Home and Garden Storage

I live in a small unit and at times I remember that I have things including furniture stored at my daughter’s place. A workshop for storage is a handy thing, especially if your mother needs it. Mind you it was supposed to be for a short time because my daughter and her husband are going to renovate their house and have other plans for their workshop. I intend to move to larger premises, so I guess it should be sooner than later.

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Today we had warm weather, an Indian Summer, which I remember comes at this time of year and is usually short lived. We have to be careful not to put away our warm clothes because more than likely we will get another cold spell for some time. It also reminded me of the time I was in Auckland years ago when after horse riding on a Saturday we would go to the pools which consisted of an extremely hot water pool and some cold water pools. We would slowly lower ourselves into the hot water pool and sit quietly there until we turned the colour of lobsters after which we would jump into the icy cold pool to cool off and then back to the hot water pool. This took place in the cold winter weather but it was so invigerating. How great it would be to have a pool in the backyard that had a boiling hot spa like that and to use especially in cold weather.

Water texture, photo by S., Canada, http://www.sxc.hu/photo/840848

Seeing photos with red flowers and black centers reminds me of when I was five years old and we were visiting Greece. On one side of a hill there were many many poppies and that was a sight that impressed my childish eyes. It was like a fairytale. Once of the few memories of that young age. It makes me realise that poppies are not that common in Australia, at least I have not seen them growing in fields or someone’s garden. I wonder if they grow easily in this climate because we can buy them here? Maybe they’re imported. How great it would be to have a backyard full of these colourful flowers?

Red flower, photo by Dani Simmonds, Everett, United States

I remember when I was in Primary School how at end August we would go to Granville Pool for Spring swimming. It was hot then and that’s how we knew that Spring had arrived. Now it’s the beginning of September and Spring is here but it is cold and I can’t imagine kids going on swimming excursions. This is clearly an indication of how our seasons have changed. I guess the only indicators of Spring are the blooming flowers in our gardens.

Multi-Colored Spring Flowers, photo by Tanya McConnell, USA

Children love to touch pets, just as adults usually do. However, they are not aware of how they can hurt them especially if the pet is a small breed. This especially happens with dogs and their litter of puppies. The difficulty lies in the mother becoming vicious in an effort to protect her litter. So a family pet can become a problem around small children or visitors. I found the solution to that is to have a good kennel which is weatherproof and there the dog and the litter are safe. Protect the puppies with a garden shed kennel and all is fine.

Say you are blessed with a cemented backyard because you live in a rented place that has that? I did and we bought large pots and filled them with bushes like a gardenia, a  mini rose bush, a jacaranda, an umbrella tree, a lemon bush, a small tomato bush, and one with spinach. Then my husband assembled his shed near the back fence where he had all his hobby equipment and our gardening tools.  We also set up our garden furniture and the BBQ and it was a great entertaining area, small but fun.

My friend has a green thumb and can make the most amazing little plants for selling at school fetes for fundraising. Virginia has a greenhouse in her backyard which her husband assembled and she gets great joy out of turning clippings into plants. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like because her plants are safe as well as out of the way of the rest of the family’s activities. It’s really great having the opportunity to create or produce something useful that is fun to make, especially when you have a talent for it. I wish I had a green thumb, although I do manage to keep African violets alive and growing. Maybe because they are so self sufficient.

Have you ever seen guys working together on a car or building something or fishing or sports? It’s like women have their girlie days, men need to bond with their mates in something productive rather than drinking at the pub. Although the latter does bring guys enjoyment it is not what I want to cover now. My stepfather was an electrician (he’s dead now) and on weekends friends came over to work on renovating the house. I often wondered if they worked all week why they got such a kick out of fiddling around the house on the weekends? He installed a shed and they were all full of appreciation for its usefulness.

The women had fun inside catching up on their week and any news like which daughter or son is in love with whom and when the next grandchild was due? Those sorts of uncomplicated conversations that they enjoy. Much laughter and chatter goes on while they prepare the meals.

This is a happy way to live life.

The Wayside Chapel put out a call for a piece of land where homeless people could be taught to grow their own gardens. I started thinking that this is also needed for a lot of young people in families. To be a part of planning and caring for a garden is quite simple. It is a great project for families because it’s about going back to basics and learning to grow vegetables, especially organically which are very expensive.

The whole family is able to spend time together and enjoy the fruits of their labour. Having a garden shed assembled or even DIY and storing the tools and equipment teaches young people about responsible behaviour. Another benefit to this is that they become productive.

I had a house which had a very small backyard and there was a tiny rock garden where I planted corn, silverbeet, and herbs. These are easy-to-care-for plants and gave me great delight to use in cooking. The whole family took pride in it and assisted. The garden shed was also small and convenient for the gardening tools.

There was a time when people’s lives consisted of work, eat, sleep and on weekends some sort of entertainment. Nowadays we take more pride in fixing up our houses so that they are not only more valuable but are more attractive and functional. Then there is the interest in hobbies and the need to have the space to carry them out. Hobbies like art, building furniture, making fishing gear, sewing, playing musical instruments and many other things.

Not having the space is no longer a problem because there are such solutions as garden sheds. A shed for a workshop is easy to get and you can either DIY, if you’re so inclined, or have it assembled for you in your backyard.

I’ve known people to even have a workshop shed for their special classic car, which they prepare for entering in car rallies.