As San Francisco gears up for their annual Flower and Garden Show, we thought we’d take a few minutes to give you a few ideas for simple ways to organize your garden space. Whether you prefer roses, tulips or cacti, keeping your gardening supplies organized will make your hobby easier to manage and more enjoyable too.
Attractive storage for garden tools
Keeping your garden tools clean and organized ensures your tools last longer, and keeps your yard safe and clutter free. Add a little personality to your gardening space with one of these simple ideas:
Sand-filled pots: Fill slightly taller clay pots halfway full with sand. Store your shears, hand rake, gardening knife, scissors, hand pruner and other small tools upright in the sand. You can also toss your gardening gloves in a clean, empty pot.
Galvanized Buckets: These buckets are great because they resist rust. Try storing birdseed, gloves or tools in a few of these attractive buckets.
Old Pallets: Are you looking for an eco-friendly way to store your taller yard and garden tools? Grab an old pallet and lean it against the back of your house or a shed. Stand tall tools inside. If you choose a heavy enough pallet, it shouldn’t pose any safety risks. If you have children or pets, you may want to consider anchoring it in place. (Bonus tip: Use a pallet to plant herbs for a mostly weed-free, easy- to- maintain garden.)
Tool Lattice: Purchase a heavy-duty garden lattice from any hardware store and attach it to the inside of your shed door. Use S-hooks to hang small tools and broom clamps or binder clips for larger tools or items that won’t hang.
Simple ways to store seeds safely
Storing your seeds correctly is essential if you want a fruitful harvest at the end of the season. A few simple ways to store your seeds include:
Canning jar: Use a cute canning jar to store your seeds. Add pouches of kitty litter into the jar to help absorb moisture. Add a label to the lid so you know which seeds are in the jar at first glance.
Photo Album: Use a small photo album to store seed packets. You can store packets with the seeds in them if you store the album in a cool dry place. You can also just store the packets for future reference. (This also works for plant tags).
Create a seed binder: Using a thick 3-ring binder (3-inch binders) and baseball-card sheet protectors, you can create an organized seed-storage system. If you have many seeds, use tabs to separate them by type so you can find them in a snap. Check out these detailed instructions.
Go vintage: Hunt down a vintage (sorry) eight-track case to store seed packets. Alternatively, you could use an old briefcase or shallow suitcase and insert separators for a one-of-a-kind piece that functions as storage and décor.
Other tips and tricks for organizing your outdoor space
Hide the toys: Create a cute “garage” or storage area for yard toys with a table, shower curtain rod and a trimmed curtain. Pull the blinds closed after the tots stash the toys underneath to hide the clutter. A simpler version: glue a strip of Velcro around the edge of a table and another strip on the back of an old shower curtain (trimmed to height). This allows for easy removal and washing.
Create a hand-washing station: Put bar soap in an old panty hose and tie to the water hose nob for a quick, easy place to wash your hands before you head inside.
Make an outdoor bench: This bench is so easy it’ll take you less than an hour (not counting shopping time.) All you need is 12 cinderblocks and 4- 4×10 pieces of lumber. Check out the simple instructions here. You can easily slide wicker baskets or metal barrels underneath the bench for extra storage.
Attractive hose storage: Storing the water hose can be a hassle. Instead of dealing with wrapping the hose every time you use it, consider a deep, wide metal bucket. Place the bucket under the nozzle and simply lay the hose inside for curb-appeal friendly hose storage.
If you are looking for more ideas for your garden, check out the Flower and Garden show. The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show runs March 16 through March 20 at the San Mateo Event Center. With more than 5 acres of flowers, plants, demonstrations and classes, you’ll find something to please your green thumb. You can purchase tickets online or at the door.