The Empress's Pavilion: A Silly Bricolage Project

My mother decided with all the rain there are too many mosquitoes to sit on the porch of the rental we are in, but she wants to be on the porch. She told told me to make her a place where there are no mosquitoes or flies. Hmm... my weird little brain went to work.

I wanted lightweight, easy to make, easy to move if needed, very minimal damage to the rental. So I thought for a while, then went and bought 5 pool noodles and some cheap polyester clothesline, and dug up from the garage a bunch of lace curtains and some gauzy turquoise curtains from thrift stores, and a bed tent from a yard sale (It didn't work on my bed, both me and the cat kept getting all snarled up.) Also ended up using a few bits from my trampoline parts pile, a chain link fence top post, and fake flowers from the burn pile of the graveyard behind this house.

I put a nail in each wooden porch post, and put the fencing top post on it.

The pool noodles were threaded with rope, in a figure 8 pattern, each noodle has a rope going in from each way, that goes back the other way on the next. If you have ever done macrame, you know the technique, it basically made a rope ladder that I hung from the post. Pic was taken at a weird angle so it is all visible.



The curtains and bed tent were safety pinned over the edges of the rope.





The weight was bending the noodles more than I wanted, so pieces of trampoline safety net top rail were slid into them to add rigidity. Gauze curtains were then put on as a top, and also pinned into submission. Lots of pins in this. This pic was taken while we were figuring out how to make it safe from animals in the night.



The end result we decided is called The Empress's Pavilion, My mother is now titled Empress Mother of Pearl, and she is gazing out on the gardens that her favorite minion has planted to provide her with lots of odd colored heirloom cherry tomatoes!



It's about 5x 7 feet, big enough for each of us to have a chair and a small table between them, and no bugs come in.

The back side faces the house, and was boring.



So I got fake flowers, strung them into garlands and hung them up! A very festive pavilion!





Why did I want it festive? Because my room and my bathroom are right there. This is now the view from my room (and pretty much the same from my bathroom) it makes me smile to see it :D



A silly project!!  
It was fun, and I needed a break from excess work  :D
PLUS my mom has been promoted, AND we have a bug free place to sit and look at the gardens :)

:D

Nice! It reminds me of how my mom uses tulle to drape over food when we have outdoor parties. It does a great job of keeping the flies off, and it's pretty, too.

(I love how she's still finding uses for the tulle 15 years after she bought reams of it to decorate my wedding!)

Speaking of tulle, my next project is to sew some around the brim of a hat so that my husband stops getting flies and mosquitoes on his face when he's outside. Insects really, really love him, so I'm hoping this will be a way for him to walk around without being accosted by biting buggies!

Nicole Alderman wrote:Nice! It reminds me of how my mom uses tulle to drape over food when we have outdoor parties. It does a great job of keeping the flies off, and it's pretty, too.

At my sister's wedding, there was tulle around to decorate with, we went to see where the reception was going to be held and there was a bad case of some tiny bees that were getting on anything sweet. So, at my sister's apartment, having little to work with as she's not a tool using animal and I had flown in, I made a cake cover that would cover her whole wedding cake out of clothes hanger wire and tulle with some of the decorating flowers on it. The caterers who showed up with the cake were amazed and asked if they could have it, as every time they took food to that venue they had bee problems. Why no one had ever made covers, I have no clue. Hopefully the one that they got from me inspired someone to make them a full set.

(I love how she's still finding uses for the tulle 15 years after she bought reams of it to decorate my wedding!)

I buy tulle in bulk from a wedding supply place to cover stuff in the yard, mostly against maple seeds. It's a bit more fragile than I would like, which is why I didn't use it for the pavilion. I used up the tulle I had around leftover from weddings

Speaking of tulle, my next project is to sew some around the brim of a hat so that my husband stops getting flies and mosquitoes on his face when he's outside. Insects really, really love him, so I'm hoping this will be a way for him to walk around without being accosted by biting buggies!

Yeah, I have that on my to do list too! It will work, basically a bug net hat. If you haven't looked at how they are made for the military, you might do so. I wear wide enough brimmed hats to not need that center ring to keep it off the face, he probably doesn't. And excess length at the bottom so it can be tucked in without impeding head movement is essential, trust me on that

That's really cool looking. It's soooo Pearl too.

In the off season it could be a butterfly habitat. Stranger things have happened before:)

Pearl, you are quite the creative finder of solutions. Well done!... a few drops of peppermint essential oil and no self respecting skeeter will come within 10 yards of you;

I have a friend who detests mosquitos. I wish she'd be creative like this about upscaling something for her deck, rather than whining about not being able to find something commercial that will fit the location (a deck with roof overhang impinging on it and a spouse who's over 6 feet tall).

My mom had a mesh cover that fit over their table umbrella. It was waited down with sand bags at the bottom edge or they found mosquitos made it in. I wonder if John's suggestion of Peppermint essential oil would have done the trick. I believe I've got peppermint growing up property. I'm sure somewhere here on permies there will be instructions of how to make it???

Oooh, I hadn't thought of peppermint oil. Thank you! There's spearmint growing within 3 feet of it, I don't have peppermint growing. Wonder if that would work too? I buy peppermint oil for medical reasons, but it's an expensive habit.

The weights on the bottom are a good idea, we are considering something like that for the wind blowing, mom has taken to having a piece of linoleum out there, if the wind blows, she puts it at her feet on top of the slack on the ground. To keep it sealed, even with wind, I designed it to have slack at the bottom, so even if it's blowing, or the "roof" on it tilts one way or the other due to water weight from either the leak in the deck roof right there or the curtains getting wet and adding weight, it still reaches the ground.

