potting shed dreaming...

This is some advance planning... You see, we are busy trying to work out the landscaping plan for the backyard. I am a big-picture planner, and not really a "vignette" kinda girl. I like to make sure I have included everything I want, and that everything flows, etc. I guess my real-life job as a project manager just takes over. But in this case, it is a good thing.

I have a few requirements for the backyard. (Ahhh... IT-speak again!)

(1) (Left-side of yard) The playspace for the children will include swingsets, etc... but it will also tie into the rest of the yard. Think of an "enchanted forest" for kiddos. It will have gorgeous kid-friendly plantings mixed in with the play equipment. Maybe even a little goldfish pond.

(2) (Center) The garage, which is not in great condition, will be rebuilt (eventually) and expanded a bit. We plan on a flat roof for it for a nice walkout patio area from the back porch (which will eventually be my office/studio.

(3) (Center) The new driveway, which will hopefully happen this year, will be pretty basic but will have some nice brickwork along the edges and a few nice sizable planters. The basketball goal will also be included in all this.

(4) (Right) This side of the yard will be dedicated to gardening. It will include a potting shed, vegetable garden, anda composting / recycling area.

All this is a lot of planning, and since we are doing it in phases, we need to make sure we have the measurements right. Since even the mega-swingset will be built in phases, everything will be stacked out, measured, all that.

Anyway, to the fun stuff. I have draw out a rough sketch of the backyard layout, which I will share with you all later on. I have a very rough sketch of the children's area... but today, I wanted to share with you a rough sketch of the potting shed. This is not to scale, mind you. But it makes my imagination SOAR just thinking about it! This is a rough sketch so don't expect a lot here... OK... the room in the middle, with the double barn doors, is my creative area. I will have a potting bench, shelves, etc. The 1925 cast iron sink I posted last week will go into the potting bench. I would like bins for soil, peat, etc. Oh, to be organized!! I cannot wait. For this, I need to scout out 2 antique wood windows. We already have the antique light fixtures. Oh, my love of rabbits will be integrated into the cupola.

On the right side, the single blue door there, will be storage for bikes, wagons, big wheels, etc. My kids seem to have a billion toys and I prefer not to have them strewn all over the yard! It will be so handy to have all their things in one place.

On the left side, I would like a little screen porch. In the summer, it will have screen windows and I can sit in there and relax. In the winter, the screens can be swapped out for plexiglass windows and this will be my greenhouse for wintering my larger plants and starting seedlings.

Oh to dream... this is so far off, probably next year. But we are picking up bits and pieces this year. And since we will be pouring the driveway soon, most likely we will go ahead and pour the floor for the potting shed, too. So my dreamy planning was not completely frivolous!