This week kiddo and I came up with this fabulous idea of making stepping stones for our garden since she is constantly getting slivers on her feet from the bark that is covering the pathways in our vegetable garden. What we ended up with: the classic game of hopscotch!
The concrete pavers were $1.19 each at our local Home Depot, and the outdoor paints were about $1.50 a piece. We were able to complete this project using one bottle of each in red, blue, green, orange, yellow and black- and we used two bottles of white. Painting the squares took us two evenings, and the installation took me about 30 minutes since I just had to move bark around to get them in. We only painted the very top of the pavers in case we want to flip them over and use them for something else later on.
What we ended up with was a strong punch of color in the garden for about $25, and kiddo feels more like this garden space is hers too. We spent some time this morning not only playing hopscotch, but working on math problems too (and these are much more fun than using boring paper!). With her 5th birthday coming up in a couple of weeks and her new adventures in kindergarten, we wanted to celebrate this new chapter in her life with a colorful giveaway! The fabulous folks over at Dramm Corporation know that kids love color, and their watering cans, rubber hoses and sprinklers show it!
The winner of this giveaway will get one of their ColorStorm Premium Rubber hoses in the color that they choose. These 50 ft long hoses resist kinking, coil easily, and come with a lifetime guarantee. But lets face it, the kids will be more interested in their brilliant colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and berry!
But that's not all! They are also offering the winner one of their Sunrise Rain Wands, also in the color you choose! These light-weight wands have a nice gentle shower so you don't have to worry about your kids harming your tender plants when they help you water your garden! Check out their website for other items that can make watering easier and more fun in your garden (we love our berry colored ColorStorm Turret sprinkler!)
To enter this giveaway leave me a comment here on this entry telling me your favorite way to add color to your garden. Bonus entries for clicking "Like" on Dramm's Facebook page (and leave me a comment here telling me you did so), and posting about this giveaway on Twitter! To tweet this giveaway post "I just entered to win a Dramm ColorStorm hose and Sunrise Rain Wand from @betweenthelimes at http://tinyurl.com/42kptuv #DRAMMgiveaway" Entries will be accepted up until August 21st! Come back here on August 22nd to see if you won!*****We have a WINNER!***** Congratulations "SueJenn"! Email me your address and the color of hose and wand that you want! For everyone else: thank you for your entry! Please look for DRAMM products at your local garden store, or they are also available online at Amazon.
Plus- visit back here next week as we are having ANOTHER giveaway (since this one was SO much fun!)
How do I like to add color to my garden? My favorite way is to have flowers blooming. I love your hopscotch idea. Maybe I'll file this idea away for when I have grandkids. :)
ReplyDeleteThis year, I've tried to introduce more bright color instead of just earth tones into the containers I use. It makes a huge difference in the garden.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! I love the rainbow colors of the stepping stones!
ReplyDeleteIf you know me, you know I love pink flowers, so a variety of color doesn't play much into my garden design. However, I take advantage of the broad spectrum that pink includes: mauves, fuchsias, and blushes. To add dimension and keep it interesting, I have a mix of different petal shapes, plant heights and foliage color.
That said, the berry Dramm hose and rain wand would compliment my garden just perfectly!
I love the stepping stones! So fun! I tend to inject color into the garden via flower/plant choice and pots. I'm looking forward to having more fun with it in the next few years as the little man gets older and more able to enjoy the garden.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a great idea! All our color comes from plants, and there's not enough of that. My kids are a little old for hopscotch, but you could do flowers, leaves, or any number of things. Hmmm...lots to think about!
ReplyDeleteI love to add color to my gardens with red, pink, and purple shades of flowers (and some blacks and whites). I also add color with plant leaf color, and variety with plant shape and leaf shapes. I also like cobalt blue pots, birdbaths, balls, bird feeders, etc. mixed in here and there. Btw, very creative hopscotch stepping stones. I always think of hopscotch when people put down stepping stones and some are double and some single. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI add color by hanging colorful plaques on the fence, I have seven hanging up this summer, one says "Roey's garden", two are homemade stepping stones turned into plaques, two are metal, one a daisy and the other a sun. The final two need some help (need to be repainted) but they are of a turtle and the other, several tiny birdhouses made out of wood. I also went to the Dramm website and "like" them!
ReplyDeleteI add color by asking my daughter to paint scraps of cedar or treated lumber. Her bold drawings of chickens, flowers, and our family line the fence and garage trim. I love it!
ReplyDeleteRachel(at)houndsinthekitchen(dot)com
This summer's garden color is complements of the lovely tomatoes that are FINALLY ripening! The reds are so bold and beautiful... and delicious!
ReplyDeleteLiked on facebook!
ReplyDeleteI paint ceramic pottery from www.ceramicsinthebuff.com and hang them from trees (if they can be made into ornaments) or place them on tree stumps around the yard. I get tree stumps when people cut down trees. I have a beautiful rooster out front to greet guests and lots of little animals around the yard to add interest and color! People love it!
