but if you are limited, a table for just two is always a good thing. If you can't have a party for 30 at least you have a spot for a great conversation one on one!

Effective Watering Strategies

Watering the garden is likely one of the most important chores during the summer months.  Any container plants need to be watered daily and quite often a couple of times during the day.  Container plants on balconies in particular need extra water during hot spells.  A few days ago we had a period of wet weather.  While out and about on a rainy day last week I noticed the sprinkler system going

New Raised Beds (2)

Yesterday I posted about the new raised beds going in.  The beauty of raised beds is they are easier plant and maintain as well as being easier to protect against critters like rabbits.  If rabbits are a problem the bed is already raised by at least 8 - inches so simply adding low fencing meant as garden edging that is about a foot tall around the inside perimeter at the soil level is high enough

New Raised Beds (1)

I've been talking of expanding the raised beds since the end of last growing season.  It's been a rather funny year what with the house on the market and going on vacation the new beds were put on the back burner this spring.  Once the other beds  and most of the containers were planted combined with no offers on the house I made the executive decision to put the new beds in anyway.  Originally I

Magenta Madness® Petunia

Magenta Madness® PetuniaJune 25, 2010

The Magenta Madness® petunias are in full bloom, quickly filling their container.  The blooms on this petunia are large and colourful.  I love the gorgeous lilac colour of the blooms!  They are so bright and cheery.  Did you know petunias attract hummingbirds?  They do although so far I haven't seen any hummingbirds flitting around the garden yet.  I planted