I did have to add, on orders from the Empress, a scrap of cardboard and a small bit of plastic where the roof leak is, to channel it away from where she sits. It dripped on her feet :D  The plastic worked to catch the water, but it puddled in between the pool noodle rafters and the rope edge and made little lakes, so the cardboard was stuck over the rafters, under the plastic, to level it out and it all works well now. The Empress is pleased with her minion!!  :D

Peppermint, Lemongrass, Rosemary, lavender, mosquito plant... all are plants I place around my deck, to repel mosquitos, and it works. Last year, I didn't do it, and they ate us, alive. This year, the lavender & rosemary are already out there, and the Lemongrass & peppermint will be, soon.  I'm still looking for the mosquito plants... But, I'd love to hang tulle around the deck!

Carla Burke wrote:Peppermint, Lemongrass, Rosemary, lavender, mosquito plant... all are plants I place around my deck, to repel mosquitos, and it works. Last year, I didn't do it, and they ate us, alive. This year, the lavender & rosemary are already out there, and the Lemongrass & peppermint will be, soon.  I'm still looking for the mosquito plants... But, I'd love to hang tulle around the deck!

I keep planting lavender, it keeps dying. I have lemongrass that overwintered in the house that hasn't gone out yet, I'll place in right there, thank you :) Rosemary.... hm.. Bet I can find some to snag a start off of. Mosquito plant... Citronella? Hm. Wonder if I can find any this late in the season...
Thank you! Food for thought!
:D

Yup, it most likely, is Citronella, but I only ever see it labeled 'Mosquito Plant", lol.

Carla Burke wrote:Yup, it most likely, is Citronella, but I only ever see it labeled 'Mosquito Plant", lol.

And down the rabbit hole I tumble...
First stop: https://www.seedman.com/pest.htm

Agastache cana is called Mosquito Plant and is a hardy perennial - sounds awesome from the description on the website above

Citronella (Mina lobata) a rare variety of Mina Lobata with bright citrus yellow flowers - easy to grow

Citronella Balm (Melissa officinalis Citronella) - a hardy mint with a citronella smell

Citrodora Eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus citrodora ) commonly known as "lemon bush" - needs full sun

Those seemed to be the ones recommended specifically as Mosquito repelling plants - the list had others, but probably weren't the ones Carla had seen in stores.
Seems that chasing off mosquitoes is a popular subject around the world! Several of the non-citronella smelling plants that Carla mentioned were further down on the link above.

The plant I'm talking about, which I've just done some more checking into its this one: https://www.gardenia.net/plant/pelargonium-citronella
I've just discovered that in zones 9+, it's a perennial, and (more important, to me, specifically) it can be brought in, to overwinter! I didn't know this, so kept having to buy new ones, each year! And, https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/geranium-scented-citronella-pelargonium-citronellum-plant-organic/ has both the plants and the seeds! Guess what I'm getting ready to buy!

Carla Burke wrote:The plant I'm talking about, which I've just done some more checking into its this one: https://www.gardenia.net/plant/pelargonium-citronella
I've just discovered that in zones 9+, it's a perennial, and (more important, to me, specifically) it can be brought in, to overwinter! I didn't know this, so kept having to buy new ones, each year! And, https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/geranium-scented-citronella-pelargonium-citronellum-plant-organic/ has both the plants and the seeds! Guess what I'm getting ready to buy!

Hey, I grow this! It's super hardy, can deal with neglectful watering (ask me how I know), perennial here in 9b, and grows from cuttings (easily. stick it in the ground, nothing more).
I don't rely only on plants, even though I think I have all the plants mentioned so far. Our mosquitoes carry way too many horrible diseases to take chances, we are all about screens, cover-up clothing, and smoke-type repellant coils made from chrysanthemum. In my experience, citronella only works if you burn it (and pretty much all smoke repels mosquitoes), but I still often put down the essential oil on the windowsill, because I like the smell and maybe it might do something. I do also sometimes cut some and put it where i might stomp in it (outside my back door), because at least the smell is lovely. Similarly, I will occasionally pick a leaf off a scented geranium and rub it between my hands, not sure if it repels bugs but it sure puts a smile on my face. Definitely worth growing.

Hoping someone will know... All the plants listed are highly fragrant. Will Jasmine repel bugs? I have a Sambac Jasmine plant coming.

Pearl the pavillion looks lovely and was a brilliant idea. Jasmine would be lovely for humans to enjoy while sitting nearby but I don't believe it repels bugs. Deer even love to eat it.

We went shopping, and stopped at a place that had citronella plants! I got two of them. Don't know what type, they just said citronella.

Pearl Sutton wrote:We went shopping, and stopped at a place that had citronella plants! I got two of them. Don't know what type, they just said citronella.

Pics, please?

Your whim is my command, madam!!  
:D

I'd love to have it ID'd.

^^^that is the scented geranium Carla is talking about!! rub it with your hands and see if it doesn't smell like lemony, peppery, geranious goodness?

Yeah, it does :D
I tested that when I bought it, to make sure it was worth buying.

Poop. That link says they aren't particularly insect repellent, just smell lovely.
Ah well, lovely plants.

Pearl Sutton wrote:Yeah, it does :D
I tested that when I bought it, to make sure it was worth buying.

Poop. That link says they aren't particularly insect repellent, just smell lovely.
Ah well, lovely plants.

It was part of my stuff, though...

Here you go, Jay.

Poop. That link says they aren't particularly insect repellent, just smell lovely.  

That has been my experience with citronella. It seems to work for some people though. I'm just one of those people who attracts any mosquito within a 3 county area.