Thanks to the Shoreline Area News for bringing our story to others in the area. We are proud of our community and thank our customers for their support of our small business.
We look forward to helping make your home, gardens and landscape designs spectacular with hand-crafted western red cedar planters and accessories. Please enjoy the article.
Planters make great gifts! They’re affordable, unique and thoughtful. Because we want you to have as much joy giving a gift as the person receiving it, let our customers guide you.
Our customers tell us they want to give non-traditional and unique gifts to friends, family members and colleagues. We see their excitement as they choose a hand-crafted CedarSchemes’ planter as a gift. Our customers know their gift will be appreciated for years to come. Because they’re so happy, they can’t wait to see how much the planter will mean to the lucky recipient. As a result, we’ve been happy to build and sell our standard or custom sized planters for housewarming and wedding gifts throughout the year. We love seeing the smiles on our customers’ faces as they walk away with a planter gift in hand!
So, if you want to give a CedarSchemes’ planter gift in time for a special occasion or the holidays, the time to order is now. Each one of our planters is hand-crafted, and we fill orders on a first come/first served basis.
We’re already taking holiday orders for planter gifts! We expect this year’s holiday season will be busy. Our most popular gift planters are the patio/deck planters on stands; desktop planters; and hanging baskets.
Young gardeners and those with very limited space also love our “Little Schemer” planters.
Make any of your planter gifts even more memorable by adding an amaryllis, orchid, cactus, packets of seeds or a set of hand garden tools!
We hope we can meet your holiday or special occasion gift giving needs. If you don’t know what style or size planter to give (or you run out of time to have something built before you need it), we offer gift certificates. We customize your gift certificate for whatever amount you want to buy. Gift certificates are good for one year from date of purchase and can be applied to any style or size of planter we make.
Planters make great gifts for any occasion and at any time of the year. Contact us to place your order, and we’ll do our best to make your gift as special as you are.
As always, happy gardening and happy gifting!
Don & darci
Mason and Leafcutter bees are solitary and prolific pollinators for your garden. They don’t wander too far away and come out at different times of the growing season. Mason bees come out in the spring to help pollinate your fruit trees and berry plants. Leafcutter bees wait until summer and love to help pollinate your vegetable and flowerbeds. Both of these types of bees are hard workers and fun to have around. Neither species makes honey or beeswax; and their main purpose in our gardens is to pollinate!
Gardeners love these little critters because, in addition to being amazingly effective pollinators that don’t travel far from home, they also don’t defend their nests like other bees and rarely, if ever, sting. If stepped on or squeezed, leafcutters tend to bite before stinging, and male mason bees don’t even have stingers. Female mason bees rarely sting and generally only if severely disturbed or stepped on. In either instance of a bite or sting, these little guys don’t pack much of a punch in any event. Because they’re solitary by nature, they’re not associated with swarming like some other bee species.
Raising your own mason and leafcutter bees can be fun and help make you an even more successful gardener! For more information about these wonderful friends of your garden, we think the Honey Bee Conservancy site is a good place to start, but you can find many great sources with just a few clicks in any Search Engine.
If you’d like to read more about these helpful friends of your garden, we think you’d enjoy reading Mason Bee Revolution: How the Hardest Working Bee Can Save the world One Backyard at a Time, by Dave Hunter and Jill Lightner. The book is widely available through your library or at local and on-line book sellers.
Once you’ve decided to add these little friends to your gardens, we’re ready to support you! We’re now offering large or small Mason/Leafcutter bee houses (made of cedar, naturally). Our hand crafted bee houses also come with detachable wire mesh front panels to help keep hungry birds away from your nesting bees. Our bee houses are pre-assembled and ready to hang. You just need to add the nesting environment you want and the bee cocoons!
Happy gardening!
darci & Don
As I’m building our cedar planters for our customers, I often wonder about how they’ll be used. What motivates our customers to want to garden? Is gardening what my business school economics professors would describe as rational behavior?
Those random thoughts started making sense when I read a wonderfully funny book by William Alexander: “The $64 Tomato.” The book follows the adventures of the author as he works tirelessly to create his dream garden. He shares stories about his discoveries with the usual hostile elements that all gardeners face: pests, weeds, and equipment failures. And of course, the many other demands on his time.
Alexander finally breaks down the cost of producing just one of his heirloom tomatoes. For all of us who have casually worked through the math of buy vs. grow while checking out at the garden or the grocery store, this is no idle speculation. And, sure enough, if you do the math it may not make a lot of sense, at least not in dollars and cents.
But there is, as is so often the case, more value when we produce at least some of the food we eat. There’s nothing like being able to hold and serve food you’ve just plucked from the stem or dug from the ground. The warmth and sweet, delicious smell of newly harvested heirloom tomatoes, for example. No grocery store or even local Farmer’s Market gives you that experience.
Then there’s the appealing notion of practicing some form of self-sufficiency. The idea that, if needed, we can rely on ourselves to manage a little victory garden and maybe even share some of our harvest with our good friends or neighbors.
To me, a major benefit of gardening is the comfort of knowing how my food is grown, chemical and pesticide free. I have complete control over the growing environment and how I choose to take care of my garden.
Not all gardens are for growing food, of course. No matter what you’re growing, the unspoken values of tending a garden of your own are the same. Even if the math doesn’t add up.
One of the greatest values of gardening may not be apparent for years. Our daughter recently thanked me for sharing the joys of gardening with her as she was growing up. She’s exceeding my wildest dreams in terms of making a positive impact on her land. Her gardens are amazing – by the sheer bounty of produce and the beauty of what she grows. Now she’s passing along these lessons to her son, my grandson. He has no idea how lucky he is . . . yet.
