Storage shed becomes garden-house retreat
06.05.10
NEWPORT Scandal, Va. - When Karen King plants her last geranium for the day, she not often goes inside her main forebears to rest and relax.</p><p>Instead, she heads for her garden crib, a small retreat where she listens to music on her iPod and sinks into the relief of a cushioned chair.</p><p>Karen's dream garden billet happened after husband Bernie Anderson at length built his yearned-for garage at their shelter along the waterfront in Hampton, Va. </p><p>That meant they didn't trouble the 12-by-12 storage shed, but they wanted to keep the design because it was built to last.</p><p>"I'm the gardener in the one's own flesh, so it became my project," says Karen. "Whenever it's unerring, I'm usually outside doing something, so I always liked the picture of an outdoor room."</p><p>Before its makeover, the cast was a catchall space for lawn chairs, grill, left unaccustomed to flower pots, bags of potting dirt and crates of odds and ends. It had two pocket-sized windows, two solid doors, no excitement, bare walls and a concrete parquet.</p><p>After its makeover, the garden house looks like it belongs in Southern Living periodical. It has sliding doors with screens on three sides, tiled Nautical, bead board walls, fervency, lights and an overhead fan. Local art decorates the walls.</p><p>"I'd always wanted a spray and finally installed a disappearing one front the garden house," says Karen.</p><p>"The garden accommodate is now a great place to dine, understand, play games, have a glass of wine or vigilant the ships come and go in the Hampton Roads harbor."</p><p>Once the garden harbour was the way she likes it, Karen decided it was while to enlarge the deck on the house and scene the yard so it all ties together. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 destroyed much of what was in the yard, so Karen beautiful much had a clean palette to work with. </p><p>A excellent landscaper put in a new paver patio and walkways that loops from the front driveway, alongside the Trex deck, by the garden gratis and past the back of the house to Bernie's garage. Each sicken of the walkway yields pleasant surprises like baths, feeders and houses for birds, as well as lots of flowering plants. </p><p>Wax myrtles planted after the cyclone provide privacy along the property cortege and look especially nice pruned into puny, multi-trunked trees. They are also where Karen hangs birdhouses for nesting wrens. </p><p>"I true-love to garden," says Karen, now retired and also an avid golfer. "When I worked, my job was attractive intense and working in the yard was a out-and-out stress reliever for me.</p><p>"I weakness trying new plants and see what works, what doesn't. </p><p>"My shush seldom ventures into the yard, so it's my in person space. He has his manly garage and I have the garden domicile. Works for both of us."</p><p>KAREN'S FAVORITE PLANTS</p><p>Mexican bush discerning. "The annual grows foliage all summer and in the fall produces fabulous purple blooms that bees and butterflies dote on."</p><p>Hibiscus and geranium. "It's not summer for me until I have pots of these on the deck. Both plants bloom all summer and fall until frost."</p><p>Plumbago. "Although this is an annual here, I turtle-dove it for its fast-growing, drought-generous behavior and for the blue flowers that enter someone's head continually until frost. I tend to do lots of red, pink, purple flowers and like the dismal along with some yellow flowers for contrast."
Source: Kansas City Star
Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Seed Plate Storage Bag 
GARDEN GROVE, CA - Allegro Industries adds to their national line of Wall Case storage. Seven defibrillator separator cases come in plastic or metal and are all
