The family that creates together…

Our own Nancy K Meyer’s daughter, Roxanne Sorgenfrey saw this idea at a botanical garden and asked her dad, Ron Meyer, to make one as an early birthday present one winter.  Together, the family solved a common garden problem,…an empty space in the garden and created a fabulous garden for Roxanne.

The Problem

The location planned for the vertical planter box was an empty space by Roxanne’s back door deck area in front of the gap between the fence and the house.

The problem. An empty space in daughter Roxanne’s garden

The construction is a tall and wide box open in front. The box was made with reclaimed, treated wood and recycled wire from her childhood play yard. The soil will be held in with landscape cloth, the wire grid and wooden dividers in the front.

Another view of the site, with the frame in place

This photo, above, shows you how deep the box is. It’s basically a shallow wooden box set on it’s side. Metal “T”posts on the sides hold it up and off the ground, if desired.

Installing the planter is a challenging group project!

The crew hard at work

Nancy, the photographer and ‘adviser’, says, “We have the dirt mounded, as we think it will settle when it rains. We want it to settle before we plant.”

Ashtyn enjoyed her slush, while she supervises

Ron Meyer shows off the construction of the planter, with Roxanne

The planter was filled on the top and sides with Impatiens in two different colors, pink and red.

Nancy’s hard-working girls and grands

Shown:             Ashtyn Paperr, Rhonda, Logan Paperr and Roxanne Sorgenfrey in Durant, Iowa.

Nancy’s  granddaughter and her roommate by the planter, now blooming at its peak!

By late Spring, this was the stunning result of all the hard work done by this family together.  What a cool way to spend your family time!

2016 view of the vertical planter at its peak of bloom!

This year, Roxanne chose all red Impatiens and it makes a gorgeous statement in her front garden for all who pass by.

Update

Roxanne’s Dad, Ron, takes her planter to the next level by adding built in irrigation.  The next ‘levels’ are the lower planting pockets that will benefit to the new trickle down watering technology!

John and Ron hard at work, adding the pipes

Dad checking out the new irrigation system

Ready for plants when it warms up

We’ll be waiting to see how the new plants like this change!

July 2017

Update on my daughter’s vertical planter!

August 2017

The planter in August! Now, you can see, this project is well worth doing!