Deuce Cities Henhouse | A Design, DIY & Lifestyle Blog from the heart of the Twin Cities

Surviving the Hellstrip

by Scoops on May 21, 2013 · 0 comments

Hellstrip Plans
Hey Guys, hop aboard the crazy garden train today with me! I’ve been thinking a lot about my “hellstrip” lately (aka boulevard garden) (aka the garden between the sidewalk and the street). The weather is still springish ’round these parts. I’m guessing I’ll have limited days before the sun starts heating things up and gardening won’t seem fun anymore. I need to get started on this boulevard garden project before it literally gets too hot to handle!

My “hellstrip” (I love calling it that) goes from shady to sunny, so I had to consider what were the best plants for the space. Hostas have done well on the shady side already, they will stay, but will be dug up and repositioned. The sunnier side will call for Iris for the spring, Phlox and Salvia for the summer, and grasses and Sedum for texture and shape. I’m also planning on adding good ground cover to help with erosion. For the shadier spots I’ll be planting Golden Moneywort (aka Creeping Jenny) and in the sunnier spots Purple Dragon. I have both of these ground covers growing in my gardens, so it’ll be free to take a little and move it out to the boulevard. I also have salvaged some very old bricks from a nearby street the city was digging up and re-paving. The bricks had been paved over and were used as part of a street car line. I would guess that they are over 100 years old. I didn’t have a clue what I’d use them for, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks (so punny), I should make a small path from the sidewalk to the street with them, dur.

I didn’t want to have to start the garden completely from scratch, I know some things actually do grow there and I have a lot of mature plants from my backyard garden that are ready to be split up. I’m planning on using Sedum, Salvia and Iris from the backyard gardens. Leaving with me less than $170 worth of new plants to buy. I’ll have to purchase some boulders which is totally new to me, but am looking forward to figuring out where and how to get them. I will have to dig up the entire garden and re-grade it. I need the garden to incorporate elevated areas for better soil and plant growth and then grade it down to be lower than the sidewalk and curb on the sides. That way I can mulch and have the sidewalk and curb work as a barrier, keeping the mulch from spilling into the sidewalk or street every time it rains out. I want to amend the soil with some new topsoil and compost and then replant what I have, and add a few new plants. Lastly I’ll mulch, and we should be good to go.

This type of project will take me a few weeks to finish, but I think if I can pull it off according these plans it will look super tyte.

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gardening, Inspiration, Outdoor

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Tulips for the 1st Time

by Scoops on May 20, 2013 · 0 comments

Tulip Peach Blossom
This is my first spring with Tulips in my yard! I planted 3 different types of Tulips this fall, 20 Peach Blossoms, 10 Spring Greens, and 10 Foxtrots. I was getting a little sad that none of them had made it through the winter, but then slowly I began to spot them. I haven’t done an exact count but I would say about 30 of the bulbs have popped up! I was happy with those results but am sad that the 10 missing bulbs all seem to be of the Foxtrot variety.

I also planted 20 Canaliculatis Daffodils and I haven’t see a single one. I’m guessing I must have planted the bulbs too deep even though all the instructions said to plant them in 4″ of soil. I will try my hand at planting another round of both the missing Tulips and Daffodils this fall. Maybe with a little more research I can figure out what went wrong for these guys. In the meantime, I’m totally enjoying these fresh spring blooms in my garden!

Tulip Spring Green

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gardening

Hellstrip (AKA The Boulevard Garden)

by Scoops on May 17, 2013 · 4 comments

Succulents on the Hellstrip
Inspiration Photos Found On Pinterest

Guys, did you know that what I have been referring to as a “boulevard garden” is much more commonly known as a “HELLSTRIP”? Cause I had no idea, until I started googling around looking for inspiration for my much more mild mannered “boulevard garden”. I realize now that “hellstrip” is a very fitting name (plus it sounds pretty badass), it describes that little patch between the sidewalk in the street where nothing grows. Here in snowy Minnesota our hellstrips takes a beating, not only is it compacted with snow, but also pummeled with salt too.

My hellstrip has seen better days. I planted it 4 years ago. One day I was out weeding and the next thing you know I was digging up the front boulevard. I’m am so sad to say that I think a lot of the perennial plants I had “growing” out there didn’t make it through the winter. I need to come up with a plan and make this area rule, I’m determined.

Last year I started weeding the other side of the hellstrip, which until then had remained grass, er ah, weeds, er ah, a hot mess. Weeding quickly turned into digging it up, removing all the weeds and roots, and then reseeding with special boulevard grass seed. Guess what? It’s spring now, and there is no grass growing.

I’ve been learning a lot on the internetz about these tricky gardens, there is hope for me. I’m not settled on a plan of attack just yet. I think adding new top soil, mulch (to retain water) and boulders to elevate the gardens will help with my soil problems. I also think that I need to stick with a select group of plants. Here are some that I got my eye on:

▽ Succulents

▽ Hen & Chicks (am I saying that right, or is it Chicks & Hens?)

