Happy accidents

We've all had them. We've done something wrong, and the result is intriguing and pleasurable instead of being awful.

This is what Roundup drift can do to an iris. The overexuberant use of Roundup in the pathway adjoining this flower bed caused some of the spray to drift over to one of the irises. The one in back is what the iris is supposed to look like. The gimpy striped one in front is the Roundup victim. I think it's quite charming. I suppose the healthy one is better looking in general, but I have a whole bed of those, so this one's at least unique if not gorgeous.

It actually was prettier when it was fully open, but I didn't get outside with the camera until it was half-spent.

With this one, I failed to follow the advice of someone at my local nursery. He gave me a gorgeous Lily in a pot and told me to repot it in a bigger container but not to plant anything else in there that I liked. He said the Lily would cause other plants to mutate.

I was sure it was a myth, so I planted it in a container with a pinkish-red ivy geranium. The next season, the geranium bloomed in this color. I assure you it looked nothing like this the year before. I never saw an ivy geranium this color before or since and I think it's fabulous.

But what became of said lily ?

It's still there. You can see the foliage behind the geranium. It's an incredibly tall ivory-colored lily with the best smell imaginable. Sort of like a dozen freesias at once.

Years ago, my hubby was trimming the boxwood hedge in front of our house. Never let a man loose with the weedeater or the hedge clippers...lol...

Well, there was a dead spot,so he went to chasing it out with the clippers, and he got carried away. As he tells the story(I wasn't there to stop this tragedy) he trimmed so much it left an odd shaped hole and looked funny. So, he formed the hole into a more orderly square, to look more "on purpose". (???) He was worried about a tiny hole, so he made a bigger one?

What was he thinking? Anyway, in the end it was an entire row of a perfectly formed, very mature boxwood hedge, with an entire section of bush missing...just absent from the picture, and the hole was off to one side of the hedge. I was horrified, and they are just RIGHT in the dead front center of the house. I was so embarrassed.

I thought about how long it would take even the largest bush replacement I could find, to even attempt filling back in, and just cringed.

I figured the quickest way to conceal the spot, was to plant a rose in front of it, while the pathetic little new bush tried to catch up.

Well, the bush grew and the rose did, too. In the end, I now have my hedge back, but with a bonus. The rose peeking out and over the bush from the inside. The rose would have never been able to get enough sunlit to grow up through the thick hedge like that, without that huge hole.

Nery had a hedge story, too:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/966681/

Love your geranium, Zuzu!

Jack made this 9'9" copper trellis for the Jackmanii clematis. All was well until a summer storm ripped the beautiful top off.

Here's Jack as he's removing the top.

So after trying it out in several spots where it never looked right, I made it into a window of sorts for my potting bench.

I like that!
nice

I like that too. I love the idea of windows in the garden.

Thanks.

In August 2007 we had the granite, which I absolutely hated, ripped out of the kitchen. Happily this piece fit the potting table perfectly.

You can see how the montana Grandiflora clematis covers the copper window so I keep cutting it back after bloom.

p, tell us what you don't like granite. I would trade my stepson for a new granite countertop (or at least think about it)

This message was edited Mar 30, 2009 8:21 AM

Dumpster diving was an expression I had never heard until DG came into my life and I was sure it was something I'd never do. I tried recently, at an abandoned fence company, but couldn't get down far enough in the dumpster to get the wrought iron I wanted. On the property I did find these broken pieces and now I have to come up with a great use for them.

For the round piece I figured I'd put it over a hosta that has the vase shape - Regal Splendor maybe? Then the hosta could grow up through it.

If anyone has any idea for the post portion please post it. Obviously it rusted apart from the round base.

In the lower left hand corner there are babies of English Daisies emerging - not weeds.

Vossner: I can hardly explain how much I hated the granite. It pitted in places (upper right and left corners) where I never had anything acidic, it was impossible to keep sealed all the time, crumbs and food collected in the pits, etc. For some of my neighbors that don't cook it works just fine but for anyone who enjoys cooking it's a royal pain.

I don't have any brilliant ideas, but the Trash to Treasure forum usually does

nothing terriby imaginative from this brain. All I can think of is hanging it on a wall as you would a pic. Seems like the hosta would grow too big and eventually hide the medallion.. How big in dia. is it?

I like what Nery said...hang it.

It looks like the center is cut, or damaged? Maybe liquid nails some sort of backing and then do a small mosaic in the center?

