Saturday, June 28, 2014

Building a Raised Garden Bed + Cottage Life Vlog

Hello, my bloggy friends!
Since I've got lots of things to share with you,I decided to go ahead and post another episode of daily life here at Cairn Cottage. So, keep reading and scrolling down...
First of all, I wanted to share some pictures of the new raised garden beds that Ken built recently. We had several raised garden beds at our previous house and have been wanting to build some here at Cairn Cottage, but our space is limited, so it's been a bit of a challenge to come up with something to fit our property. Ken is a bit of an inventor and loves to re-cycle old items. When we moved here, we downsized quite a bit and one item that we had in storage for years was an old waterbed frame. Of course, since waterbeds aren't as popular now, selling it to make a profit would be pretty pointless. Then, Ken got his creative inventor juices cooking and came up with the idea to use the waterbed frame to make our raised garden. How creative is that!!?
So, we went to work...we wanted a raised bed that was narrow and long, to make it easier to reach all the vegetable plants. So, Ken cut the bed in half and attached the long side-board to the frame again.

 Here, I'm helping Ken hold the board up, as he attaches the corners.

 Reinforcing all the corners of the frame.

Finding just the right spot for the raised bed.

Now, comes the "fun"(hardest) part...after marking the dimensions in the grass, digging up the sod. (Great workout, especially on a hot, humid day!)

Our (first) completed garden...tomatoes and a few hot pepper plants.

A few days later, Ken decided he wanted more hot pepper plants...so he planted them in this large barrel.

Then, I decided I wanted some sweet peppers, too! Oh, my....we just kept adding....Ken built another smaller raised bed!


Our final garden, view of the lake!

 Our first peppers.

The tomatoes are looking good, too!

 View from our cottage window. Can't wait till we get some fresh ripe veggies!! next year I'd like to add green beans...Oh, boy!! Poor Ken!!

Another fun thing I want to share with you today is the awesome news that I officially have my own Youtube channel, at Ann K(Cairn Cottage Life)

I have posted a few videos and will be adding more videos to my channel in the future. Most of them will be about life at Cairn Cottage, but I may add other home videos, as well. Feel free to subscribe to my channel to get any new updates. Today, though, I wanted to open my door a little and share what life is like for me and my hubby at the lake...
On this particular day, we were working on multiple home projects...one being the raised garden box that I described above. I also purchased a weathered sign at an antique shop and was refurbishing it to put by our front door. I hope to share some pics of that later on, too. Hope you enjoy...

Don't you just love our little furry friends, Jet and Cheyenne!?!
Hope your weekend is relaxing and fun!!
Wishing you

Ann
“Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace” Spanish Proverb
Any Link Goes Party @ Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo 
Serenity Saturday @ Serenity You
Say G'Day Saturday @ Natasha In Oz
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Get Schooled Saturday @ Too Much Time On My Hands
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events
That DIY Party @ DIY Show Off
So Darn Crafty Party @ Sew Many Ways
Think Pink Party @ Flamingo Toes
DIY Sunday Showcase Linky Party @ VMG206

16 comments:

  1. That is adorable, Ann! I love how nice your plants are growing too! If you have time, we would love to have you at our Snickerdoodle Sunday party -- going on now! We love projects like this. Dee @ Meatloaf and Melodrama

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    1. Sweet! Thanks for stopping over and inviting me, Dee! I love link-up parties!

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  2. I have been wanting to try my hand at raised bed gardening. Yours looks fantastic!
    Have a lovely 4th of July.

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    1. Thanks! It is a lot easier, I think, than just in the ground gardening and I love the decorative look! Hope you have a great weekend, too!

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  3. oh my gosh, give me that backyard view any day! wow. and those peppers are looking good-i didn't grow anything this year.
    enjoy your hard work!
    b

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    1. The view is one of my favorite things about living on the lake! Sunrises are often beautiful and when we go out in the boat, we get to see some amazing sunsets, too! We moved into our cottage about 2 years ago and this was our first year with a regular garden again. We tried some potted plants last year, but they didn't fare as well as usual. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Great raised beds...and incredible back yard with that gorgeous lake view!!

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  5. These are great raised beds! They look gorgeous and I hope they serve you very well! Thanks for linking it up to Snickerdoodle Sunday! Hope to see you again next week! - Kristina

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    1. You are welcome, Kristina! We have really enjoyed watching our vegetables grow every day!

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  6. My husband built me a raised bed last year and I love it! I am patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for a second one.

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    1. Hope you get it soon, Paris! The more, the merrier. I always say! :)

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  7. Fantastic, Ann!! What a great use of an old waterbed frame...and the growing veggies look great!! What a wonderful project! I'm going to watch your video now, but I wanted to comment first! LOL Oh, BTW...I love the new picture header you've added to this blog!

    Blessings, Joan

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    1. Thanks, Joan! I had several different drafts of the header, but liked this one the best. May you have a blessed seek, as well!

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  8. What a gorgeous spot you have there and I love your garden as well. How relaxing it must be for you each and every day!

    If you haven't already joined this weekend's Say G'Day Linky Party I would be so thrilled if you could share this post. It would be a very welcome addition!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

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    1. Thanks, Natasha! I'm stopping right over and linking up...I'm happy to be a part of your blog part!!

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