Wednesday, August 11, 2010

River North Townhome Roof Deck

This whole container gardening gig I have going on actually started at a dinner party on Cinco de Mayo.  My husband begged my friend Angela to let me have my way with her roof deck so I would be able to scratch my gardening itch without further digging into our household budget.  (I tend to go a bit overboard on our 4, count em, 4 decks.  It does get a little pricey....)

We started out by looking at lots of pictures to settle on our inspirations:

Loved the grass!

Loved the texture!

Loved the evergreens!

This was a garden coaching project.  Angela was with me every step of the way.  First, we made a trek to Jayson Home & Garden for containers and Gethsemane and Home Depot for plants.  Note:  I usually steer clear of Home Depot for plants, but they had such a good deal on the evergreen spiral topiaries we couldn't resist.  Note:  Angela is forever a deal-maker, and she got 20% off two big pots at Jayson because they didn't have any in the size she wanted without dings.  Go Angela!

Here's what it looked like on planting day, after we hauled everything up four stories and got it into place.  Boy did we earn that grits and sausage casserole we ate after.  God bless you, Paula Deen!

Planting day





Here's what it looks like now:







When I talk about what garden coaching, this is what I mean.....with the knowledge obtained during our trip to the garden center, Angela actually added two more containers to her space and planted them herself.  I couldn't be more proud!



The good news is that not only did Angela and I grow a garden, we turned an acquaintance into a friendship.  The bad news is that Angela is now moving.  Yup, she up and got herself a fantastic new job in Sin City.  So this roof deck is actually no longer.  I pulled a few plants for my house (see a post next week on this....) and some others are taking plants as well.  She did find a good home for the topiaries, thank heavens.

I plan to visit her in her new digs early next year and see what we can do with those containers in a desert setting.  I can't wait to check out the garden centers in the desert!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

30% Off Pots at Jayson Home and Garden

One of my favorite (but not least expensive) sources for great planter pots is Jayson Home & Garden.  They are having a huge sale - check it out:

This window box is wonderful, and a steal at $87.50, down from $125.  I have these boxes in another design on my decks all year round in Chicago and they look as good as the day I bought them, almost 5 years ago.
WINDSOR WINDOW BOX LG
I'm also a fan of these egg pots, which come in several sizes.  Here's the largest one, on sale for about $100, down from $145.  (These are also frost-proof!)  
EGG POT XL

Last, this extra-large terrazzolite frost-proof cube is only $157, down from $225.  
TERRAZZOLITE CUBE XL



I used a pair of these on a River North roof deck to hold gorgeous evergreen spirals:  





What about you....what pots are you craving right now?  Any end-of-season sales I oughtta know about?