Building a Storage Shed

....Or rather, paying someone else to build one for me. Professional carpenter I am not.

This project started back before the end of 2012. Jacob and I knew when we bought this house that we wanted to put a storage shed in the backyard so we could convert the garage into a music room for me. Well, it's done, and ain't it purty??

 

Obviously I still need to paint it, and I'm actually thinking I'll stain it, and just paint the trim, and I need to add shelving and hanging storage inside, but I elected to do those parts myself to save a little bit of money.

But lets get back to the beginning. I tried to do my research on this and in reading up on what makes a good quality shed. I found very quickly that I could get a larger, better quality shed for a much better price if I just had one built rather than buying one from the hardware store.

So I found a contractor that I liked and who gave me a price that I liked (a 10'x12' shed for under $2k) and let him have at it.

I worried that I would need to get a construction permit, but my contractor fortunately knew that Metro Nashville doesn't require a building permit for a shed that can be put on a skid and moved. With that knowledge, he was able to design and build a shed without the added cost of a permit. Gotta love a contractor who's on your side right?

He started with the floor built onto the cinder block foundation.

 

And then framed out the walls.

Next came the actual walls.

And the roof was framed. You can actually see the metal roofing material off to the side.

Next came the roof, fascia, cutting in the doors and trimming them out.

Then the window for some light (with associated trim)...

And finally the skirting around the bottom accompanied by some serious happy dancing!

Have you ever built, bought or otherwise added a shed to your yard? What was your experience like? Right now, I'm just excited that the garage can be cleared out for some music room making!

News, News, News

I hinted a few weeks ago here that I had some pending news to share. Well, it took a little longer than I expected, but here it is....

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!!!!!

Just in case you couldn't tell, I'm a little bit excited about it. The property is still in Inglewood, so we're not going far, but now I have to figure out how and what to move from the garden. I have purposely put off transplanting my started seeds into the ground, but what about stuff from the flower bed?

I am considering digging up the still tiny boxwoods and putting them into containers to put by the front door.

As for all the bulbs planted in this bed, should I dig them up? Just get new ones? The same neighbors that gave me these offered to let me dig up more from their overcrowded beds.

What about the daffodils that bloomed for the first time this spring? Should I dig those up and take them with me? Is it worth it?

I definitely want to take this hosta with me. I think it needs to be divided, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea while it's in the middle of it's growth cycle. Any thoughts on this?

Have you undertaken a garden move before? Did you take everything with you, or did you decide that some things would be too much trouble to move? HELP!!!

Latest Update and Pictures from the Flower Garden

Ok, so I've been a little MIA lately....things have been a tiny bit crazy in my neck of the woods and I hope I'll have some good news to share SOON!

In the mean time, here's some pictures from around the flower garden to tide you over. I'll cover the rest in another post!

 

Ok, here's a full shot of the right flower garden. Look how giant the hosta is getting! I think it's bigger than the boxwoods.

 Also, here's a closer look at the Roman Chamomile (it doesn't make blooms for tea, but it smells nice when you walk on it!) that's going gangbusters around the ornamental grass that has yet to show anything but dead straw. I'm not worried yet....it did this last year too.

Even though I didn't dig up my dahlia bulbs last year, they're still growing back...who knew? Maybe it was just the crazy mild winter. Also, you can see that the busyness of late has kept me from keeping my flower bed completely weed-free.

Said dahlias are in this left flower bed. There are lots of irises in here, but they haven't bloomed yet. I'm thinking they aren't getting enough sun.

However, the hydrangea and geraniums seem to be lovin' their spot on the side of the house. It's an east-facing wall, so they get plenty of sunshine.

And if you look closely, you can see that I'm starting to get some buds on the hydrangea! Hooray!!

This handsome fella decided he needed to get in on the picture taking...and I couldn't resist showing him off!

What's going on in your garden these days? Any fun happenings?

More Composty Goodness and Some Planting

Another tub of compost showed up at my house on Saturday courtesy of my lovely friends who say they currently have WAY too much of it.

Not sure what I'm going to do with all of it yet (though I'm sure I'll find something!), but I put some of it to work as mulch around my baby blueberry. First though, I had to drag it up the hill to the back of the yard where the garden is. I've definitely had my exercise for the day!

In other news, I got my nasturtiums and peas planted! My next door neighbor stuck two tomato cages in the garden yesterday, so I decided to use those as a trellis for the peas to climb. I'll have to build another one that spans the end of the raised bed later, but for now, I feel like this is a good start.

My nasturtiums went in as a companion to the tulips I potted a few weeks ago, and also in a colorful coffee can I had saved to use as a container, and poked some drainage holes in. Maybe a little strange, but it works, right?

Seeds have arrived!

My seeds arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. I ordered from Park Seed Co. based in Greenville, SC (not too far from the family home). I find that it is less expensive than Burpee, and allows me to put some money into an economy that is, if not local to me in Nashville, is local to the economy that the rest of my family operates in.

Since it's raining and thunderstorming today, I think I will take the time to chart out exactly when I need to start the seeds for them to be ready for transplanting at the proper time.

Where do you order your seeds from? When do you start planting?