Monday, August 22, 2011

WORKING GARDENING SHED


An old Kentucky 19th century homestead still maintains several of its viable working outbuildings. One of its outbuildings is this small old vertical board shed that's original use is unknown. But today it serves quite nicely as a home gardening shed. It still stands strong upon its original location.


Ideally, one should leave original outbuildings upon their original sites. Old decaying outbuildings could  be considered for removal with the owner's permission. Below are a few examples of some that were removed.

I have a friend that has an old outhouse that she bought and had delivered to her backyard garden area. She uses it today as a garden shed. 

Another friend loved the old outbuildings that doted the landscapes in Michigan. She asked her husband to find her one and have it delivered to their property for her birthday. On her birthday she got what she wished for. She drys herbs and flowers and wanted the outbuilding for that purpose only -- sorta her studio to be alone with her interests.

I wish that old farms could maintain their outbuildings so they wouldn't fall to decay. However, many times there are either economical or physical reasons why they cannot be kept viable. 


I feel the next best thing to decline is finding new homes for them where they can be appreciated and folks driving by can have the opportunity to see a little bit of our farm history.


If you do remove a building from an old farmstead take photos of its surroundings for historical purposes. Your local historical society would be interested in copies of the photos (and  perhaps a history) for their archives. 

6 comments:

  1. The faded weathered boards do so please my eyes. The way they blend in with their surroundings. We have an old open ended pole barn with roof half gone. Leaning now and too far gone to repair. I should tear it down or make use of the boards. Somehow I can't make myself do it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love old buildings, especially garden sheds. Mine is old now and in need of repair, but it is charming, nevertheless. Thanks for caring about old buildings Barbara. Someday, you will be your own archive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love old buildings of any kind!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Grampy -- When i moved into my house four years ago I inherited a small old barn that had seen better days. It is located away from the house but I also cannot bring myself to bring it down. -- barbara

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dianne -- I'm sure your old gardening shed is charming. I like to think such old structures are authentic -- not plastic or chip board -- barbara

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kay -- Agree with you. i think we like old structures because we remember them from our childhood (although you are not as old as I am). -- barbara

    ReplyDelete