Pallet & Slate Garden Edging

 

This spring is going to be the last spring that my husband accidentally takes the weed eater to my newly sprouted flowers.  Upon the dawn of summer break, I decided to add distinct edging along my flower gardens.  As stated in a previous post, our church recently replaced the ceiling.  Many board scraps were tossed, but this didn't stop my fellow teachers and Me  from...well...as my principal put it, "dumpster diving."  I didn't know what we were going to use all of those mismatched boards for, but I knew they would serve a purpose somewhere along the road.  I am proud to say that the boards have found a gorgeous place to reside.

    
This project could be done just as easily with reclaimed boards from a pallet.

 

to start off, I sawed each board into lengths of 6 - 9 inches.

 

Next, I drilled 2 holes along the end of each board.  Each hole was about 1/4" wide and 1/2" deep.  It needed to be just wide enough to drop in the head of a screw and glue it into place.  The screws/nails will serve as an anchor in the dirt.  I used A waterproof wood glue to uphold against future rains.

 

While I waited for the glue to dry, I dug a trench along the edge of my flower gardens.  After watering the flowers, the dirt was just right for anchoring the boards into place.  I chose to use a pattern by alternating the boards backward and forward, thus creating a sturdier barrier.

 

My next plan was to use river rock to fill in the remaining trench and to give the border more dimension and contrasting color.  However, I was disappointed to find very few rounded stones at the river.  What I did find was a lot of river buffed slate.  When you are working on a tiny budget, sometimes you just have to roll with it!

    While walking along the river bank, i gathered chunks of slate with my sons.  I have found that sometimes working on a small budget is benefit because I can work family time into my projects and memories are born.  My 4-year-old was thrilled to find a chunk of slate that was a perfect triangle!

 

      Once we arrived home, I jet-sprayed the rocks with a hose.  Once they were dry, I  sealed the rocks with clear spray paint to bring out the color and dimension of the slate. 

 

 

 This also makes the rocks appear darker which is be nice contrast against the light-colored wood.

   

 

 

My 9 year-old thought it looked like a mountain range.  I'll pretend it's my mini-Montana. 😊

To wrap up, the wood and rocks were free, so the only supplies that came out of my wallet were the glue and the nails.  (And now my husband and my flowers are happy.) 😊