The History of IHOS - The Early Years

The Door

This is the front door of IHOS before major additions, but after the construction of the first garden plot. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of the original slug-infested scrub that was located where the timber borders now reside. If you will note, there is a nice lantern that we installed along with a rose trellis and a screen door to keep out the giant flying palmetto bugs. We also put up a wooden house number sign with brass numbers.

The things that are overlapping the front of the timbers are vincas, the existence of which should be outlawed since they breed faster than kudzu and attract slugs. They are now absent from the present garden.

The Birdbath

One of the first things that we added after the installation of the garden was the birdbath. the birdbath is necessary for three reasons. One, it allows the little birds to take a drink and wash themselves off after a rough day of catching worms. Two, it allows our cats ample opportunity to attack and eat those birds without having to expend much effort. And three, it allows us to grow various types of fungus and algae in a semi-natural environment.

The Rock Garden

Almost immediately after the placement of the birdbath, we decided that the telco pedestal area needed a face lift so we decided to build a rock garden. The large rocks were stolen from a construction site around the corner from IHOS and the little rocks were bought at Lowes hardware in their garden shop (a place I recommend highly except do not buy vincas from them - or anyone else for that matter.)

The BellSouth people really like the rock garden and claim that we would win the Pedestal of the Year award if there were such thing a as a Pedestal of the Year award.

The Chair

This is the first chair at IHOS. It was a little green thing that I bought at Lowes so that I could sit and read outside under the newly installed lantern at night. At first, it came with no table, but I went and bought a small white parson's table to go with it within several weeks (not shown.) This picture represents the true beginning of IHOS and led to the expansion of the seating by the next summer. In fact, at its relatively inauspicious beginning, there were a significant number of people dropping in already (though they had to sit on the sidewalk for the first year.)

You will also notice two other things. The first is the American Flag which we proudly fly by our front door and if you have an objection you can just march right back to the socialist country where you belong, you left-wing, commie, tree-hugging, pinko, liberal weenie. The second is the deck on the left which serves currently as the protective covering for the grill when not in use (which is about one day out of 20.)

Some Plants

Here are some random shots of the plants located in the garden. I have no idea of what they are, nor do I know if they are annuals or perennials. We determine that by whether they come back after the winter is over. We actually have a rather scientific method of determining which plants are to go into the IHOS garden. We look at the pictures on the little tags that come with the plants. If it states that they will grow in full sun under conditions of total neglect, we get them.