Headboard to Temporary Fence

It's been a while but we didn't stop creating. Many more posts to come.

Let's begin this fun project together!

After having our first child, we didn't want the yard to be overtaken by Fisher-Price or Little Tikes. There has always been a flowy whimsy feel to The Shire. The plastic (said like Indian in the Cupboard) just kinda hardened things.

So....what does one creative family do?

They create a whimsical temporary fence for just pennies. We did just have a kid and MAN are they pricy! ha

Oh, and we have a Saint Bernard mix senior dog who we'd love to keep out of her play area for potty purposes.

How does one do this?

Here is what you'll need:

• Cinder blocks - $1 each or free if you have a neighbor looking to unload some extras.

• Pea gravel/spare small stone - $2 a bag if you buy the torn bags.

• Headboards and Footboards - Free from friends, family, and neighbors. The wood ones rot over time. Be sure to commit to the metal one's if getable. We did replace the wood ones and sure are to replace a few more panels in the years to come.

• Arbor for fun - $20 cheap one (Wal-Mart) for a lighter vine to save cash. But have fun with this!

• Gate - Was found at Lowe's and can be found with an arbor or separately. We didn't commit to the arbor until a few years later. Gate was a must to keep the pup out.

• Vines/Plants - The white flower vine is heavy. It grows fast (Sweet Autumn Clematis). Attracts bees and hummingbirds. We placed it away from the gate to save on stings/issues. Around the gate and arbor, we planted Morning Glory vine. It's starting to flower a little these days. If you have great soil, it'll be large and green with very few flowers. If your soil isn't awesome it'll flower a bunch more. Not super heavy for the cheaper arbor we placed by the gate.

• Lights - We used solar lights (from Target) on the arbor so they are green and don't use batteries or need someone to turn them on. They just light up. Which is lovely at night. As the vines grew, they filtered the light in an elegant way.

Here is the How to Steps:

1. Measure the fence line desired. Most of the head/footboards we used were twin or full size. Any size will work. The width will vary on how many you'll need for your desired spot. Be sure to go with metal as it won't rot over time as wood does.

2. Lay the design of the arbor/gate, cinder blocks, and headboards out where you'd like them to be and map out the gate/opening placement, height desired in certain spots, etc. We wanted to see our cutie if sitting/working outside the fenced area.

3. Time for real action! Place the legs of the head/footboards in the cinder blocks and backfill with rocks. Rocks have the sturdiness to keep them from going over in winds. This fence and cheap arbor withstood a tornado-like storm this past summer. True story. The rocks really, um...rocked. ha

4. Plant your flowers. We did use random netting, mesh metal, and twine to train the vines to go where we desired them to. To get a vine to grow up a rain gutter we used a tall CD rack to encourage the upward twining. Worked almost too well. We keep having to cut it back.

Fun Tips:

• If you hate the cinder block look right away we placed container pots, wood stumps/logs to distract the eye in some places.

• Feel free to plant strawberry plants in some cinder blocks that were empty for added fun and deliciousness.

• Add hummingbird feeders and lanterns throughout the green/foliage to encourage some fun that way organically also.

• Don't forget to add a few fairies or gnomes who may need a cozy home.

Have fun with this. Don't overthink it. It's fun to watch it fill in overtime.

Enjoy!

~ Brandi