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Custom Planter
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A couple weeks ago I decided to use my terrain-making knowledge (such as it is) to create a planter for the annual NASC (North American Sarracenia Conservancy) auction.
I began the usual way, this time using some high-density insulation foam I found at Lowes:
I cut out the profiles with my hot-wire router table, and did the rest with a simple steak-knife, carving out the large details and pinning the layers (4 in all) in place with toothpicks.
Then I looked up some reference images on google and drew a bark pattern on the outside with a sharpie, before taking to it with a steak-knife again to get the finer detail:
At this point, I glued the layers together with PVA, cut out a base of 1/4″ plywood, glued on with liquid nails, and sealed the plywood and the hollows with brown silicone caulk. The white texture you see is simply spackle, which I used to fill in any huge gaps or seams left over from the rough carving.
Then I proceeded to apply the plaster shell, to which I added some PVA (approx. 1/4 the water content) and some paint to tint it so that it wasn’t bright white.
After that had cured, it was onto the painting stage, again using my google reference image, to simulate tree-bark. Many layers of undercoats, washes, dry-brushing, and stippling later:
At which point I sealed the whole thing with three coats of brush-on Minwax Polycrylic which, even though water-based, is water-proof once fully-cured.
Gearing Up for a Garden
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(3/3/16 Update)
Lots more things have sprouted, and the Gray Zucchini is simply monstrous! I’ll have to seriously think about thinning things soon before they get out-of-control.
After finally breaking through my procrastination and finishing the third and final table of my indoor greenhouse, it was time to get some seeds started for the container garden I hope to have out on the deck this year along with my outdoor CP’s.
Ordered most of my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which included two varieties of squash / zucchini, Brandywine tomatoes, several herbs including Purple Opal Basil, Anise, Yarrow, and Sage, among others, and some oddballs like the Pink Banana (Musa Velutina), yellow wild strawberries, and a few varieties of hot pepper, including Bhut Jolokia, Buena Mulata, and Pasilla Bajio.
Most of the vegetable seeds were sown just three days prior to this post, and already things are sprouting!
Pink Brandywine
Purple Opal Basil
Yarrow (Cerise Queen)
April can’t come fast enough, when hopefully I’ll be past the danger of frost, and can start moving these guys outside into their summer homes.