Garden Objects #4

We came from here:http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1004314/

All of us have many things in our gardens beside plants. Here is where we share their photos and stories as well as ideas for more wonderful items to beautify our gardens.

I'm sure that some of us must have gotten some new objects for Christmas, or are working on some neat new project, so lets show and tell!

Here's a neat thread that I came across in the Trash to Treasure Forum. I'm thinking that this might be a fun thing to do with some of those cable spool tables that Gita was talking about on our prior thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1067219/

Stormy---

You totally amaze me!!!! You have the best memory of anyone! Like--remembering the "spools" I confiscated from HD to use as patio tables. Now I have two! Thanks for the mention!

I DO NOT have any "Garden Objects" in my garden. Heaven forbid! That's all i would need to take up more of my time and $$$$. I do not have a flowing--free-form garden where such things would "fit in"....

My "objects" are a picnic table----some chairs---some patio umbrellas (as needed)---2-Bird feeders---one nice bird bath--and ONE chime that hangs out year round---That's about it......

I am NOT into any kind of cute figurines and garden stepping stones---and anything else of that order.....Just NOT my thing. My garden is too small and structured to have room for any of this kind of stuff......Besides--Most of it costs a lot of money, so I do not bother......cause I do ot need to spend money to adorn my Garden. It simply adorns my Soul such as it is.....It provides me exercise--and peaceful times---and a certain purpose in my life----and fodder for belief that miracles DO exist--as I witness them every Spring when bare beds come forth with all the amazing "gifts" that all my labors have brought me.

With your permission--May I once again post the most amazing Poem have ever written TO my garden (I do that!)
I have posted this before--but, maybe, some of you have not seen it. To this day, I cannot believe that I wrote it! It just came to me one evening as i sat at the Computer....
I still tear over when I read it......It is like a Seasonal trip through My Garden--as I see it.....and it is beautiful!
Read it as in prose--it is NOT a rhyming type of a Poem.

The Garden Wakes…..
(Gita Veskimets-- April, 2007)

The Garden wakes--
It's breast heaves slowly.
With all its dormant strength
it takes a breath
and blows away the remnants of Winter.
And it feels renewed.

The Garden wakes--
It sighs at all yet to be done
and hopes of glorious things to come.
It drinks in the dew in the morning
and the rain of the night.
And its thirst is quenched.

The Garden wakes--
It wipes the sleep from its eyes
and is blinded
by all the glory and the color
that laid beneath the earth so long.
And it revels in things well done.

The Garden gives--
Unselfishly--of all the bounty it has cradled
in it's loving arms;
And at days end
it rolls itself up in the green, green grass
And it rests.

The Garden sighs--
The burden now heavy on it's chest.
It gasps for cool air
and thirsts for refreshing rains and soothing nights
that now come so seldom--
And it tires of the effort.

The Garden struts--
It’s wondrous wardrobe of the Fall,
lovingly embroidered with the colors of the setting Sun,
and feels that it was a job well done.
And before the golden yarns unravel from its cape,
it lays its head on the soft, fallen leaves—

The Garden sleeps.


Glad to be the first to post on your new thread.....Gita

Thanks, Gita. That is a lovely poem and a good start to set the tone for this thread.

Sleep....Sleep.....ZZZZ....ZZZZ...... come on sleepyhead,

Wake!!! Wake!!! Wake!!!

I BOUGHT a garden item to be a Xmas gift, only to find out dad and stem M will be moving this year so I decided not to give them the copper pig watering can. And I made a last ditch effort to find a gargoyle for my sister but gargoyles are in short supply in Maryland in December. If I ever get to Harper's I'll get one there. Or maybe someplace more local will get a few in spring.
I am pleased by an outside light fixture that used to hang by my front door, that I rehabbed into a candle holder/ bird feeder. Now I have another one to do, used to be wall mounted but will see if I can make it to hang. OOH, just had a design idea pop into my head for a feeder from my gourds.
While looking for the gargoyle I saw huge gi--normous ceramic pots for around a hundred bucks that held water. I'm wondering if I have a spot for one here . About three feet tall and couple feet across!