ReplyDeleteI like to tuck ceramic pots in unexpected places in my garden.
ReplyDeleteBy the way the stepping stones are super cute!
ReplyDeleteHave colour in every part of my garden, lillies & native flowers in shade garden, flowers that bloom each part of the season in the perennial garden dedicated to my grandmother - including the wisteria arbor as an entrance, annual garden with roses and self-seeding cosmos & zinnias, and vegetable garden of a rainbow of tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, peppers & more dotted with marigolds, nasturtium & camomile. Bright yellow & green locally-made ceramic pots & resourced redwood from old deck of annual flowers on the patio from including tropical Hibiscus tree & topiaries of mandivilia that we overwinter every year. It is a riot of colour from spring to fall, a joy to behold after a long Minnesota white winter. And I have bright green & yellow garden hoses as well.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a nice idea for stepping stones. Unfortunately, I'm pretty boring and the only way that I add color to my garden is that I plant flowers. :) What a nice giveaway contest you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI am way more boring than most and I swear I have a brown thumb. I add color in our yard with my colorful language (just ask my neighbors) :) For a touch of color I have managed to keep our crepe myrtles, lavender and society garlic alive, as they are so tolerant to garden-impaired geeks like me. But your blog and garden do inspire me!
ReplyDeleteNot so much how I put color in my garden, as the creativity of children--when I was prepping my garden this spring, I came across about 10 crayons that some child had obviously planted- all stuck upright in the ground. I guess she was hoping for a crayon tree! Also, I never win these things, but I followed all your instructions to the letter!
ReplyDeletewoohoo sweet give-away!
ReplyDeletebesides trying to get pretty plants in I add color by painting pots and finding colorful items to scatter around my plantings like the ceramic fu-dog I found at a thrift shop. Also brightly colored stones in a water tray for insects, and wind chimes.
I love wild flowers, so they are my fave way to add color to the garden. That being said, my husband is the green thumb, so whatever he chooses is what I get. :) I like Dramm, though (on FB, too!) and this would be a fun way to add (more) color to the garden.
ReplyDeleteFirst, let me say that I'm your biggest fan! :) Second, can I say the way I would LIKE to add color to our garden is with the "berry" Dramm Premium Hose? Actually, I'm not sure my husband would be thrilled on that color choice...
ReplyDeleteI have garden gnomes playing chess. Did I win? :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Love the hopscotch and hope to win the watering thing! What a great looking product! I think the kids will love that!
ReplyDeleteFor color, I like to use garden gnomes and a few pinwheel yard stakes.
ReplyDeleteI like to add color by planting whatever random colorful plant I find at the nursery.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the hopscotch idea! Is it lame to say that adding color to my garden is going out and purchasing little figurines?? Haha!
ReplyDeleteWe add color by letting my daughter and her friends paint ceramic plates that we set onto clips on the outside of our raised planter boxes. We also have at least one of the boxes designated for flowers in each of our rotations, and constantly have marigolds and datura popping up in the oddest places for constant pops of orange, yellow and purple.. I also "Liked" the Dramm page on FB (yay extra entry!)
ReplyDeleteLOVE the hopscotch pavers. I think I may have to purchase one of these orange water wands!
ReplyDeleteI also "Liked" the Dramm page on FB.
Those are adorable!
ReplyDeleteWe add color by growing at lest four or five different colors of tomato, not just red! This year we have lemon drops, green zebras, yellow plums, brown berries, and good old Amish Paste which are bright red. I can't get enough of tomatoes and love the diversity of heirloom colors.
My garden is only just a few containers so far but I'm trying to introduce flowers that bloom longer and brighter in hopes that it will get my girls more interest in gardening. They love seeing plants and flowers but have no interest just yet in how it all works.
ReplyDeleteI inherited a crepe myrtle with our house but didn't get around to cutting it down. Over the years the small branches fell away leaving a lovely structural element, but it turned a dull grey so I painted it yellow, then purple, then light orange. We also have a chess set made of paving/stepping stones that uses gnomes as pieces. Liked Dramm - would have done even without incentive.
ReplyDeleteCarri, you are awesome! I love the hopscotch stones. Alex is very lucky to have such a fun, creative, & HOT mama! (Notice I didn't say pretty!)
ReplyDelete~ kat
I love the stepping stones. I totally want to come over and do some hopscotch.
ReplyDeleteWhy haven't I seen these hoses at the store. The colors are awesome. Thanks for holding a giveaway.
