Back Porch: Counter Active.

A couple of months ago, I started to redo my porch. The mini-project of cleaning up the mess left by negligent renters (including myself) and dead plants turned into a quest to make the back area more usable and welcoming.  Enter: Home Depot, an 8-foot piece of lumber, and some brackets.  Viola!  Back porch counter where wine may be enjoyed and dinner may be shared!

We had to declutter the porch as per the fire code.  Also, the landlord tried to tell me that our plants caused the entire back stairwell to require replacement.  I call bullshit.  Faulty gutters, rain, and fog had more a hand in that.  All the same, I made sure plants are elevated and have trays under them.

That ceramic owl is a relic from my grandfather's house.  I never really thought of it as creepy until visitors mentioned it -- to me it's just chock full of nostalgia and will be in my gardens forever.  Until my potential future kids break it with a soccer ball like I broke my mother's.  :)

Taking advantage of the vertical space!  During my perusal of small garden ideas, it became obvious that vertical gardening is hugely popular right now.  These are hanging planters from Ikea with violets in them.  The chain is from Home Depot and just attached to hooks that screw into the wall-- you can see that there is a lot leftover.  I wasn't exactly sure how this idea was going to work out and I was determined not to measure anything.  

This 8-foot pre-primed beauty fit just perfectly in my wee Matrix -- thank goodness that front seat folds down. I used brackets to hold the counter to the railing; the pressure (it's a snug fit) keeps it from wobbling and no holes were made in the railing wood (which I'm sure Mr. Landlord appreciates).   I also repurposed and slightly modified the shelving so that it fits flush to the wall, gives more space, and provides a place to put empty pots.   Although you can't see them in this picture, there are two folding bar stools hanging next to the pots. Choosing the wrong size brackets for the counter was a lesson learned, but the leftover edge made for a handy place to hang planters will daffodil bulbs!  I can't wait until Spring!