Posted in DIY, Gardening, Recycling | 1 Comment

Line your garden with old wine bottles

Lifehacker has the scoop on reusing old wine bottles as makeshift garden edging.

Annie and Alexis Thomas were looking for a green way to edge their gardens in an interesting and novel way. They edged their sizeable garden with 489 bottles—most collected from local restaurants and wine stores—partially buried, as the demarcation between the gardens and the foot paths that wind through them.

Now what can you do with all the corks?

Posted in Inspiration, Landscaping, Patios, Photos, YOTD | 0 Comments

Beuatiful pool area is a secluded oasis – YOTD

Today’s Yard of the Day comes to us from near Orlando, Florida, where Flickr user Joe Shlabotnik’s mother-in-law has created a beautiful pool area that’s really a private oasis. So many pool areas in South Florida are barren and ugly — particularly since local ordinances insist on aluminum screening — but we’re delighted to see Joe’s mom has spent some time and energy to make her patio comfortable and tropical. We’re not sure if our highlight is the stunning red bougainvillea outside the screening… or the luscious bromeliad hedge rimming the pool. Either way, we want to dive right in!

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in YOTD | 0 Comments

Tropical backyard makes great use of space — YOTD

Today’s Yard of the Day comes to us from warm, sunny Florida, where Flickr user Willy Volk transformed his miniature backyard into a comfortable, relaxing hideaway fit for a king.  Wonderful layout for such a small space.  We love it!

Willy has agreed to give us a full yard tour in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that!

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in Decks, Design | 0 Comments

Ugly or not? Tempered glass deck railings

We honestly can’t decide on whether or not these tempered glass deck railings are ugly or not.  On one hand, it can give you an unobstructed view beyond your wooden backyard perch, but on the other it reminds us of a McDonald’s playpen.  Their ability to block wind, as Charles & Hudson notes, might push us over the edge into really liking this concept.  What do you think?

Posted in YOTD | 0 Comments

Secret Canadian hideaway — YOTD

One sign of a good backyard, in our opinion, is privacy, and today’s Yard of the Day has a lot of that!  Flickr user 5_13_23_42_69_666 (hehe) uploaded this photo of her hidden Canadian hideaway to our Flickr group, and we couldn’t be more jealous.  You can picture a hand-held radio on the table, a few beers among friends, and a tired dog asleep in the grass.  Thanks for the contribution!

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in DIY, Lighting | 0 Comments

DIY quick and easy LED garden lights

You need to light your yard for a party, but you’re low on cash.  That’s fine — there’s a solution for you.

The folks over at Evil Mad Scientist Labs show us how to make “quick, easy, temporary, and beautiful LED garden lights” using mason jars and cheap LED lights.

For a late night summer party, we wanted to deploy an array of maybe 20 or so little LED garden lights along the periphery of our back yard. And since it was for a one-time event, there wasn’t much sense in buying (or building) a set of nice looking permanent solar lights. So here is an alternative: make your own ultra-low cost temporary garden lights using LEDs, lithium coin cells, and mason jars.

Head over to EMSL to see exactly how they did it.

Posted in Gardening | 0 Comments

The best places to buy seeds online

We’re lucky; The Yardhacker home offices are day-trip distance from the wonderful Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company (and we’ll be heading out for the March Heritage festival this weekend and bringing back tons of photos).  But if you’re not so lucky, yet still on the prowl for some great seeds for this year’s garden, have a look at this recent Ask Metafilter question: Where is the best place to buy seeds online?

Along with Baker Creek, members also suggest Seed Savers Exchange and Johnny’s Selected Seeds, among others.  Have a look at all the answers here.  Happy gardening!

Posted in Decks, YOTD | 0 Comments

Unique Australian oasis — YOTD

Our first Yard of the Day of March comes to us all the way from Brisbane, Australia, where Flickr user lahan added a few shots of his unique backyard and magnificent attached deck to our Flickr group.  We are insanely jealous of the southern hemisphere right now.

Best of all, lahan has promised us a full yard tour in the very near future, so stay tuned for that!

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in Design, Inspiration | 0 Comments

How to make moss graffiti

It may not be practical, but you’ll surely be the first on your block to tag your family crest or gardening gang’s sign (West Side Waterers represent!) on a neighborhood fence. With moss.

In all seriousness, we think the words are a bit corny, but you could certainly make some interesting moss patterns on a currently boring surface with relative ease. All it takes is a few standard kitchen items, some moss, and a paintbrush, and within a week you’ll have a unique, organic backyard illustration.

For a full list of instructions — along with a photo gallery — head to Apartment Therapy’s How To Make Moss Graffiti.

Did you try this?  Let us know — we’d love to see how it turned out!

Posted in Gardening, Landscaping | 0 Comments

Calendar of monthly gardening reminders, tasks, and projects

Wow, March already? You know what that means: Spring is right around the corner!  It’s time to start prepping your backyard for the change in weather.  But what, exactly, should you be doing, and when?

Check out TheGardenHelper’s “Calendar of monthly gardening reminders, tasks, and projects” — a blast-from-the-web’s-past site listing “all the important tasks, maintenance and projects which should accomplished in your garden during the given month.”  For example, the entry for March begins:

In most areas it is still possible to do dormant spraying of fruit trees until the 15th, after that date dilute the spray by 1/2. Spraying should be done on a still day with the temperature above 40 degrees F. Late March and early April is a good time to transplant shrubs and trees. As soon as the soil is workable, but before buds have swelled or broken open, you can move shrubs and trees.

To read the rest of March, click here, and bookmark the calendar’s landing page to view your to-do’s for the upcoming months.