the gardenr

Fixing up our garden with no money, time, or experience.

Posts tagged cinder blocks

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The cinder block planter is complete! I planted mostly herbs, including cilantro, oregano, purple basil (pictured lower left), thyme, and rosemary. I selected thyme and rosemary varieties which are hardy to very low temperatures so they will survive the winter.

The one thing that had me kind of stumped were the two cinder blocks that have teeny little holes, probably a third of the size of a normal cinder block. I didn’t know what plant could survive with such little space. Then, while shopping at Lowes I happened to see a pot of hens and chicks (pictured lower right). Just the day before I read two posts on different blogs about hens and chicks: one on Matthew Gallaway’s blog and the other on You Grow Girl. So I knew this plant was exactly what I was looking for. You Grow Girl says:

Sempervivums are an alpine plant that grow in rocky, mountain areas at a high elevation. This is what accounts for their tough-as-nails constitution (their name translates to “ever living”). They grow well in shallow pots and can be stuffed into the tiniest crevices, making them an excellent choice for balconies, fire escapes, and other tight spots.

The variety I got claims to be hardy to -20 °F! I bought one pot and separated the plant up into smaller chunks. Everything seems to be thriving so far.

Filed under basil cinder block planter cinder blocks garden herbs hens and chicks

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Here’s my tentative design for the cinder block planter. One thing you will notice is how worn and grimy the blocks look compared to the photos of cinder block planters you see on pinterest—those people must be using brand new blocks. But I actually don’t mind the more rugged look. I’m going to try to plant herbs in here this weekend. One challenge in laying this out was that it turns out we have six blocks of one size and three blocks of a smaller size, so the smaller size didn’t stack up attractively on top of the larger. I think I worked it out and maintained a good amount of planting area for only having nine blocks!

Here’s my tentative design for the cinder block planter. One thing you will notice is how worn and grimy the blocks look compared to the photos of cinder block planters you see on pinterest—those people must be using brand new blocks. But I actually don’t mind the more rugged look. I’m going to try to plant herbs in here this weekend. One challenge in laying this out was that it turns out we have six blocks of one size and three blocks of a smaller size, so the smaller size didn’t stack up attractively on top of the larger. I think I worked it out and maintained a good amount of planting area for only having nine blocks!

Filed under cinder blocks planter garden

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When we bought our house it had a big deck on the back which ultimately had to be torn out for various reasons and the guys who did the demolition left behind a bunch of cinder blocks. I guess they thought we might want them? Or, they just didn’t want to haul them away which I understand because I don’t want to haul them away either. What do you even do with cinder blocks? Take them to the dump or the architectural salvage place, I guess? I feel like even they might be like “LOL, no thanks.” So, cinder block planters. These are pretty trendy right now and I have been seeing them all over Pinterest and the blogs. My grandmother had cinder block planters in her garden 30 years ago (and still does), so I’m fairly sure this isn’t a new idea. Her cinder blocks held marigolds, if memory serves. We only have about six cinder blocks so I think a small planter like the one above will be just right. I like the bigger installations found, for example, here and here, but it seems really dumb to acquire extra cinder blocks when the whole point is I want to get rid of mine. Now I just have to decide where to put this thing.

When we bought our house it had a big deck on the back which ultimately had to be torn out for various reasons and the guys who did the demolition left behind a bunch of cinder blocks. I guess they thought we might want them? Or, they just didn’t want to haul them away which I understand because I don’t want to haul them away either. What do you even do with cinder blocks? Take them to the dump or the architectural salvage place, I guess? I feel like even they might be like “LOL, no thanks.” So, cinder block planters. These are pretty trendy right now and I have been seeing them all over Pinterest and the blogs. My grandmother had cinder block planters in her garden 30 years ago (and still does), so I’m fairly sure this isn’t a new idea. Her cinder blocks held marigolds, if memory serves. We only have about six cinder blocks so I think a small planter like the one above will be just right. I like the bigger installations found, for example, here and here, but it seems really dumb to acquire extra cinder blocks when the whole point is I want to get rid of mine. Now I just have to decide where to put this thing.

Filed under cinder blocks pinterest garden ideas planters