▽ Salvia

▽ Iris (I hear bulbs do great in these gardens)

▽ Hostas (A select hearty group for the shadier spots)

▽ Low Ornamental Grasses

This list may just be the ticket. I really want plants that aren’t too tall, I’m not a fan of the overgrown (aka natural) look. I want it to be tailored, well organized and tidy. I want it to be the total babe of hellstrips.

Do you have a hellstrip, do you call it a hellstrip?? Give me some advice, I need it!

Salvia & Rocks & Grasses on the Hellstrip
Inspiration Photos Found On Pinterest

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gardening, Inspiration, Outdoor

Flowers & Mulch

by Scoops on May 15, 2013 · 6 comments

For Mother’s Day I received flowers for my window boxes, and mulch. I love this! It’s become a tradition and nothing could make this girl any happier. Over the years I’ve tried out a few different combos for my front window boxes, the first year I planted reds, whites, and lime greens. The second year I planted pinks, purples, greens and oranges, and then last year I tried an minimalist approach doing only white sunpatiens.

Window Box Flowers
I’ve made a habit of keeping all my plant info from year-to-year, that way, if I find a combo that looks great and works well, I can go back and reference it re-buying the same flowers. Anybody with me on this approach? This year, I decided I was going back to year two, the year of the neon window boxes. I don’t know if it looks the best, but all those color make me happy, and I really wanted to see what the bright flowers would like against the new dark blue paint color.

I really love these window boxes, and I can’t wait to see them fill in. I missed not having overflowing boxes last year, and I’m happy to have lush potato vines back in my life.

I also usually fill two pots near the front walk up of our house. Instead of repeating the window box flowers, I think I might try and fill them with impatiens, something I have never attempted before. I can imagine them turning into a big mound of flowery beautifulness. I still have about 4 pots to fill in the backyard too, I’ll get it all done in time, and it will look great. This is the year that my garden is going to finally all come together, I know it, and I can’t wait to see the hard work pay off!

Mulch Madness
Mulch! Guys, I love mulch! It’s the best, and this year I tried something new… black mulch! I guess the black mulch is way more modern looking then your natural cedar, but I really like it because it looks like fresh soil. I have my fingers crossed that it will retain it’s darkness for the entire summer. What do you think about black mulch? Anybody ever tried it?

I spent a full two days last weekend in the yard mulching and planting away with no kid interruptions, I seriously couldn’t have been happier.

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gardening

Hipstamatic Print Lab (For Yer Instagrams)

by Scoops on May 14, 2013 · 10 comments

Hipstamatic Print Lab
Okay, so, I’m kind of a snob when it comes to having photos printed. I can’t just fall for any run of the mill drug store print lab, I need the real deal! I need to know that chemistry was used to make these memories 2D! It’s a weird bastardization of digital phone photography and quality archival photographic prints, I know, and I get it. I can’t help but loving a real photo though. They feel better, and they look better.

I’ve gotten into the very good habit of an every-6-month-photo-print-sesh. I’m insanely paranoid about losing all my photographic keepsakes to a failed hard drive or broken phone. Seriously, the thought of losing precious memories almost kills me, the anxiety is already coming on just thinking about it. Plus, I like the sensation of flipping through something tactile, and I love the texture of a photo with a nice luster finish.

Not only do I have fear losing digital files but I also fear outdated technology. I can imagine the kids being adults and digging through stacks of photos wanting to show their kids what it was like when they were growing up. I don’t want to be the old grandma who makes the grandkids wait patiently as she fires up the 35 year old hard drive just to show off a few ancient files. Having photos printed just makes sense. Photography as we know it know, has been around for almost 200 years, and just like I like a good analog vinyl record, photography is at it’s best when it’s done analog too. Light reacting to paper coated in emulsion, reacting to chemistry is just magic, duh.

Envelopes
Since the dawn of me taking so many GD photos on my iphone, I have always had my photos printed at the Hipstamatic Print Lab. They were one of the first to offer square formatted printing, AND they print the stuff on Fuji Crystal archival paper with photo chemicals, this is the real deal!

The Histamatic Print Lab was started by the same folks who brought you the hipstamatic photo app, (the precursor to Instagram) offering different lenses and film styles (aka filters). I also totally love how the hipstamatic crew has branded themselves. The design of their packaging and website is super cool and there is something pretty special about receiving these cool kraft paper screen printed (so analog) packages in the mail. Although they love printing hipstamatic photos (their bread and butter) they don’t mind printing your Instagrams too ;) Just make sure to have your photos formated to exact squares.

I’d be curious to know where your favorite place to have your instagrams printed is? I’ve just always stuck with what works, but I’d be down for trying something new.

Photo Frame