Installing Extra Large Wrought Iron Brackets for the Hanging Baskets

Seriously, the rain must stop or I will never get anything else crossed off my list.

I did get the corner boards primed and painted so we were able to install the new extra large brackets to hang the extra large baskets.

These brackets are from the same eBay seller where I purchased the wrought iron urns.

But Friday is a big day for us.  R reserved an excavator to break apart the pool and dig up or move 6 or 7 boulders.  Three of those stones worked their way to the surface over the last 6 or 7 years but now they are so high that I can no longer mow over them.  R is keeping his fingers crossed that these are not the size of the garden shed and more like the size of something I can use in our landscape.

As soon as I finish painting shingles I am going to start painting the deck railings with a ultra white opaque stain. 

I've crossed off a few items and added a few more items to the Mega To Do List. 

*Paint the shingles grey

*Paint the windows trim and sashes white (deck area)

*Prime the door trim (new door)

*Paint the door trim white

*Paint the doors white

*Make 4 of the faux wrought iron hinges

*Install the dummy handle on the stationary door

*Touch up the wrought iron furniture with black satin spray paint

*Take the outdoor cushions to the upholstery guy

*Hang 3 wrought iron baskets and plant with flowers 

*Haul out the umbrella and the umbrella stand

*Buy and plant flowers on the deck 

*Buy and plant flowers in the flower boxes on the railings

*Haul out all the deck decor items

*Put down the outdoor rug

*Plant flowers in the window boxes on the front and side of house

*Plant flowers in the pots on the front porch

*Fix paint on the bottom of the front door

*Add wide cove moulding to the bottom of front door

*Remove and replace 3" eavestrough and downspout with 5"
*Rent heavy equipment to break apart what remains of the swimming pool
*Call and get estimate for retaining wall in the backyard
*Cut down almost dead large pine tree
*Finish building gable vent and prime and paint it
*Install gable vent
*Paint the bistro set 

*Buy opaque white stain for deck railings

*Stain deck railings white

*Dig up boulders

*Move a few boulders to the area next to the driveway wrought iron gates

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The To Do List is Getting Longer Every Day

*Paint the shingles grey

*Paint the windows trim and sashes white (deck area)

*Prime the door trim (new door)

*Paint the door trim white

*Paint the doors white

*Make 4 of the faux wrought iron hinges

*Install the dummy handle on the stationary door

*Touch up the wrought iron furniture with black satin spray paint

*Take the outdoor cushions to the upholstery guy

*Hang 3 wrought iron baskets and plant with flowers 

*Haul out the umbrella and the umbrella stand

*Buy and plant flowers on the deck 

*Buy and plant flowers in the flower boxes on the railings

*Haul out all the deck decor items

*Put down the outdoor rug

*Plant flowers in the window boxes on the front and side of house

*Plant flowers in the pots on the front porch

*Fix paint on the bottom of the front door

*Add wide cove moulding to the bottom of front door

*Remove and replace 3" eavestrough and downspout with 5"
*Rent heavy equipment to break apart what remains of the swimming pool
*Call and get estimate for retaining wall in the backyard
*Cut down almost dead large pine tree
*Finish building gable vent and prime and paint it
*Install gable vent
*Paint the bistro set 

I purchased this set at an auction for about 40 bucks.  I can see why this set has peeling paint.  When it rains the rainwater pools in the seat area and in the middle of the table.  I am thinking about drilling a pattern of holes in the seat and the center of the table.  Then I will sand and paint.  I will probably spray paint the set with satin black but then paint a checkerboard in the seat area and center of the table.  That should be tedious.

*And of course there are always more cedar shingles to take down and install new cedar shingles.

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How to Install Coco Mat in Odd Shaped Pots

I purchased these two wrought iron pedestal urns from a seller on eBay.  I knew that if I wanted to plant them with flowers, rather than fill them with large rocks, I would need to install a coco mat liner before I added soil and flowers.

There are not any ready made coco mats for urns that are this shape.  Actually, you can barely find round coco mats that correctly fit hanging baskets. I ended up buying the coco mat that I used, from my local garden shop.  I purchased 8 linear feet at $3.99 a foot and is 36 or 42 inches wide. 

 I ultimately lined these two urns, 2 very large hanging baskets, and 1 regular sized hanging basket, and still had a little left over.

First I eyeballed the length that I would need to do one urn and cut that length.  Use heavy duty scissors and not your best sewing scissors for this task.  I rolled the mat up and let it soak in a bucket of water for about 5 minutes and then flipped over the roll to soak the other end.  This step made the coco mat more pliable and less itchy to install.

I took the rolled up coco mat and placed it in the urn. I lined up the edge of the mat to the top of the urn and held it in place with a squeeze clamp.  I worked my way around the urn and overlapped the mat about 4 to 6 inches at the end.  I then started tidying up the bottom so that it formed a nice curve and didn't stick out between the iron pieces.

Look for coco mat that is sticking out before adding your soil to the pot or hanging basket.  You want a nice curve like how the coco mat is on each side of the protruding mat section.

The clerk at the garden shop suggested I put a piece of plastic in the bottom before adding dirt.  She said that it prolongs the life of the coco mat and also keeps the water in the soil for a longer period of time so that the plant has time to soak up the water before it drains out.  I chose the remnants of the bag that our lunch came in that day.  Big John's Steak and Cheese subs....delish.

The next step was adding a good potting soil.  I added about 4 inches and then tamped it down with my closed hand until it wouldn't compact anymore.  I repeated this until I was about 6 inches from the top.  At that point I unpotted the three large dark red geraniums and placed them in the urn.  I then filled in the voids with more potting soil and finished off with a good watering and removed the clamps. 

I was very pleased with how neat and tidy the mat looks in the wrought iron urns.  Getting the mat wet before installing and then using squeeze clamps to hold the mat in place were the tricks that made this coco mat install a success.

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