Elephant Garlic and White Solent

For this year I decided to overwinter my Garlic, I chose two varieties specifically with this in mind. White Solent was my first choice a good sized bulb and excellent flavour. My second choice was Elephant garlic, not a true garlic but a a very close blood relative. The bulbs a huge and the flavour milder! I planted them out around October or November and they look in excellent health! 

Garden Projects Picture Frame Planter and Tin Can Plant Pot

We have had some brilliant weather through March, the summer feeling has definitely come a little early this year. everyone one has been out in the gardens making the most of the dry sunny weather and even a BBQ or too. We had a high of 18 Celsius..... to some that might seem pretty cold but to us Brits at this time of year that's down right tropical! Especially after the winter we have had! So everyone has been getting ready for the summer ahead, myself included. But there is only so much you can do this time of year and for me this is when I start playing around and try to make things. And yesterday I made two picture frame planters, as an experiment really but I was quiet happy with the way they turned out.

I was pottering around the garden and cleaning up when I went to drop some rubbish in the bin and low and behold my partner had been cleaning out the house and these two small picture frames were on the top. I have seen a few posts on Pinterest and other sites where people had made these and I always thought they looked great. They were always on a bigger scale compared to my modest attempt however I think they could create a good effect, my neighbour was amazed though I don't know how much of that was politeness!

To make these I used some pallet wood to make the sides and some old plastic fascia board that was sitting idle in the shed. Finally some chicken wire that was left over. I knocked up a U-shape for the bottom and sides with the wood and nailed the fascia board on to the back. The chicken wire I used to sit in between the frame and the base to help hold plants in. FinallyI just nailed the frame on to the box base. This actually only took 10 minutes to make.

So far I have filled one with compost and seeded it with plain old grass. Really I just want to see what it will look like and weather it will work..... The other I would like to try some sort of flower, alpine type maybe.

I also made a planter out of an old tin can, I loved the paper label that was on it, the blue and orange so I really wanted to keep it. To do this I used a clear Lacquer spray, normally used for car metal work. And sprayed it A LOT! It seems water tight, and hopefully I get to keep the label on it!

Well time to go and plant up my early potatoes, the sun seems to be coming back out.