They saved me $100

Wow! I came home today to find a cement truck backed up to the new flower garden I've been working on. My first thought was Yikes! Dave knew I've been wanting to put an area in this new garden for a bench, and I was going to use pavers, but that would have cost at least $100.

When they got done pouring cement into the basement walls, they had some cement left over that the guy couldn't take back and was wondering where to dump it. They decided to build this cement pad for my bench and such. I'm so excited! Now I gotta go shopping for a cheap bench until I can afford a nicer one.

This is a picture, but it doesn't look too great yet. I've got the beds marked out with string, but I haven't been able to figure out what to use to border the beds or what to put in the walkways. So, I'm kind of at a standstill there. I'm hoping once I get it finished and more plants in there, it will look good. This is kind of the beginning of the project. I started it last fall and haven't had a lot of time to spend on it yet this spring, except to plant some plants in there. After I get the beds bordered and something done with the walkways, I want to put a rustic wood fence around it, and have vining plants growing on the fence.

Cool Joan! That is another $100 to spend on plants! LOL Hey, we all have to stick together in this little green war. Giggle I picked up a decent looking, plastic/resin bench when I bough a patio set a few years ago. You might want to check where they sell the plastic furniture. Also you can buy the iron end pieces at some stores and cut your own lumber for the nicer ones. :) Happy shopping!

Awesome! Were you going to use colored pavers? Did you know that you can stain the concrete almost any color you want, like the same color as those pavers you were going to get? They make a concrete stain that does it ~ Home Depot would have it, I'll bet. Another way that I haven't tried, but am going to is using regular old wood stain then covering it with polyurethane. I saw a concrete floor done that way and it looked like gorgeous brown marble!! If you pick up and save pieces (hardened piles) of the excess concrete, you can practice on them before you commit to the whole bench pad.

A word to the wise...if you have any wind at all,either get something that won't blow over,or you can fix to the pad. I've chased benches and patio furniture all over creation around here. I started out with one of those beautiful aluminum sets with the powder coated paint and the pretty pillowed seats.After chasing them down for the umteenth time...sometimes 1/4 mile away...the BIG storm took them 'over the rainbow' to OZ. I did find part of one chair up in a tree down the road a ways.

I now have cast iron.

In another bed I'm also working on, the circular one, I'm using brown pavers, so it would be nice to have everything in the yard coordinate. I might check into staining this to match. Great idea! Thanks Wingnut! And there is piles of excess concrete all over the place where it spilled, overflowed, or got where it wasn't supposed to be. I was even thinking of saving them to edge a border somewhere. Since we are doing lots of wood and concrete, it would all tie in somewhere in the whole landscaping theme. I will be sure to save them.

Michele, you are so right. The saved $100 could go towards more plants to fill this bed, after I take out the cost of the bench, which is next on my shopping list now that I have a place for it. I remember seeing an iron bench with wooden seats and backs on sale for around $30. The iron was a green color, and would match the trellis/arbor thing I have by where the entrance to this garden will be. I need to try and figure out where that was, 'cuz now I want it, and the price is right!

This is so fun! I thought I would have to quit with my landscaping project this summer and just work on the house, but now I'm finding that they are working hand in hand together. I've already told DH that we will be saving all the scrap pieces of lumber or whatever and piling it up, because we may be able to use it for something else. The guy who is helping with the basement seen my kitchen before I started planting things out, (jungle), and when they were laying the cement pad in my flower garden today he asked me if I was going to put up a frame and put plastic over it for a greenhouse. Dave said, no, there's a cement pad underneath what is now our 12x24 deck, and that's where the greenhouse will eventually be built. LOL! I think I might get a greenhouse someday soon too. Not this year, but maybe in a year or two. I can't wait to see what this place looks like in about 10 years, when the trees have a little growth, and I have the landscaping around the house going good.

I just need to keep telling DH all my landscaping ideas, even if it appears he's not listening. 'Cuz today proved that he IS listening and remembers. If he wasn't, they would have just dumped this extra concrete somewhere and we would have had to deal with it later.

This is so much fun! Thank you all for letting me share it with you.

Melody, I really feel for you and I am totally sure that you are being sincere. But, your post made me crack up! I could have just had my giggle and gone on, but I had to thank you for that picture. LOL I too have chased my fair share of stuff up and down the street, but my furniture has never blown away. :) Congrats on the wrought iron. One of these days, I would love a set like that!

I think you can get the lighter variety, aluminum or something at Big Lots/Odd Lots, relatively inexpensively.

Only someone who has been in those shoes can appreciate the picture. I even lost my smoker grill!! But we have lots of wind.You can buy pre-fab storm shelters at the co-op.

From looking at Joan's flat landscape...I'm guessing she gets it too. Everything I put outside now gets the once over for 'windworthiness'.Less heartaches to deal with.If it won't stay put..it stays in the store.

Hey Joan that pad looks big enough for a gazebo. Do you have an old satalite dish?...:)

Yep, we do get the wind, but the type of bench I want to put there is medal and wood, so I don't think it would blow away. There's also a row of bushes on the west side of the garden, so that blocks some of the wind from the garden.

We used to have two old satellite dishes, but when I inquired about them, dh told me they had been thrown out a couple years ago. A gazebo would have been a great idea though.

Joan, Kohls is having a 50% sale on their patio furniture. Last year I took advantage and got a very nice cedar bench for about $50. Not sure what your price range is, but you may want to take a look if you've a Kohls in N. Dakota.

Thanks for the information Morph. Unfortunately we don't have a Kohls in North Dakota. I wonder if they have a website? I might see if they do. I'm not against ordering one and paying shipping if I can get what I want cheaper than I can get it here.

I checked their site & drats, they don't have it on there! If you want, I could buy & ship for you but the shipping might be a little pricey. My DH might be able to ship UPS from work & get a discount. It also has small end tables to match & that stack, but I didn't get those. I might this year :) They are a very nice selection!

Thanks for the offer Morph. I think I will look around here and see what I can find first. I too think it would be expensive to ship. There's got to be one around here that would work, and I know I seen one advertised, I just have to figure out where. I really appreciate the help though.

Sure ~ the sale ends today. If you change your mind, let me know. I may get one anyway as a possible gift for my sister. Good luck hunting!

Looks like a wonderful bdginning to me!!!


"eyes"