dreaming of ...

if suddenly you were given a windfall say of 1000.00 with the stipuation it had to be used for your garden I was wondering what some of you might do.. I know with todays cost its would go fast but just imagine something youd like to have and not scrimp for.. I just thought it would be fun to see what some of you would do.. build a pond you want or set up a greenhouse.. create new beds?? add more garden art?? buy tools??, buy the tropicals youve wanted?
lets hear what you would do if you could...

Oh, if only! I'd use it to add good amendments to my soil, buy some supplies, hire someone to clean out the ivy creeping in from the backyard neighbor's yard and put in more flower beds!

I would go to Metro Maples in south Fort Worth and get several Japanese Maples, it seems most people in this area think there is only one, Bloodgood. I could also use a timer for the misting system in the greenhouse. What I need is a timer that cuts on the misters for 5 seconds every 10 minutes. I would also like a dump trailer but thjat would cost more than $1,000.

boy that was fast...lol. I know we all have dreams of what our gardens could look like if we only had the money to make it happen. Most of us just want the money for supplies and then the pleasure of doing the work ourselves
I was messing around on Google Maps today and found my house the first summer I moved into it.. I look at it now and boy what a difference.I really havent done all I want to to the front yard but looking at the pic and seeing it now there is a huge difference... of course its only taken me 4 yrs to do what I have done...lol

I think I would get a deer scarer. I love the sound of bamboo banging against another one. I doubt it would scare the deer, but it would be a nice water feature. Then maybe something permanent for the pathways we have through the woods.

I would really like more land, but I don't think that I could swing that for $1000.... :)

Oh yeah, I'd install a programmable watering system for my veggies. Of course, DH would do the work, but the materials aren't all that cheap.

Ooh...maybe a greenhouse...or drip irrigation.

Drip irrigation and timers for me =~). Any left over would go toward more fencing.......

Hands down ......Deerproof fence $1000 will cover one side, but that would be a help. When can I expect the check???

I'd spend it all on a few evergreens and lots of dayliles. I need to add some more evergreen shrubs or small trees for the back of my beds. Right now they look too bare in winter. Well, right now everything looks dead and lots of it probably is. I've seen a lot of evergreens I love, but I don't want the same old stuff that everyone has and most of what I do want isn't suited for our hot, humid summers. Of course, I could easily spend a $1000 on daylilies alone.

Blkraven, what a neat idea to get everyone's ideas like this. I'm interested in seeing what everyone else would do.

Crow

Rocks for me and some good soil amendments. Would splurge on a few more cacti too.
C

Would 1,000 worth of some fabulous compost change this gumbo clay into a beautiful black friable soil (earth worms everywhere) that I could plant anything into and it would thrive...that would be my wish. In fact I dream about that a lot :)

More raised beds, GOOD garden soil, automatic timer, and a greenhouse.

We have built multiple flower beds, a koi pond small deck off of our tool / plant shed, all ourselves. We had a sprinkler system installed (best investment ever!); and most of my soil is pretty decent.
What I would like is a roof system for my decks, wood or canvas. We love the sun but rain and extreme heat keep us from using the main house deck or the shop deck as much as we would like.

So blkraven, did you win power ball or something and considering sharing it with your friends? LOL! Great topic.

This message was edited Feb 17, 2010 6:10 PM

no I didnt win anything... Im as broke as can be, living penny to penny just like a lot of people are.. but I figured everyones got dreams just like I do and it would nice if we could talk about them since theres not a lot going on outside right now...(S)
if I did win it Id share it for sure cause what you give away always comes back to you!!! sometimes in unbelievable ways.. I know that from personal experience

I'd spend it on a greenhouse.

Will a thousand bucks buy SPRINGTIME??!? Just a wish, seeing as this is wishful thinking.

Garden stimulus ~ hmmmm. I like it!

A thousand dollars worth of manual labor. Someone elses for a change. I want the pointing the finger job:
I would point to the dry creek bed to improve our hillside drainage, completing it with rocks and plantings.
I would point to where I want my new blueberries planted.
I would point to where I want another fruit tree planted but first digging up the small cypress that is there.
I would point to where I want my garden spot tilled ~ I'll be generous enough to plant the veggies myself.
I will point to where I want the walkway and the plantings around the greenhouse...

Have I used up the windfall yet? Probably ~ when does the check and the manual labor arrive?
I was afraid of that... back to work I guess.

Where is the thumbs up smiley?? Love the pointing the finger job...I can dream too.

I would love a rock border for the flowerbeds( even if that means I can't expand anymore) and a flagstone pathway...would look alot better than this
Love this thread idea!