Wow, that sounds neat, Sally. I once saw an article in Martha Stewart Living where she made a series of water gardens in whisky barrels. They were grouped together in different patterns and were very attractive. If I recall correctly, each barrel only held one type of plant.

I'm surprised to hear that your dad is moving. I hope that you can get some Tiger Lily bulbs ( and anything else YOU want) from his garden, before he leaves. LOL

Can you mount that other candle holder to a deck post or other structure? Love to see a photo of the copper pig.

Sally Copper Pig watering can? Like this one?

AAAH! Thats the one! isn' t it funny? Perfect for my dad.

oh yes storyla I'll be 'packing' the garden for them LOL They just decided there is no suitable, affordable downsizing around here- I give her props for pushing to make a change rather than be stuck in a too big house with upstairs bedrooms.

Holly, that's too funny. Yes, Sally you are right. Better for them to move into something they can manage, before they can't.

LOL, That is Ric's Copper Pig. He loves pigs and Gnomes, too.
I picked up the pig from the raffle table at one of the HGHA meetings. I was wondering where did you get it and how much? If you don't mind? I get the best stuff for a few $$ in raffle tickets at those meetings. Here is one of this Christmas presents. I was going to pack it away with the summer things but Ric wanted him to hang out with the house plants.

He's really cute!

Not Garden Art but this also came from one of the Raffles. They sell $1 tickets for the table arrangement. One of the members is a retired professional florist and makes these to help fund the Assoc. This one is just past it's prime and will be taken apart in another day or so. Not only is it beautiful but there are 3 large paper white bulbs that can be grown and those are winter blooming pussy willows that should root for me. The pot is very nice but I was thinking I might return that so he could reuse it, but that is not expected so I could have a pretty pot as well.
LOL Gita, You are right about Stormyla remembering everything, so does RCN. What a memory those two have!

LOL, Holly that is very pretty. My memory is shot!! You should have known me 10 years ago, when it was still sharp.

This was the Christmas present that made me do the happy dance. My friend Jane gave it to me. I've always been fascinated by Topiary. Last summer a trip to La Dew Topiary gardens really got me going. Jane got 3 of these topiary frames 1 for me, her daughter and herself. You could stuff them with moss and plant ivy or creeping fig in them but we are going to plant box woods one at each foot and use the topiary frame as a cutting guide. I will take several years for it to grow in but I can't wait to get started. I have just the spot picked out for it. The horse is approx 31 inches tall and 40 inches long.

Wow Holly, that will be wonderful when fully grown! Can't wait to see it in progress.

Yes I am very excited! I am putting it in a grassy area between the Gazebo and the raised brick patio. I thought Ric wouldn't be too happy that I wanted it in the grass and not in a flower bed. But he agreed it would look best there, he just said I have to trim around it. The master plan for the back yard (if we ever get there) is for there to be only a small grassy area. Once the GH and pond are put in and the Gazebo expanded I will extend the flower beds to fill in between those areas along with a couple of paths and leave a small semi circle of rich thick lawn right if front of the raised patio. Right now most of my lawn is mowed weeds. LOL That is the spot for my Topiary. I will be able to plant it this summer as it won't be in the way of any of the work we want to do back there.

Talking about boxwoods and Topiary. Ric picked up 10 variegated box woods and planted a hedge of them between the side yard and the Veggie Garden. They hopefully will form a short wall with an opening into the Veggie Garden. Ric is going to build some type of arbor for the opening It is a step in making a small formal garden there along the side of the house. You know where you walk thru the arch in the clipped yews. Another topic for the projects thread. LOL

Here is the best pic I have of the area right now (still don't have all my pic back) Right about where the wooden picnic table is sitting in the grass. Holly

The copper pig was 25 or 30 bucks at the Southern States associated Farmers CoOp store in Glen Burnie. You scored!!!
give the Paperwhites to jill, she loves them---NOT, snicker snicker

LOL Sally, I generally do not have paperwhites. They kick up my allergies, you should have heard me by the time I got home just having them in the enclosed car. I have them where I can see them but they aren't right in my face. My asthma has been a little worst the last couple of days, although these colds I keep getting aren't helping either.

