More furniture for the working gardener

We built a potting shed behind our garage years ago. One thing it lacked however, was a sink for watering newly potted and repotted plants, or washing off pots, rocks or hands.

I looked for a salvaged laundry sink, but had no luck. I looked for new laundry sinks, but they are mostly a thing of the past. In my search, I came across a deep fiberglass sink that had been returned and was marked down. I took a chance and bought it before I had an idea of how to use it.

The sink needed a counter for support, an area to put materials while working in the sink, a water supply and a drain. There was a hose in the shed, so water was no problem. Since the only thing that would be in the sink was plants and soil (no chemicals or detergents), it could just drain onto the ground.

I designed a table with a large opening for the sink. There is a work area to the left, and a storage shelf below. The table stands on a fan shaped area of brick, so I curved the table edge to follow the brick. Materials are 2x and 4x redwood.

Photos

NOTE: There is a black plastic flat (tray) across the top of the sink in these photos. Lisa uses it when she works on small plants in the sink.

Top: View looking from the potting shed

Second from Top: View from our backyard, looking towards the potting shed. The sink

is on the left. I was so amazed by the amount of things to look at in this picture, I made the guide photo below.

Third from the Top: View from our backyard, with the sink circled for easy identification

Fourth from the Top: Front view showing depth of the  sink and the shelf below

Fifth from the Top: View from our Backyard., showing the curved table edge matching the curved brick

Bottom: Note the drain pipe that snakes to the side. It drains onto the gravel walking surface in the potting shed

Bad weather prompts a new design

We have enjoyed the awnings on our deck for years. They provide great shade for us and our plants, and help us conserve water. However, San Diego recently got some very bad weather that made us reconsider the design.

The original awnings were each 10′ square, supported on two edges (see previous Two Story Deck articles). They were very dramatic, with one large swoop between the supporting beams. They did, however, have one drawback. Strong winds tended to blow them up, and then “pop” them back down. This put a strain on the awning material. We had very strong winds recently, 55 miles an hour, much stronger than we have ever had before in our 30 plus years in San Diego. The awnings got a little worn in the wind, and we decided it was time for a new, more stable design.

We wanted to keep the swoops and really like the transparent shade cloth we used on our recent shades (see previous Garden Shades articles). We selected a design that uses stainless steel cable, steel poles and multiple swoops to stabilize the awnings. The awnings can be moved back and forth along the cables, allowing us to adjust the amount of shade to the weather and plants. The material is a 90% shade cloth in royal blue. It matches the color of the new shades, and the light on the deck is wonderful.

Photos of the new awnings

Top: New awning on left, old on the right. This shows the difference in the awning designs

Second from Top: Both new awnings installed

Third from Top: View from the same corner as the two photos above, giving a sense of how the deck fits into our garden.

Fourth from the Top:
Awning open, sliding back along the cables

Fifth from the Top: View from the back corner of the yard, showing the lower and upper shades.

Sixth from Top: View of the upper deck. Although the awnings screen out 90% of the sun, they are still very transparent. It is so nice to see the plants and sky through them, something we learned from our other transparent shades.

Bottom: View of our new awnings from our back door.

Playful design and materials experiments applied to a utilitarian object

Our old water heater cabinet, after years of my attempted fixes, finally needed replacement. It is located in a corner with poor drainage, and so I wanted to use materials that are resistant to rust and rot.

Seizing this as a (small) design opportunity, I tried a million different ideas, trying to break away from the old  design. Ultimately, I failed. The area is just too constricted between the back steps, window and plants. I came back to the same shed roof cabinet design .

I settled on trex composite decking for the frame and cement board siding, because they are impervious to rot and termites. Fasteners are stainless steel when available, otherwise galvanized steel, for resistance to rust. There is no wood in the cabinet.

One thing I did change was the colors. We selected very bright colors, as a preview of how we plan to repaint our house.

Somewhere along the way, I decided that the peaked roof of the cabinet kind of resembled a cat’s ear. We decided to add a cat’s eye, nose and whiskers to the front, creating a cat’s face-or at least half of one. Lisa suggested using materials from our garden. We used round river rocks for the eye and nose, bamboo for the whiskers. I made wire “settings” for the rocks, similar to how diamonds are set in jewelry. We also wanted sort of a grab-bar on the side, to help going up and down the stairs. We added a long piece of bamboo that resembles a cat’s tail.

A water pipe enters the cabinet on the side. I wanted to make a cover plate for the hole. In it, a cat’s head emerges from the trim to bite the pipe. This is a nod to our cat, who can be a little bite-y at times.

Photos, from the top:

Finished cabinet

Manipulated photo, showing the full cat’s face and bamboo tail

Cat face detail, showing rock eye and nose, and bamboo whiskers

Biting cat cover plate