Beginner Gardening: What was your best garden surprise?, 0 by jkom51

jkom51 wrote:
Our best garden surprise was reopening an old storage shed and turning it into a lanai, just in time to enjoy it for the summer. A contractor cleaned it up and greenboarded it, then I painted and decorated it.

My husband thought I was really going over the top -- an area rug outside?? -- but I wanted to cover up the old cracked concrete patio surface inside the lanai. Set up some chairs and side tables, to create a comfortable lounging area on hot days. The shed is always shaded by its roof, and the patio itself is in shade by 4p every day, so it works out well.

The landscaping we did in the backyard was a rush job, compared to the tons of planning and research I did on the frontyard. Nevertheless all the backyard beds came out beautifully, so we look at flowers and beautiful foliage plants all year round when we're sitting outside. We really love it, and can't believe it came out so well for what was relatively little work on our part (compared to the other remodeling projects we've done!).