A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 I need some ideas

Hi everyone, this is my second time here as a new member. I posted a question last week but can't find it now...I don't know where it went.
(I'm new to the "forum" thing, and not sure how to use all the features)

Anyway, I'll ask it again. You know those T-shaped clothesline posts you find in many backyards? I don't use mine except for quilts or rugs. I love finding new uses for old things, and I'd like to dress them up with something....trellises, whatever. I even thought of planting grapes at each end and making a grape arbor...there is about 25 feet between them.

Any unique ideas out there?

Thanks,
Jmacd

Trellises would be a very neat idea with climbing vines of one type or another on them and then something near their feet/roots in a half circle leaving the inside where the blankets would hang bare. Depending on how wide you wanted to go there are so many possibilities of materials you could use. You could wrap some moss mats around the pole with chicken wire and grow shallow rooted plants right on it or you could put up a tall section of wrought iron like longy has and have a vine extravaganza. Or the fan shaped trellises they have in plastic with climbing roses covering them. Some of them even come without thorns which your blankets would probably approve of. lol Or you could use twine from the ends of the "T" section and woven into a kind of net and do sweet peas and miniature morning glories. There isn't really any limit to the possibilities. Here's another. Sun catchers attached end to end from the "T" bar all the way down with the vines climbing up those. Expensive but unique and eye catching. Use a miniature vine for that one so you don't lose the suncatchers to the leaves and blooms.

Hope something here is helpful.

I THINK YOUR GRAPE IDEA IS AWESOME.
OR YOU COULD DO CLEMATIS OR MORNING GLORIES.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PROJECT

Thanks, TK and Pheonix for your ideas.

I have only one - or maybe two - small problem. The yard is in deep shade most of the day from some huge trees. AND this neighborhood has some very hungry rabbits. Every time I get a blossom on something it disappears. I finally put chicken wire around the plants I've managed to start in the one sunny corner (which is not near the T-posts) and it has helped deter the munching a little bit.

I should have mentioned in my last post that because of the shade and bunnies, I was kind of hoping to use the posts for something other than growing things. ....

Any non-plant ideas?

Wind Chimes.. *I used my old cloths line pole..
the one with the four arms*, but the "T" bar
works the same...It's so much fun to have them all
hanging there...
And they have those different whirlie gigs
that twirl around in the wind..
Or a garden flag or two, one on one end, one
on the other...

And don't forget the fake hanging baskets..
My mom buys a couple of the nicer one's..
and put's them out and about,
especially while we're waiting for the flowers
to fill in and all, it gives the yard some
color and we can keep moving them if
we don't like where they are or whatever..

Hang assorted bird feeders on them,
and use some poles right around it too...
Maybe but some round rocks under each pole
and grow some millet for them too...
and don't forget some birdbaths.
the birds will love it,
because they like the cover of trees when
they come in to drink....
in case a preditor comes in, they have a quick
safe place to escape to!!!

oh, and find some FOX URINE
the bunnies won't like that.....
They'll think there's a fox around
and won't come around as much.....
They don't want to get eaten..

Hey how about a waterfall & pond. Wouldn't that be cool. I'm thinking those glass blocks. A very modern look. And then with the windchimes that Weezie mentioned place around on shepards hooks how cool would that be? Glass and wrought iron. Oh if only I had a yard.

There are lots of shade plants but if your neighbor is growing rabbits I guess your out of luck.

Thanks, guys.... the waterfall sounds really neat...but will cost some $$$ I have an idea brewing for a "dry stream bed" lined with pretty rocks...to direct the runoff when it rains really hard. You can see after a hard rain a kind ditch in the grass right across the yard to the side where it eddies around and runs out to the front yard and the street. I want to work on digging a shallow ditch across the back at an angle which will take it right by one of the t-posts...I could incorporate it somehow into the design. It will just take money and sweat and TIME....I work full time, so have only evenings and Saturdays. It's fun to dream, though.

I like the idea of the colorful feeders and whirly things, too.

FOX urine? Where do get that? I know we have fox in the area, down at the river but it's rare that we see any in the yards. I have a cat, but he only has chased one baby bunny, and I stopped him because the darn thing was so cute! That was before I discovered that "something" was eating my flowers. Now I wish BooBoo would chase every one that comes along. I will let him this time.

Yes, my neighbor is growing rabbits. She piles up downed limbs and branches as the base of those big trees between our yards for a hiding place for them and birds. Unfortunately, I have them living under my shed, too. They were here when I bought the place 2 years ago. Somebody said if you plant clover they won't bother the other stuff. I wonder! But they seem fearless. I can go out and clap my hands and yell and they just sit there looking at me.

lol they freeze as one of their hiding techniques. When that doesn't work they run like "he-11". A dry stream bed would be cool how about something that looks like an old waterwheel on your T-bar. That would work well with your streambed idea. Just a thought. Then you could use each of the "paddles" as a small planter. The rabbits couldn't get up there.

You might be able to find some like
at a Gun show.... something like that.
To be honest I found mine at a garage sale..
But he was a hunting enthusiaist???

Check the internet, I'll bet you'll find
some there...

Plus there's other's too, list the word as
"Predator's Urine" and see what you come up with.

Jmacd, Your origial post of this question in under "New Members"...you might want to take a look at it...I rallied up G~Mom for. She is a WHIZ with wonderful ideas. There are so many creative people on the forum, your head will be swimming with things to do by the time you read everyone's posts.

OK here's a bit of a weird idea. It's definately not plant oriented but it would require work. If you have access to material (cloth). You could create strips and then weave it around (kind of like a God's eye thing) to make an "umbrella". If you're feeling really ambitious you could "box out" and area around the post fill it with sand and have your own private "beach" to hang out on. That should mess with the rabbits heads. Another suggestion to get rid of the bunnies is to talk to a hair dresser and get hair clippings to put around the edge. I've done this and then tilled it under so it doesn't look so odd. In my smaller beds it has seemed to help. I doesn't hurt that we also recently got a Terrier for a pet and those dogs will chase EVERYTHING from the yard. Hope something helped.