Nashville was hit by an EF3 tornado the night of March 2, 2020. Its path was three blocks from my house. My friends’ house was in the direct line of the path. Thankfully, my friends and all their neighbors survived that night, but the damage was extensive. The city of Nashville turned out in droves to help the homeowners clear debris and chop up the downed trees. On March 12th, Gov. Lee declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID pandemic. The cleanup continued but with far fewer volunteers.
Thankfully, my friend’s church showed up the morning after the tornado and helped them clean up the broken glass, debris, and tree limbs. Then my friends had the laborious task of working with insurance to fix all the damage. See before and after picts below of their enclosed porch, backyard, and new fence.
In April, my friend’s new level-topped fence was installed. When the leveling of the fence occurred, it left board remnants that were 25″ to 30″ in length. Eric offered some of these remnants to me. After giving it some thought, I gladly took them. I had an unedged flower bed along the cement patio in my backyard. Soil would wash onto the patio with every rain. I decided it needed to be edged to hold in the soil and flowers. I had never done anything like this before but knew I could figure something out.
My first step was to cut down some of the cedar boards into small pieces. I then laid out two boards (using a third board as a leveling guide) and screwed the small pieces onto both boards to hold them together. I then began to dig out the flower bed edge for the boards to go into and test out my length occasionally. I must say the cedar boards were so beautiful and fragrant to work with.
Having only seen dirt and flowers spilling over the patio, I had never seen the true edge of the bed. I was in for a big surprise when I found that the concrete was not in a straight line but angled near the shed.
Now I have a contained flowerbed that gives my yard and patio a more refined/cared for look. And all for the price of FREE and a little labor. I love turning unwanted left-overs into something useful and attractive. And it’s nice to see new fences and new paint and new life in place of the destruction and devastation left by the tornado.
