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The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

Mailbox flower garden

August 22, 2012

When spring began this year, this is what our mailbox looked like.  It was sad, very sad.  I wondered if we were going to have to replace it but figured I would try to paint and stain it first. 

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I debated what color to do in this post and many of you weighed in with your comments.  Black box/white pole, white box/stained pole, black box/stained pole.  I decided on staining the post the same dark color I used on our front porch re-do and then I spray painted the mailbox white and spray painted the flag red again.  Yes, you can spray paint ANYTHING!

And it looked so much better!  You can view the step-by-step process here.

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Here’s the before and after together – it still amazes me Smile  Yes, that is THE SAME mailbox and the same pole Smile

mailbox beforeafter

Then I wanted to add a flower bed around the mailbox.  I did this back in May but never came back to blog about it because I was hoping to add a second bed on the other side of the driveway and blog about both of them.  Well, it got to be 90-100 degrees before I got the second bed in and it still isn’t done (hoping to add it in the next few weeks as it starts getting cooler.)

So I thought I might as well show the mailbox flower bed.

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Here are my supplies.  I like to use this plastic garden edging to create a line between the flower bed and the grass.  Makes it easy to cut and weed around.

I also used weed stop fabric and staples to hold that down.   Plus you need stakes to secure the garden edging.

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The easiest way to mark out the line for the bed is to use a garden hose.  Just lay it out and get it to the shape you want.  Curves in the edge make it look more natural vs. doing all straight edges.  Then I use some spray paint to make along the hose for my line.

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Next you will need to dig a trench for the edging to go in.  This is the part I dread…. I tried one day and the ground was so hard.  It rained later that week and I finally was able to get it dug the next day much easier.

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Aren’t you envious of that wonderful GA red clay?? NO? I promise I will share! Smile

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I set my edging in the trench and nailed in garden spikes to secure it.  Then I played around with the plant arrangement.  (I will name them all below.)

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Here is the trench backfilled, the plants planted and waiting for garden cover and mulch.  IF I had a tiller I would have tilled this whole area and dug up all the grass.  But I don’t.  And I have done this method before where I just use the weed fabric to cover existing grass and eventually it dies.  I may have to weed a few stragglers the first few weeks but I would much rather do that than dig up all that grass with a shovel.

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Covered in weed fabric and ready for mulch. 

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Might be easier here for you to see all the plants so I will name them all for you. 

  • I split and gug up the daylilies from other areas in our yard – they come back every year.
  • I picked up a yellow daisy perennial for $2.50
  • I bought 3 Lantana plants for 60¢ on clearance at Lowe’s
  • I picked up some 3 hosta plants for $1 each from our local discount garden center.
  • and 3 perennial bushes – 1 green, 2 purpley green – don’t the name?plant names

So everything I planted are perennials and come back every year except for the Lantana.  Which when you see the next picture – I won’t be planting again.  Although I can’t complain for 60¢Smile 

That bed was planted in the middle of May.  Three months later in mid-August, this is what it looks like:

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Apparently the Lantana LOVES the sun it gets out there and it is pretty much taking over the bed.    I am enjoying cutting some to bring inside.  There are 2 yellow Lantana plants on each side and a purple one getting taken over in the middle.  And yes the yellow daisy plant is blooming great too.

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The daylilies were in bloom too.  I already plucked the brown stems for my indoor décor

I really want the bed to look much more spread out and “clean-looking” like the back part does so I will replace the Lantana with something else next spring.

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Hoping I can get the other side of the driveway looking better soon!

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So here’s a before/after shot for you.

Before – nasty mailbox and no flower bed.

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After!  No-cost mailbox spruce up and new flower bed!

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Have you done any yard projects this spring/summer?  Or are you waiting for fall and cooler temps to work in yard again?

{cj}

Sometimes I link up to these wonderful parties: Sarahndipities, Skip to my Lou, Today’s Creative Blog, How to Nest for Less, Home Stories A to Z, Apron Thrift Girl, Tools are for women too, Not just a Housewife, A bowl full of lemons, Uncommon Designs Online, Someday Crafts, No Minimalist Here,Somewhat Simple, 36th Avenue, Sew Much Ado, The Style Sisters, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Weekend Blogging party at Serenity Now, Home Happy Home, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, The Girl Creative, Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Remodelaholic, The Lettered Cottage, Before and after party at Thrifty Decor Chick, Pinterest Challenge at Young House Love, Best projects of July at Beneath my Heart

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Comments

  1. Kim H. says

    August 22, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    I think you live in my area of the country (North Georgia?) and you may find that the lantana comes back next year! I’ve had some that did and some that did not, just depending on how cold it got.

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:16 AM

      I live near Atlanta. I have heard that some people say Lantana comes back and then other people in the area has said that theirs did not?? so I guess we will see. If mine comes back, I will move it somewhere else and enjoy it there 🙂

      Reply
  2. Margaret says

    August 22, 2012 at 9:13 PM

    again here in North Georgia. I have some red verbina that has run everywhere. It would be a match for your latana! Feel free to come plant something, anything in the flower box under my mailbox. I never did get anything in it and it got so hot. Love the way your mailbox and flower bed look even with lantana overrun. Good luck with the other side. The weather is getting right to work outside again.

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:14 AM

      Yes, we had one day last week that was cooler. Now will have rain this week because of the hurricane in FL. So I am thinking after Labor Day will be perfect to work outside again.

      Reply
  3. Kelly Palmer says

    August 23, 2012 at 1:13 PM

    You did a really nice job and it looks so much better than the before shot. I puttered in our yard for a while this morning and the cooler air feels so nice 🙂 Looking forward to seeing your fall projects !

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:13 AM

      I am ready for fall to be here so I can try to get a few things done in the yard. Mostly cleaning up brush and such. But also can’t wait to plant some mums – I just saw Lowe’s has them on sale this week. Wonder if it is too early to buy some??? 😉

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    August 23, 2012 at 1:36 PM

    Our whole yard, front and back, look horrible this year thanks to lack of rain and an abundance of triple-digit temperatures all summer here in Kansas. But I LOVE lantana because it does love the sun and is a great plant for spreading and getting very bushy. How did your hostas do? Around here they are strictly shade plants – our sun bakes them if they are out in full sun. Your mailbox looks great, and I’m so glad to have seen your story because I noticed a rust spot starting on our mailbox the other day. I’m going to follow your example and put a fresh new finish on it!

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:12 AM

      The hostas usually do well. These are new plants so will probably do better the second year. I have ones in the backyard (more in the shade) and they are huge. Need to split them again this spring. A lot of my potted flowers died too during July when we had such hot temperatures.

      Reply
  5. Wanda says

    August 23, 2012 at 8:00 PM

    Looks great ! Love the before and after photos! Wanda

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:08 AM

      Thank you, Wanda! Before and after pictures are so much fun to look at – helps me stay motivated 🙂

      Reply
  6. Ira Morse says

    August 23, 2012 at 8:56 PM

    Decorating my mailbox for the holiday is as mandatory to me as decorating the inside or outside of my home. You have provided some really nice decoration ideas here.

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 28, 2012 at 12:04 AM

      love that – would love to see how you decorate your mailbox.

      Reply
  7. Emmitt says

    June 9, 2018 at 6:32 AM

    Thanks for this articale. If possible, could you share the AFTER picture when all of these plants / flowers bloom?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 16 Marvelous Mailbox Makeovers (+ introducing you to Hometalk!) | The Frugal Homemaker says:
    June 24, 2013 at 1:33 PM

    […] Now for the project I have to share with you. You may remember my mailbox before/after post. […]

    Reply

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Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

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