Uses for old pallets #2

There was actually a bit of sun today. Most of the day was grey but then, after lunch, the sun came out and bathed everything in a volcanic glow. It wasn’t the best weather for building things.

Over the last I-don’t-know-how-long, when we visit Open Gardens, some people have been a bit inventive with old pallets. In the past, we’ve used them to house insects. This isn’t a euphemism for leaving them lying around in the long grass. It’s something we’ve read and heard about. Insects (and other Garden Creatures), love curling up between the slats and, sometimes, eating the wood.

Another use they can be adapted to is as a sort of highrise planter. I thought this was quite clever so, armed with a fairly new looking pallet which has for ages been down the side of the house, my tool bag and cordless drill, I set up on the path for some serious construction work.

It proved to be a bit trickier than I thought it would be. The nails holding the pallet together had a thread through them, making their extraction harder than impacted wisdom teeth in a tiny mouth. Still, this obstacle was overcome with the application of brute force administered with a hammer. It was a bit time consuming but effective.

So, cut down, rearranged and put back together, the pallet was put in place against the fence between us and Dave and Gail. Now for some compost and trailing plants to make it look a little less like old pallet storage.

Following mum’s enthusiastic response to the Veronica photo yesterday, here’s a couple of the yellow/orange flowers from the hot border.

Gazania Comanche

They are the sort of blooms that close up at night but then, when the sun hits them during the day, burst into glorious life.

Coreopsis sunfire

I almost forgot! I also gave the dogwood a jolly good hack back in order to make the arch leading from Carmen’s Sweet Escape to the lawn area, more relevent.

It was another good day in the garden.