August 07, 2006

Urban gardening and the fine art of camouflage

Those of us gardening in restricted spaces face some unusual challenges. When all you have is one small rectangle, it is really heartbreaking to sacrifice any of it to a garden shed.

So you don't. That's when a barbecue comes in handy. Yes, you heard correctly. A barbecue. It is amazing how much stuff you can hide under the skirts of a barbecue cover, particularly if you've only got one propane tank. Like a bag of manure, a compressed bale of potting soil, a garbage bag, various stakes and empty pots.

Camouflage
A folding chair screens the compost "bin" and a chair bedecked with plants provides some distraction from the gas meter and various tools tucked in behind it.

This is a low-budget strategy (OK, so it was a no budget strategy - I'm not willing to put money into patio furnishings right now) but people who are actually willing to spend money can do some very nice things.

So if you've done some garden camouflage you're proud of (beating mine shouldn't be too hard), let me know about it and I'll see if I can post about your solutions or link to them, whatever works best.

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4 comments:

Unknown said...

I would have never thought to put things under that skirt--ingenious!

Anonymous said...

I'm a fan of your no-budget camouflage :) On my balcony, garden tool camouflage always takes a bit of problem solving.

Anonymous said...

You could actually arrange your garden tools on the fence to create an artful garden arrangement that could be accented with wall planters....

Janet said...

Not a bad idea at all. Thanks.