Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog

Pallet Garden & AC Screen

Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Pallet Garden, Pallet AC Screen

Hello fellow readers,

Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Pallet Garden, Pallet AC Screen

Lakeshore Park, Knoxville, TN

What a whirlwind trip venturing to Tennessee to attend my nephews’ wedding. Ellie in tow, brother Rick suggested a great walking spot in Knoxville called Lakeshore Park, with spectacular views of the Tennessee River and the Great Smoky Mountains. What a glorious day!

The next day we had brunch at Rick and Paulina’s. It was fun to see their digs I had heard so much about. Recall Rick’s rose dilemma caused by tent caterpillars shared in mid-June? Since then, they often think to Ask Mary. Such a good little brother…

Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Pallet Garden, Pallet AC Screen

Rick’s clever Pallet AC Screen

Before the trip, we chatted about his pallet solution to screen the air-conditioning unit only a few feet away from their seating area. Filled with herbs and succulents, “it helps buffer the noise too,” Rick touted. I replied, “I wrote about vertical gardening a while back and I’m sure, dear brother, you know it’s best not to grow edibles in pallets.” Uh oh, Rick didn’t recall the column, so I sent him a link to the previous column. Pallets are often treated with toxic chemicals to prevent the transport of invasive insects and plant diseases as required by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC); though companies are starting to use heat treatment rather than chemicals which overcomes some part of the worry to reuse them. Pallets require an IPPC logo, with initials if heat-treated (HT) or fumigated with Methyl Bromide (MB) and includes the initials of the country where made.

After our gourmet meal, I couldn’t wait to see their outdoor living space behind their condo which is cute as a button and functional too. I congratulated his ingenuity as he described how he pieced the pallets together in such a way that no posts were needed, which allows for a section to be removed should the AC need to be serviced. In addition, he left a six-inch gap at ground level to allow airflow. Leave it to an engineer to think of such things. His clever pallet screening is stained grey to match their wooden table and is adorned with comical face sculptures hidden behind an assortment of succulents and herbs. “Impressive my brother! A perfect way to solve the in-your-face AC dilemma.”

Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Pallet Garden, Pallet AC Screen

Top view of Pallet AC Screen – perfectly engineered!

There was a spare pallet leaning near the grill with no logo indicating MB (nasty chemicals) or HT (heat-treated). But even if heat-treated, my brother, it’s best not to grow edibles in pallets because no one knows if something toxic spilled on it, where it was warehoused, or how it was transported. You know, like Mom used to drill into us – “Don’t put that in your mouth – you never know where it’s been.” Garden dilemmas? Askmarystone@gmail.com

Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Pallet Garden, Pallet AC Screen

Rick styling Paulina’s garden “shoes”. I donning Ricks. Now I know what to give you for Christmas :^)

Mary Stone, owner of Stone Associates Landscape Design & Consulting. As a Landscape Designer, I am grateful for the joy of helping others beautify their surroundings which often leads to sharing encouragement and life experiences. These relationships inspired my weekly column published in THE PRESS, 'Garden Dilemmas? Ask Mary', began in 2012. I dream of growing the evolving community of readers into an interactive forum to share encouragement and support in Garden and Personal Recoveries - seeking nature’s inspirations, stimulating growth, weeding undesirables, embracing the unexpected. Thank you for visiting! Mary

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