Ok guys… now that the DH has spruced up with the patio with new furniture and a new Monster King Kong grill, I’ve got the urge to polish my green thumb. Keep in mind the only gardening I’ve ever attempted on my own landed my poor yard on the “needs professional help” list.

I had this wild idea that I wanted to grow some berries bushes. Well… it wasn’t that wild. There was a method behind the madness. I was trying to save on my grocery bill. I love berries but they are so expensive… a half pint of raspberries is $6! I figured I take that $6 to buy some seeds so I can grow my own. So I bought 4 berry tree seedlings, found a shade-less patch next to the fence, got a shovel and started digging.

When I was done planting the seedlings, I felt proud. And I was optimistic that my hard work would eventually result in plump juicy berries. Well that was not quite the case. I am not sure what happened. It’s been 3 years and we still ain’t picking berries off a bush. Actually, there aren’t even any bushes. And the kicker… I’m still paying $6 for 10 raspberries at the local grocer.

The only remnant of my hard work is a small woody stem that refuses to just give up. Seriously the thing just won’t die, I mow over it, sprinkle it with herbicide. Two weeks later, it has spouted up again. It refuses be a victim of my gardening catastrophe.

But anyway, I need something to complement the patio. So I think I might give this gardening thing another go. However for round two… I have come up with a plan that hopefully even my inexpert green thumb can’t boggle.

I got some creative ideas from Lowes and mapped out a simple scheme to enhance my outdoor living space. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that the final product bears some semblance to mini oasis I see in my head. If it doesn’t I won’t be too hard on myself… the best way to learn is to practice, right?

You might be thinking… there is a bit of a double standard here since my philosophy was different when my DH was “practicing“. Well, call it what you want… but when I practice gardening… what’s the worse that can happen? I kill a few flowers? When my DH practices home improvement (I use this word loosely)… what’s the worse that can happen? The attic caves in on the living room floor? Ok, see the difference? I think the double standard is appropriate in this situation.

And even if I do have a few gardening mishaps here and there, it will only cause me a lot of sweat and very little dollars. Even though I am new to this gardening thing, I am a pro at cost minimization. And the best way to minimize my gardening cost is to take advantage of special offers at Lowes.

First I can estimate the project cost

Then use these to reduce the cost:

$10 off $25 purchase when I use my Visa at Lowes

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