So, while that tomato may have cost $64, the value you’ve gained goes well beyond the obvious.
Learn more about “The $64 Tomato.”
Happy Gardening!
Don Beacom, Owner
Our customers love to have plants around them. Whether they’re growing herbs, vegetables, flowers, accent trees or small bushes, or whether they’re gardening in soil or making arrangements of container gardens, our customers know they want to enjoy their plantings in the beauty of cedar planter boxes. It’s great when one of our standard size planter boxes works out, but sometimes a space needs a planter or planter series that’s “just the right size and style” for where the proud owner will place it on the property. That’s why we offer custom sizing for your cedar planter box needs.
SO, if you can’t find the size or style planter you want for your project, we think you will be happiest with something that’s been made to your specifications. Custom planter boxes are affordable compared to anything you’ll find ready-made, and you won’t have to settle for something that will just “make do.” We hope this guide will help you decide!
HOW TO MEASURE FOR YOUR CUSTOM PLANTER:
The beauty of custom sizing is that you are involved in the design of your planter box! Here’s what we’ll need to know from you when you ask for a quote for a custom planter box:
FIRST:
THEN:
Here’s a handy tool you can use to keep track of your dimensions:
|
Outside Dimensions of the Planter Box (inches) |
Inside Dimensions of the Planter Box (inches) |
| Length = | Length = |
| Width = | Width = |
| Height = | Depth = |
| Leg Height (if applicable) = | N/A |
| Final height of planter from the ground to top of planter = | N/A |
Once you have your measures, send your notes, or bring them, to us!
TIPS:
(A Few More Tips About Measuring)
For those of you who are more visual, here’s another way to get your measurements just right:
WHEN WILL MY CUSTOM PLANTER BE READY?
Depending on the size or complexity of your order, and how many other orders are ahead of yours, we estimate we will able to have your planter built within two to three weeks after we agree on the details of your order. Once we have your order, we’ll call or e-mail you to confirm the specs and work with you to set an agreed date for completion.
We require a 50% non-refundable deposit before we begin to build your order. You may pay by credit/debit card or cash.
HOW WILL I GET MY CUSTOM PLANTER ONCE IT’S BUILT?
We will be as flexible as possible with you to make sure you receive your planter as soon as it is ready. The most common options are:
WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ll be happy to guide you through the custom sizing process and answer any questions you have!
As soon as you are ready, give us a call at 206-395-9034 or email us: info@CedarSchemes.com
Are Cedar Planters Safe for Gardening?
Yes! Natural, untreated, cedar wood is completely safe for growing vegetables or other edible plants.
Why Use Untreated Cedar?
We do not use any chemical treatments on our products, because we want you to know that anything you grow in one of our planters is going to be safe to eat.
Be careful about buying a planter box that you can’t tell whether, or how, the wood is treated if you plan to grow plants for eating.
Should Planter Boxes Be Treated, Painted or Stained?
We believe cedar is best left untreated and allowed to age gracefully, but we also know many people want to keep the warm cedar glow of the wood as long as possible. Others want to stain the wood to make the planter blend in with their color scheme. Untreated cedar can be stained, painted or treated in whatever way you want.
If you choose to treat the wood on your planters, we recommend using only natural products such as pure mineral, Tung or orange oils.
What Happens To the Wood If I Don’t Stain or Treat My Cedar Planter?
Our research suggests adding some sort of treatment doesn’t really extend the life of the wood. Natural redwood cedar ages to a silver/gray color within a year or two.
Considering the trade off between cost of treatment, prep and finish time vs. replacement cost of the planter, it may be easier to just enjoy your planters in their natural state as long as possible.
How Long Should a Planter Box Last?
It’s really hard to project how long a cedar planter will last, because so much depends on how you use the planter, where the planter is located in relation to sun, wind and other elements, and how you tend to your plants and soil.
Because we only use natural cedar and stainless steel hardware that doesn’t rust, we anticipate our planters will be functional for up to 7 – 10 years (potentially longer) under normal use and care.
Lining material can be replaced as well or, as it wears out, simply removed. The planters are fine when used without lining or as container planters. If replacing a lining, we recommend only using linings specifically made for gardening containers and that allow for air and water flow.
Why You Can Trust CedarSchemes’ Planters
CedarSchemes believes in building planters that reflect our commitment to quality, beauty and use of only natural products that are safe for growing edibles and non-edibles alike.
We start with good clean cedar. Cedar is well suited for this sort of work because it’s both safe for growing food and lives well outside. That said, you should understand that the cedar starts out a sort of golden color and, if outside, over time, will turn a grayish silver. You can treat cedar to keep the golden color but our strong preference is to leave the wood natural and let you make the choice about introducing any preservatives.
The hardware used in a planter needs to, obviously, resist rust. There are a couple of choices, galvanized and stainless steel. Galvanized works but there’s some concern about using metal treated this way. Stainless steel is the safer alternative.
If you select a lined planter (which helps keep the soil in if you’re gardening on a patio or deck) the liner is an organic fabric – safe for use with your plants.
The planters are lovingly assembled in our small shop in Lake Forest Park for you and your garden.
Happy Harvests!
Don & darci
It’s not too early to start planning what you’re going to want in your planter boxes or raised beds this spring! Whether you’re going to dress up your patio, porch or yard with a container garden or want to get your vegetable garden ready, our containers will add a beautiful and functional touch to your landscape.
Our unlined or lined planters are just the right height to help save your back and knees from stooping to ground level, so you can truly enjoy tending your flower, herb or vegetables as much as you enjoy looking at and harvesting your plantings.
Please visit one of the three GroWashington locations where you can buy your planter today GROWASHINGTON.
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