summer diy projects

Even though winter has finally arrived, we were incredibly lucky to have a lengthy gardening and patio season this year. When we put a call out to ETL members, followers & supporters to share the fruits of their summer labour we were thrilled at the results! Not only did folks manage to make huge progress on planting and yard improvement projects, but several of you shared some truly ingenious upcycling endeavours.

One member wrote, “Thanks to you guys, we were able to get [these two projects] done and on a budget!”

We are so happy to see what ETL members work on when they borrow our tools. We are also grateful to Arch Greenhouses for generously sponsoring the prizes for the contest we ran in conjunction with our call out for photos.  We think Arch Greenhouse's origins and operations are inspiring and their values of supporting local community & environmental sustainability align with our own and we were excited to partner with them on this. The two winners of our random prize draw have been contacted directly.

In terms of planting gardens, one person created a lovely little berry patch, with saskatoons and three varieties of blueberries (above left).

Another used some donated bricks to create flower beds around their home, including this adorable heart-shaped one! (above right).

 This same (very industrious) person also installed seven foot long bamboo to create trellises for their vines (above left) and planted a repurposed container garden, harvesting some zucchini, carrots, and tomatoes (above right).

Another one of you created this awesome multi-level planter (right), we admire these skills!!

We absolutely adore that this eco-friendly rain barrel (above left) was created by one of our members using ETL tools.

We also love this creative use of a deteriorated baby crib and free scrap lumber into a garden bench (above right). This person states that the bench will be finished once they find another piece of free wood for the front. Having purchased only the screws, this is a truly inspiring upcycling project. Way to go!

This bench (before and after shots above) got a major facelift by another ETL member. They refinished the bench and door below using ETL’s jigsaw and heat gun. Great job!!!

One creative upcycler created these whimsical garden statues out of worn-out tools (above left). We think this arrangement looks fabulous in their permaculture yard. This talented perrson also turned a couple of old sewing machines into these fun tractor ornaments. Wow!

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR: Arch Greenhouses is a social venture of Arch Enterprises, a non profit organization that provides innovative programs, services and employment opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities.

Arch Greenhouse is an inclusive work environment and carries a wide selection of annuals and perennials for Spring. Fall Chrysanthemums and Poinsettias make up the bulk of the off-season crops. Seasonally, they stock over 250 varieties of plants, many unique to their one-of-a-kind-in-Alberta growing venture. They are committed to producing top-quality plants in an environmentally-sustainable way, such as using predatory insects as part of a program to reduce pesticide usage.

Pay them a visit on the south side of Edmonton or find out more information on their websites - Arch Enterprises and Arch Greenhouses. You can also check them out on Facebook and Instragram.

-The ETL Crew

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