Holly---

Can you grow Boxwoods from cuttings?
I have 2 mature Boxwoods by my front steps that really, really need thinning. I could cut out a lot of "hands" (that's what the Boxwood growth-tops are called) and bring them to any Swap you will be attending--ahem! HERE!
I do not know how good Boxwoods are at rooting from cuttings--but they would be FREE!

IF any of you are looking to get assorted sizes (medium to huge) of healthy, growing on-site Boxwoods, I have friend who bought a house in Fallston that used to be a Boxwood Nursery. EVERYWHERE you look, there are Boxwoods growing--in the woods...near their home....all along the back yard, etc...etc....
He has sold many! It is---"YOU DIG and MOVE" type of a sale. Boxwoods being as expensive as they are----this would be a real bargain. They are nice people and good friends of mine----NOT that that will get you a 3' boxwood for $20!!!! NOPE! D-Mail me your phone # and I will forward it to Tony and Ann.

The Japanese Holy is as close as you can get to a shrub looking like a Boxwood. The leaves are a tiny bit larger than the Boxwood's, but it is totally disease free and NOT fussy at all. You can clip them and shape them and they don't mind a bit!

As far as Whiskey Barrels go--at least OUR HD no longer carries the real wood ones--only the plastic replicas.
You can buy, however, the black plastic Whiskey Barrel liners/inserts for about $20+ bucks. Many people use these for small ponds...They would take one of the smaller pumps to run.

OK! That's all for tonight! Gita

Lots of good thoughts and products here to beautify our gardens. I have to go drive by that street that I passed last year with the big horse sculpture on the lawn and take a photo. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in the winter if they left it outside.

love the horse!!!

Was outside picking up debrie from those wind storms today. Found that one of my older small wind chimes that the kids had given to me got blown to death. Goodie, now I can replace it with either one of those cow bell type of chimes or something Zen Oriented.

Also found that two Terracotta statues had blown over and one had fallen apart. Will have to get DSO to see if it can be fixed. When I set the fall lawn decorations out, I had asked DSO to put my old cast iron bunnies in the garage or basement. Of course, he did not. He stuck them in the nook beside where I keep the dumpster. Of course, one day while trying to wedge the dumpster back in it's spot, I hit one of the bunnies. One of his ears fell off. DSO said that he would look to see if they sell some kind of liquid metal, similar to liquid nails that might work to fix it. URGGGHHH!

I never got around to washing the hammock and it is still out there full of Algae.

Years ago I made Ric a ceramic Garden Fairy. It was a good 2 ft tall or more and the biggest thing I had ever made. Not cheap either. I told him to put it away for the winter but he just pushed it back against the side of the house to keep it out of the weather. First snow came and Ric picked up a stone in the snow blower that flew straight at that Fairy. Put a large crack in it. I was not a happy camper. He tried gluing it back together but it never did look good moisture got in the crack and algae grew making it very noticeable. I threw it out just couldn't stand looking at the thing.
Ric says there are several types of Epoxy should work. JB Weld is one he uses but there are others.

aaawww so sorry about the fairy garden & bunny!

Thanks, Holly & Ric and Allison. In my mind the old ounce of prevention prevails. Not that I don't make short cuts at times, but not with things that I treasure.

I picked up this guy for Ric the other day. It's not a garden gnome it's a dwarf. Must be the downturn of the ears, or the shape of the tool more like a pick axe, or the somewhat no nonesense look of him that has made us deceide that he is a dwarf. He is 16 inches tall. Ric just loves him and has stated that he won't run the snowblower over him. LOL

Holly, he is a wonderfull addition to your family. I agree dwarf, hat and ears. Looks like the dwarf in the Lord of the Rings.

