Garden Hose Container Quest

My easy condo garden is in the courtyard in the front of my house. Anyone visiting or making a delivery enters by way of this courtyard. I want everything there to be neat, tidy and attractive. This includes my hose. How do you make a hose cute? You find a way to hide it. So began my quest to find the perfect hose holder, container, pot, bucket or whatever.

I started by going to the local hardware store. It is nearby and they usually have what I need. They didn’t. Sure, they had plastic. No, thank you. They did have one pot that was metal, but it was very dark and heavy. I think it was too big too. Next I went to several home supply stores. I spoke to employees who told me that their various store carried different products. So I went to more than one of the same chain. I found a wide variety of containers, mostly plastic (and really ugly…just saying). When I did locate one that was metal, it was usually very dark and huge. I guess most people like dark, and have very long garden hoses.

What I really wanted was something light colored and perhaps ceramic. I checked out garden supply stores next. There is a nice one in Dana Point, and I went there. They did have one that I liked, except for the color. It was painted bright silver, like a disco ball. Ultra modern and silly looking (again, just my opinion). I am more traditional in my taste. I want garden items to look more organic.

I finally broke down and made the trip to the Armstrong Garden Center in San Juan Capistrano. I love that place, but I was dreading going there. I was certain they would have exactly what I wanted, but it would be enormously expensive. I was half right. I was surprised to discover that they only had one style in stock. It was copper, very pretty, but huge. Pricey? Oh, yeah. But it was the size of the covered hose holder that made me walk away.

I then drove back to Crown Valley Parkway and visited the other local Armstrong, on Golden Lantern. This center is deceptive in appearance. Most of the nursery is tucked away in back, so from the front, it looks small. It isn’t. I was more successful here. They had three styles. I liked them all. One was a lovely shade of teal. Now, that’s more like it! But big, super big. No way could I deal with it big. But the employee who was helping me was more relentless. When she heard that this was the eleventh store I had visited, she just would not give up. She went to her computer and did a search of their other stores. She found a hammered copper hose holder in their Irvine store. She picked up the phone, and asked an employee there to measure the container. It was 18-inches wide and only 12-inches high. Perfect!  

Of course, I bought it and took it home. The weight was what I had hoped. I was able to carry it to the car myself, which was significant because I would have to carry it from the car to the spot where it is sitting now, once I arrived back home. It was simple to thread the hose through the hole in the back, wind it up and tuck it inside. It took several days of looking online, and twelve trips to various retail outlets, but I finally ended up with what I wanted. I am finished settling for what is handy. I am only buying what really pleases me. This hose holder does just that. It was worth the quest.

Until next time,

Elizabeth