Hello... I am long overdue to start creating a garden workspace and organizing all my garden junk. I thought I would resurrect this old post and see if anyone had any more to add to it. I could start a new thread if that is a better idea? So....I have too much junk scattered all over the place..the basement, the garage, seeds in my bedroom...lol. I am sure you get the picture and perhaps there is someone else out there who has the same problem. I just don't know where to start, it is a little overwhelming. What gives me the most trouble? Large containers 22" and where to put them for the winter. Large bags of potting soil or soil amendments....storing and having easy access to them. POTS! Having tools handy when out in the garden without making 10 trips to the garage for something I forgot, yet not dragging everything around with me. Leftover materials from past projects...a pile of broken pavers, a small pile each of stonedust and pea gravel. The COMPOST BINS! I need to get them out of sight. We have a small yard. I was hoping to create an area where I had everything garden related so it is not in a number of different places. My problem is the only area available is on the side of my garage but the main entrance to the backyard from the front is there and you would have to pass through my 'workarea' to get to it. I really love a pretty organized, neat area anyway....I am just not coming up with creative ideas for what I have to work with to make it that way. If someone has had similar issues that they have resolved successfully, I would love to hear about how you did it. Thank you! :-) pm2 I would love to see photos of how you have handled any aspect of this project in your garden if you have any.

Kathleen, Could you package some of your energy and mail it to me? Your goodies look delicious. What a lucky friend you have and such a labor of love. I just know your friend will be over the moon when she sees the cake. I am heading to CF right now for the apple pie recipe. I love to cook and that forum lead me to this one. Baking might must keep me busy enough so tht I am not looking for and purchasing more dishes. LOL DH is going to scream if anymore dishes enter our home. He's already worried the cabinet in my office is going to come off of the wall from the weight:,). Keep posting, you are an inspiration for those of us who like to cook/bake as well as decorate our tables!

What wonderful advice in this thread!! I will agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that you should decorate in a way that is true to who you are. If you're not quite sure who you are, you should take some time to find that out first. My approach is to look at decorating in parallel to fashion. My wardrobe is not the least bit trendy, I tend to buy clothes that may be colorful but are neutral, in that they don't represent any specific time period, I struggle with fashion a bit so I have some outfits that are matchy-matchy but can easily be broken up by adding or subtracting one thing. These elements are completely reflected in my decor. When I look at outfits in fashion magazines, I stop and think about WHY I like the ones that I like. Is it because of the colors? Is it the shape of the garment or the shape of the model? Is it the material? And then I think about whether those things would transfer to me and my figure. Some things I will always love but never buy. Again, these are the things I think about when I'm looking at pictures of rooms that I love. Will that look still be dreamy in a room with just one window, no lake view and 9' ceilings instead of 14'? I do not have an open concept home and all of my rooms are different colors and are styled for their function but they all rhyme with each other. You don't feel like you're in a different house just because you're in a different room. I think of it like a professional family photo. You wouldn't have a photo done with one person in a jogging suit, one in a ball gown, one in a business suit and another in a Halloween costume. Lastly, I'm not one of those people who gravitates toward dark clothing so none of my rooms/furniture is dark. I am not one of those people who flips out if I get a ketchup stain on my blouse and it doesn't come completely clean. My sunny yellow sofas with the ghost soda stain will attest that I am the same with my furniture. I love sparkly jewelry so every room in my house has some accessory that sparkles! Instead of fighting the fact that I'm short and curvy, I buy clothes that compliment that frame and avoid tube tops and other trendy items that won't make me look my best. My home is over 125 years old and while it's far from being Grandma's museum house, there is a definite nod to the age of the home in every single room. Take your time. You've been given a lot of really good advice in this thread and it can take a minute to digest it all. One GWer used the phrase "visual emptiness" for living with a blank space until you find the right piece and I am completely on board with that concept. I am so in love with my home because I feel like it really reflects who I am and I think that speaks to my guests, making them feel at ease. Now, if I could just get some of this construction done, I will also be at ease!!

Heere another favorite Flower Girl this one I got from Amity's Roses back when they were an all own root nursery. I've it for 12 years or more. In all that time she has never had a spot or mildew also apparently immune to anthracnose. She is normally a bit more upright I gave her too much nitrogen last year. Also spent to much time growing rather than flowering as much as normal. Won't do that again. Next to her is one of several gladiolus that I have had nearly as long. This is it's third time moved. Moved it right before our first wretched polar vortex winter and it lived. These are summer glads that should not be even close to hardy, I never dig them up to store them. They always come back even when the ground freezes below the bulb. Trust me here as it turns out glads have an amazing survival skill. I dug a clump a few years ago as it wasn't performing like it should. Well it was a giant stack of bulbs. When the bulb froze it would grow a new one on top so there was always the top couple still producing green leaves. Maybe glads always grow this way I don't know. All I need to do is take off the top bulb and replant about 8 inches deep and its starts the whole again. It was a stack of ten bulbs. One for each year it was planted. Sorry that was so long especially if you don't like glads.