Meet my Gnome.

Ric, not another snow blower- anything in my way meets blade and out shoot. Run for your Life!!!!!!
In the fall I walk the snow blowing path and gather up all my goodies for storage.

Randy would love both of those

Chris, Your little guy is too cute. Since I broke the fairy, I've been very careful with our garden art. I have 2 ceramic lions that have guarded the front entry for years, they have been well cared for, they're my pride'n joy. LOL Ric

Speaking of broke.... The golfer in the picture is from a park bench I had on the front porch, one winter about 8 years ago ice buildup on the eves let go and sheared off the porch roof, (the contractor built it quite cheaply) anyways the bench got smashed. Now I have 2 great boot scrapers.
I was glad it was the bench and not the mailman!

Holly, That dwarf is really cute. I love his expression.

Lady, that must have been a lot of ice.

Ric, I really like those Lions.

Okay, I posted a picture in the Garden Talk forum of a few of the garden objects I bought with Christmas money and Stormy scolded me for not posting them here! LOL So...let me show you my newest acquisitions which will hopefully find their way into the gardens once all this snow is gone!

These cranes will NOT be going into the gardens. They found a new home in the front entry and because they're not very large they'd get lost in the gardens anyway. The urn above them is also new - I ordered it from Home Depot (online) when it was half price - such a deal :) I liked it so much I went back and ordered a matching pot. I'm planning to put the pot on the sitting deck but the urn's staying inside!

My son bought this bird bath for me. My original intention was to place it in the middle of the Heuchera garden but it looks so nice in the corner by the front door I think it's going to stay there!

I had several pieces from this site on my list. The Dancing Dragonfly was on my list, I just loved how "graceful" it looked. http://www.shoppingserve.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HCF&Product_Code=DDF. My daughter sent me the Praying Mantis instead and even though I'm a dragonfly nut I don't have any Praying Mantis in the garden so I'll find a special spot for it! It's mounted on a tall stake so I think it might look great sitting above the large leaves of a Hosta :)

My mother decided to just send me money for Christmas and let me make my own choices from the list :) I had been looking at a few things from this site http://www.collectionsetc.com/ and I'm glad I waited until after Christmas! Most everything I got was on sale for half price and those that weren't were 15% off! A few of the "solar" items I got....

I loved this crow and he was only $7.99! I'm planning to place him on a fence post in my new welcome garden :)

Oops, I almost forgot this one - the snail my son bought me! Planning to place him near some Hostas - maybe he'll scare away the slugs LOL

Rick also wanted me to choose something from my list. He really wanted me to buy this stone that was on last year's list :) I really wasn't sure it would look as nice as the photo so I ordered something else - figured I could get two objects for the price they were asking for this one!

When my "two" objects arrived, Rick said "WTH"? He was disappointed and told me to order the stone as well! Don't you just LOVE Christmas :) The stone arrived the next week. I had seen it offered several places and the shipping was outrageous! I ended up ordering it from Glasshouse Works and I can't believe they shipped it for only $10.00 - it is heavy!!!

Anyhow, these are the two I ordered before the dragonfly stone. This one was on my list from last year and I still wanted it! It's almost 3' tall but I think it might still need a pedestal to get it up a little higher in the garden. I know right where it's going and I don't want it to get "lost" in all the foliage :)

Last one - my dragonfly lantern. It's beautiful and I'm planning to hang it from the gazebo :)

Stormy, that's it! Sorry it took me so long to post them - I'm going to have so much fun getting everything into the gardens this year :) My only problem is every time I mention where something is going, Rick thinks it would look better by the front door :( We can't have EVERYTHING by the front door, we've got to spread them out!

such great stuff!!!.. and I love collections for outside things.. can't beat the prices