This message was edited Feb 17, 2010 9:03 PM

and whats wrong with what you have??. it looks beautiful!!! and the pup is cute too...lol.. I should be so lucky but then again Ive only been working on mine for 3 yrs and Im a gimpy one woman show...lol...

Anna, your garden is so georgeous, and so is your furbaby! Look forward to seeing you later this year, hate you can't make RU.
Sheila

bananna18, I like that path too! And the puppy--is that a shelty or a collie? That photo just gives off a warm, summertime glow! I'm sooooooooo over winter and ready for warm weather!

Our pond needs reworking to get it to hold more water....if any money was left over.....I'd get more material to build more raised beds

crowellli, if your needing some evergreens, check out Banana Shrubs, we have six and I just love them. When they bloom I can smell them before I pull into the drive.

Thanks for the compliments, you guys must be very winter weary. Furry guy is a sheltie, but in the high percentile of height. As for the path, it is like my sewing skills, "good from far, far from good" I love the natural look and hope one day to have a more natural path that is level.

bananna18
I just call it like i see it.. I wish my beds were as established as your but most of mine are only in their 2 year.. I love the lush full look of what I. I saw a pic of my house on google maps taken the first summer I was here and my yard is NAKED compaired to what I have now...lol..but even what I have isnt enough...lol.

blkraven2, if you are coming to the ETRU, we will see what we can do to fill your yard.

Kenboy
I was so disapointed when they moved the date to may.. I cant make it then.. I havent had a vacation, you know the real get away for more than a day fun time kind of one since being hurt. That weekend Im the guest of some good friends in the kerrville area. Its a motorcycle group and its a riding weekend. WHOO HOOO!!! They are trailling my bike for me so Ill have my baby to ride and not be stuck waiting for everyone to come back.. I have a dog sitter AND a back up so Im able to go for the full weekend.. Im so bummed about missing the ET round up cause Ruby and I had such a fabulous time there last year.. I missed the fall one cause my Mom died that weekend.. so it looks like it will be this fall when I get to see everyone again.. Im thinking about going to the woodlands one but shall see.
I have been working on stuff to trade like painted stone plant markers, some tufa containers, EE castings and stuff like that so by fall I should have a LOT to trade for...l
the yard will get there.. I can be patient......well...sometimes....lol

The "fun" side of me says I would use the $1000 to buy big rocks to decorate my flowerbeds. The "practical" side of me says I would use the money to correct the drainage on one side of my yard.

Carla

I have been working on this path for 15 +years. I wish I would have taken pictures each year to see the changes.Yes, I would love that manual labor that is helping out Podster and point too!.You got me thinking about some big rocks Loonie. I think I will have to settle for a bunch of little ones piled up. I also would love a good drip system...or atleast the know how.
I hope I get to meet you blkraven2, would love to see your art at a RU.

I collect at least a few rocks from everywhere I go. Its gotten to the point that my husband hates to take the truck LOL
C

I understand! I collect rocks also. But I'm limited to what I can pick up myself these days, so although I have a truck, they're not going to be very big. I can almost see your truck headed back to your house with a HUGE boulder!

I had a chuckle when I read the about rocks. There was a large one I wanted moved from the end of our driveway. I worried about it being in my way when I bushhogged. DH and I took a small trailer with a ramp and with a pry bar, we rolled the rock up the ramp and brought the rock to the yard where I now have to mow around it. Seems like I probably didn't accomplish much but it is here to stay unless one of y'all wants to come get it? lol

No, not huge as big as my husband or I can hoist into the truck. Funny but they always seem to weigh less when I put them in the truck then when I try and take them out. I have weighed down the truck before though.
C

Hey Pod, plant some Daffofilles and daylilies around it, some mulch so it keeps the mowing down, and tell people it is a headstone. LOL!

Headstone! I like it... perhaps of the last salesman or politician that came thru! LOL Years ago we had snowbird company and they wanted to know why Texans buried their families in the front yard. He had seen all those historical markers and thought they were gravestones.

I put it and more rocks in a shaded area that has liriope and vinca with a bird feeder hanging from a tree branch above. Last weekend one of the kittens was sitting on that rock and jumping straight up (5 feet) and tickling the tail feathers of the birds on the feeder. Project for this weekend is to raise that feeder higher.

Tools-- powerful hedge clippers, some sturdy shovels and a good pickaxe. maybe a chainsaw.
once I've removed some old, boring shrubbery, I could then buy some new plants.

Drip irrigation would be nice.

Have to get the yard done before I can think about drip irrigation. Would that cost more than a 1000?
C
As for a headstone, thinking that would be quite the conversation piece...