Lowe's Creative Ideas as a Garden Project Resource

As I said earlier this week, I'm a part of the new Lowe's Creative Ideas Garden Club, in which garden bloggers use their creativity paired with Lowe's gift cards to come up with ideas for gardeners - ideas that are easy for the do-it-yourselfer. I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of this because:

• I love Lowe's and shop there regularly, for not only garden needs, but for oodles of other items, like lumber and plumbing and lighting and paint and tools...you get the idea.
  
• I've received their Creative Ideas Home & Garden magazine for several years now and have gotten some fantastic ideas from it. It's free and is such a good resource that I've saved all the back issues because you never know when you might need just the solution they offer.
  
• How sweet is it that I get a gift card and then get to go shopping with it for the materials I need?
  
• I'm happy to promote a company that I've done business with for years and have been pleased with the service, products, and prices I've found there.

My first project as part of the Garden Club team is my "Pipe Dream Planter" and I'm already working on June's idea. In addition to that, we already had plans to  make a trellis that we found in a previous issue of their Creative Ideas Home & Garden magazine.

We had a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree/shrub (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') for years on the east side of our house. It provided the right height and interest for the spot. Then two years ago, half of it died. I considered cutting the dead part out and just leaving the right half there, but deep down I knew the whole thing just had to go.

Corylus avellana 'Contorta' in May 2011

This would leave a big blank spot, so the search was on for what might be a suitable replacement. I thought about a nice sculpture, and while I do think that would look great, I wasn't willing to pay the price for the kind of sculpture I wanted. So I started looking for a trellis idea. I found one that I liked, but it would involve fastening it to the house and I knew that idea wasn't going to go over very well with Romie. Then my Lowe's Creative Ideas Home & Garden magazine showed up in my mailbox with just the thing.

This shows two trellises, but only one will be needed for our space.

I loved the freestanding trellis right away and Romie was willing to construct it for me, with my help. We picked up the materials we needed last weekend and putting it together will be this weekend's project. When we have it finished and in place, I'll be sure to do a show and tell!

Besides the regular Lowe's Creative Ideas website, Lowe's has other ways to help you out with gardening ideas, too. There's the Lowe's Creative Ideas Blog, written by 16 bloggers. The Lowe's Creative Ideas App for iPad users has not only the recent magazine issues, but bonus material exclusive to the app. They're also on Pinterest.

You may want to check out the ideas that other members of the Lowe's Creative Ideas Garden Club have come up with:

• Robin Ripley of Bumblebee Blog: "A Decorative Concrete Planter"
  
• Brooke Kroeger of Creative Country Mom: "How to Plant a Fairy Rose Container Garden"
  
• Dave Townsend of Growing the Home Garden: "Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters"
  
• Robin Fleming of Robin's Nesting Place: "Rockin' Hummingbird Garden"

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As a member of the Lowe's Creative Ideas Garden Club, I am provided with Lowe's Gift Cards in order to purchase materials for each month's designated project theme. Some materials needed for these projects are purchased by me in addition to those provided by Lowe's.