At the beginning of the summer when I realized I had NO TIME
for my garden, I thought, I’ll figure out
some garden hacks and then I’ll blog about them. Sadly, not all my hacks
worked, but there is still potential and the information is worth sharing, so
here we go….
Let’s start with the biggest flop with the potential to be
the biggest success. I do think this one is a keeper, but it needs some
modifications and a lot more attention.
Gutter Step Garden
Nick built this lovely idea for me last year to house the
strawberries. We had to relocate them so we could tear out the garden that was
their home of the past twelve years and replace it with an expanded driveway.
They were happy in the gutters and looked beautiful all summer and fall.
The garden is basically four gutters with caps on both ends
mounted on a set of stair stringers and then given a frame to add stability. We
didn’t poke holes for drainage because the caps were not a good seal and they
leaked beautifully. Also, the gutter step garden is on a slight slant, so the
water naturally drained off one end.
Lucky for me, I didn’t put all my strawberries in the gutter
garden. I sagely planted half of them in an inground garden. Why am I lucky you
ask? Remember last winter? The seven-month-long bitter, miserable slog through
below freezing temperatures, daily record breaks, and endless snow? Why yes,
that winter. By spring my strawberries in the gutter garden were dead beyond dead.
