My Little Green Patch

DIY Waterfall

I can't call it a garden because it's just too little. We've only about 70 square feet of green in the front of our home. So it's my little green patch that I care for dearly. My mini waterfall is switched on only when we have guests. Two reasons for this. The first, it leaks. Try as I may, I cannot find the source of the leak. Secondly, we have yet to install an outdoor power point and currently we have a temporary and dangerous setup of an extension cord connected to the nearest point. Not a good idea.

There are no flowers in my patch. The simple reason being I don't like flowering plants. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE FLOWERS. I just don't like flowering PLANTS. And there's something so refreshing and relaxing about a green green garden. Ahhhh....

If you look carefully behind my waterfall, you will be able to see white stones. These stones cover my drain. Initially we wanted to do the typical, cover the drain with plastic covers. Uh, ugly. Ugly and expensive. And then my brilliant mummy gave me the idea for the stones. Over a couple of weeks I managed to collect unwanted bricks from old constructions sites. Just enough bricks to lay across the length of the drain. 12 bags of white stones were laid on top of the bricks and filled the drain to the brim. Water from the gutter freely flows under the row of bricks.

I really do surprise myself with the dozens of ideas I have for such a limited space. There are so many plans in my head. I really like the fan-like palm tree that's quite popular now. I don't know its actual name. And I need to start getting some pretty pots, dark blue ones in particular. A visit to a nursery is due. And oh, I saw some beautiful large rocks along the highway that would look pretty lying just outside my house right next to my future fan-like palm tree. Will update with some pictures once these materialize.

Great Used Buys

Firstly, our garage light (above) is not a second hand buy. We purchased it new from a light shop in Uptown. It cost an arm and leg but I had to have it because it is almost identical to the light I loved so much in one of my previous posts. The original plan was to have two installed in our living room. But hubs said it was too small. I agreed.




The blue arm chair is a second hand buy. We got this for RM100. It required no re-upholstering just some cleaning and sunshine. It looks brand new and is oh so comfy. I breastfeed Nila in this. It's perfect for my blue master bedroom.

Solid wood (TV) cabinet. This piece had been sitting in the shop for months. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. However, the seller refused to drop his price of RM800. The drawers have sections in them specifically to store CD's. We do not use this to store our tv and the drawers are empty. The cabinet sits across from our main entrance. I am in the process of framing some pictures to fill the back wall. Also, I have yet to find a permanent place for the white lillies.

This retro chair too had been sitting in that store for months. Collecting dust and mites. Again the seller refused to drop his price. Apparently, the chair had already been sold but the buyer had yet to pick-up. Finally, hubs offered RM30 for it and it was ours. This chair needs re-upholstering. I have yet to find the material for this. Once complete, we will move this classic piece upstairs to our study.

This cupboard has undergone some serious refurbishing. It was originally dark brown. I think it may have been an office storage cabinet back in the 70's. I laid eyes on it and immediately thought of a toy closet for Elil. After bringing it home, I went out and got 7 cans of pink spray paint. My mother was in town and insisted I put her to good use. And so she worked very hard on it. First, she sand-papered it down (inside and out) to roughen the surface so that the new coat of paint would stick. This was some major work. Because the original brown was a much darker color than the pink, my mummy had to paint a layer of undercoat. Only then could she use the spray paint. The process was long but well worth it. I now wish I got two of these cupboards. The other I would have painted purple.