I just liked the facebook page, love the colors....This year my focus for colors has been on the plants....blue and pink blueberries. Red and green with the tomatoes. Orange with oranges, peaches. Purple egg plants, and plums. Green Kiwi. Pink Goji. Black and red raspberries. And so many other wonderful colors. Have not had time to do much hardscape yet. But I love the hopscotch idea. Would love to get colored pots for my tropicals but right now using recycled pots.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors of the Dramm products and liked them on FB. The easiest way to add color is through flowers, veggies, trees and shrubs. I have an awesome Dynamite Red Crape Myrtal. I have a large yard and tiny landscape budget. So, the way I add color is by tucking colorful pots, hand painted birdhouses, and other fun garden art projects (made out of re-purposed items) in surprising places. Right now I am painting cement "things" (I think they are old cement forms) found in my mom's yard. I am going for a bright aqua blue color. Thinking of turning them into planters or bird baths. Still undecided. I have some boring pavers that are going to get a paint job (thanks for the hop scothch idea!). Hoping to also add color with this give away. My little gardener, aka prince charming, loves blue!
ReplyDeleteLove the stepping stones! I add color to the garden through flowers. Not only with the actual flowers, but I love plants that attract butterflies.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for stepping stones (and getting the kid to work in the garden.) I love to add foliage and flowers of course but I also need at least one strong colored wall. In my garden my favorite is an earthy red that runs from the outside to the inside. Any plant looks great against it--and when the fig tree drops it leaves it shows off its branches against the wall like a sculpture.
ReplyDeleteColor, color, color! Makes your eyes pop open wide when your gaze travels across your back yard on a summer morning. Early in the season I like shoving a rainbow-full of annuals in every nook and cranny, filling my window boxes with sweet smelling petunias of all varieties. Oh, and don't forget those fun snapdragons. That recipe brings lots-o-color. The plastic toys my kids leave all around the yard do too, but that's not the same!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE these colorstorm hoses and the wands! If I win, I bet you can guess what color I want - PURPLE! (and if I don't win, maybe Santa will oblige... never know!)
ReplyDeleteI've been using a lot of recycled bottles in my garden--cobalt blue and lots of shades of green. I need to find some red bottles somewhere!
ReplyDeleteBut if I won, I'd go for the blue hose!
I have all type of flowers planted in my front and back yard garden,Big and small pots fill with colorful flower and veggies !!
ReplyDeleteI liked Dramm's Facebook page ,hope to be the winner ,thanks for the give away !!
ReplyDeleteFavorite ways to add color to the garden - paint! We've painted our gates a deep eggplant, and our arbors an elegant shade of black. Paint is so cheap and fun, and if you make a mistake it doesn't cost a fortune to fix! Great post, Carrie! And I'm not saying that just because I want that berry colored hose..... ;)
ReplyDeleteThe first way I like to add color to the garden is with flowers. The second way is with different painted projects similar to your hopscotch. (Though I think that is so awesome I am going to have to steal it!) We have wooden steppers that the girls and I painted. We've made yard art signs with color pictures and even painted old bed frames and bird houses to give them new life and add them to the garden.
ReplyDeleteI liked the facebook page too! Now I've got to convince my husband to buy me a few because I cannot pick just one. :P
ReplyDeleteFrom Suzie - 'liked the page' I add color by flowers, colorful pots and those dorky flags. Flags with the holidays, flowers abd the red, white & blue!
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of royal blue hardscape accents - whether pottery, furniture or garden art. The blue really pops with green foliage
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to like the Dramm facebook page, they make high quality watering devices that will last a long time! I'm particularly fond of their heavy duty, hose-end, on-off valves. Garden color? How about the year round interest of variegated leaves of shrubs such as the Euonymus japonica 'aureo marginata'. This evergreen shrub makes a great privacy screen.
ReplyDeleteIs this over now? I love the idea!! Looking at doing a play ground area at our church and think the stepping stones idea will be so cute and colourful!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paint was used on the hopscotch?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paint was used on the hopscotch?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paint was used on the pavers?
ReplyDeleteWhere did u find the outdoor paint for $1.50 each. Was it at home depot? Samples?
ReplyDeleteahh! i love this so much. my girls will be in heaven when we make this. thanks for the great idea-pinning it now.
ReplyDeleteI found this post on Pinterest, and would love more information from you about the "longevity" of the painted pavers. I want to do some tile work under our deck as a play area for my daughter, but we live in Minnesota, so it needs to last more than one season. How has yours held up? Were the paints concrete paints?
ReplyDeleteCarri, thanks so much for the stepping stones idea! We painted them as a class project with my daughter's kindergarten class and we'll be having them as a silent auction item. Can't wait to see how they do!
ReplyDeleteOur Home Depot paint was $3.00 each for the samle Behr colors, so we had about $60.00 into the project.
Thanks again!
Kari
I bought the outdoor acrylic paints from my local Michael's craft store. The paint has held up nicely over the past few years. The only one that is fading is the red one- which I can easily repaint. I don't know how they'll hold up with snow- but ours are in full direct sun and get a lot of traffic from my daughter and her friends. I've had a few people mention that if they don't level the concrete pavers very well, the pavers can easily crack under all of the jumping from kids- so keep that in mind when you're installing them (especially at a high traffic area like a school, etc).
ReplyDelete