Garden Bed Makeover – Part 1: Planning & Prep

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Garden Bed Before with PlanThe seasons are changing, and it’s time to say goodbye to our winter/spring garden and hello to our new summer garden. We had a prolific crop of lettuce, spinach and carrots in this raised garden bed, but now that their growing season is over, it’s time to give this area of our yard a total makeover before summer! Above is a photo of how completely overgrown and disastrous this area looked a couple of days ago. We have four main issues/areas that we want to address during this makeover…

Air Conditioner Covers
Inspiration by Camelot Art Creations (top) & Stano Landscaping (bottom)

#1 – Cover the Air Conditioner

Our air conditioning unit is HUGE and ugly! It visually overwhelms the garden space, and is a huge eyesore.  Our plan is to build an aesthetically pleasing 3-sided cover for the AC that will also serve a secondary function as storage for my garden tools. I’m feeling inspired by covers like the ones above that can also integrate even more plants and greenery into the area.

tools and hoses organized in tool shedI would love to include storage for my Gilmour Flexogen garden hose and tools on the left side of the AC cover. My Gilmour Flexogen hose and garden tools are my most favorite ever, so I want to make sure that they’re treated and stored properly. I have no idea how Gilmour is able to combine eight different layers into the Flexogen hose (most hoses only have six) and still maintain a super lightweight and ultra flexible profile, but they do! It’s awesome! It’s also made in the USA and comes with a lifetime warranty, so I expect that it will be hanging out in our garden for a very long time.

carrot harvested in bowls #2 – Update the Plants

So long, carrots, and hello, zucchini! I harvested the remaining carrots that were in the raised garden bed, and removed all of the old plants to make room for our summer favorite – zucchini!

Small seedlings  ready to be transplantedMid-June is a little bit late in the season to plant zucchini, but around here it grows quickly and will continue to produce until around November, so we’ll still have time to grow plenty of it! These little seedlings are ready to be popped into the freshly vacated garden bed tomorrow morning.

Flowers and plants in pots Of course, I can’t stop at just filling up the garden bed! I’m planning on adding several potted plants around the edge of the garden bed and the new AC cover as well. I’m still not 100% sure which varieties I’m going to use, but I do want something that will add a splash of color to the space.

Colorful Garden Beds #3 – Bring on the Color!

Speaking of color, I am going to update the drab brown garden bed and give it a bold new look! I’m loving the look of these orchid colored boxes above – such a great contrast to the greens!

4 – Spruce Up the Drinking Fountain

Our backyard drinking fountain is one of my most favorite features since it stops the kiddos from running indoors for water 5,374 times a day, and I have a few awesome ideas to help us freshen up the fountain and the area around it. I can’t wait to get started on this part!

Gilmour Flexogen Hose & Heavy Duty Sprayer for Cleaning The first step towards our dream garden makeover is getting the space cleared, cleaned and ready to go. The garden bed was cleared out, the lawn mowed and edged, and the raised bed got a quick power wash with our Gilmour Flexogen hose and Gilmour Metal Power Jet Wand.

Cleaning the Garden BedThe Power Jet Wand is great! It’s really powerful with a concentrated jet spray tip that makes quick work of dirty cleaning tasks. Now that the space is cleaned up and ready, we can start Phase Two! I’m so excited!

Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks to see how it turns out! For more information about Gilmour garden tools, be sure to follow Gilmour on Facebook!

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4 Comments

  1. Awesome! Sounds like you have big plans for your garden space, and the sound fantastic! Hope everything is coming along smoothly! Thanks for sharing your ideas with us!

  2. I haven’t seen more adorable and more organized garden than yours! Such a great work! I am an enthusiast when it comes to gardening but I haven’t got much experience yet. I have a garden for two years and I still haven’t try grow any veggies. I call gardeners (http://gardenerschiswick.org.uk/) for help when there is something more difficult to be made and I love their work. The kids are really enjoying helping me in the garden and they have asked me many times to start growing veggies together. After I see how wonderful your garden looks, I think that it’s time to try to start our own edible garden! Thank you for the inspiration! I’ll keep following you!