They have stuff similar to that design at Hobby Lobby right now, except it has three wheels under it, to support plant pots

My thinking was that if the hosta didn't look right I could just remove the medallion at the end of the season and try something else with it.

I'm not crafty enough to create anything for the center.

A shop had an unbelievably good price for the cast iron pieces, with wheels, for plants so I have enough of them.

Last week I had a fabulous idea for it but by the time I came inside I totally forgot what that idea was. The combination of age and retaining a great idea often does not work out.

you could just glue a piece of mirror in the center. Go dumpster diving again, find ya a discarded ladies' compact case and take the mirror off it. If you have CROCS, wear them while dumpster diving.

Or take the medallion, attach 3 long chains to it and make a hanger. Then place a small potted plant or a water/seed dish for birds on it and hang somewhere.

My never used Crocs are in the closet. I'd gladly go back to retrieve the piece I want, since the dumpster is still there, but how do I get into the bin? It seems tall to me - about 5' at the end where I'd have to get it.

I definitely could do the chain idea and even have the remains of a "fence" where it could work out. My problem would be that once the plants in front and back grow up (by May) it would be hidden from sight. I really do love the idea! I nixed the idea of using wood with a cut out design because of the tall plants but at least here you can see how the trellis portion fell out and the framework that remains.

A trellis that came with a now departed plant was the basis of our scarecrow.

Her clothes are generally changed each spring since sun and winter wreak their havoc on them but her teddy remains in good shape as does her bra (lower right corner). Her umbrella hat is good for the hot days we sometimes have.

From my window, here in the guest room where I sit at the computer, I can tell which way the wind is blowing by just looking at her dress so she multi tasks for me.

Back to flowers...

When I planted this Japanese iris I did not realize I had yellow Asiatic lilies behind it but I do love how they match.

love tha scarecrow Pirl

Pirl, she looks more like a fairy godmother than a scarecrow. She's such a lovely lady. I especially like the photo of her with the parasol and flower. She adds such a pretty and frilly touch to the garden.

Thanks, Jo Ann and Zuzu. I love her, too, Zuzu, and the shawl of mesh around her shoulders is there for the melons to grow on during summer.

do the melons grow on her shoulders? if yes, what a cool idea! seems like they would eventually get too heavy, no?

They went right up to the mesh covering the tomato room of the vegetable garden and that's where they grew, not around her shoulders as I had hoped. They weren't huge melons - just Galea - a bit bigger than a baseball.

very cool.

You sure are clever Pirl. What a hoot.

I enjoy a bit of whimsy in the garden whether it's kitties on JD's creative arbor, or well placed cat statues such as Zuzu has in her beautiful gardens.

I truly love her snow mohawk hairdo, Pirl.

Thanks, Sharon. I thought of it the exact same way.

She reminds me of Annie Lennox.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=annie+lennox&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Hard to believe she's 55. I always think of her as a feisty kid.

You're right, Zuzu, I had not thought of it.

It's clear I live in the Dark Ages. Until Zuzu mentioned the name I had no idea who the woman is.

Pirl, do you remember Twiggy?
When I was in my early 20's or so, I thought I wanted that really short haircut, but remember Twiggy's was straight. So I got mine cut to within about a half inch of its life. But my hair is very curly, so I looked much like a shorn poodle, with no hair to speak of. It was blondish, but in order to not look totally bald with it so so short, I decided to have it bleached......white.
It was not a pretty moment in my life. But I was thin and young and it was somewhere in the 60's...

Anyway, whenever I see Annie Lennox, it always reminded me of my moment of total idiocy, which is the only reason I knew her.

Pirl, that's the classiest potting table I've ever seen. Why didn't you like the granite in the kitchen?

I loved Annie Lenox and the Eurythmics,"Sweet dreams are made of these"
She went solo years ago and is retired officially as of last weeks news.

Polly, as I said above:

Vossner: I can hardly explain how much I hated the granite. It pitted in places (upper right and left corners) where I never had anything acidic, it was impossible to keep sealed all the time, crumbs and food collected in the pits, etc. For some of my neighbors that don't cook it works just fine but for anyone who enjoys cooking it's a royal pain.

Missed that, sorry. I guess I won't be getting a granite countertop then. And I had just seen a black one I loved. It had sparkles in it when the sun hit it. And I do cook, and use the countertop on the island a lot.

Another happy accident:

the squirrels kept stealing the glass tube flowers out of my hummingbird feeder. Finally, they took all three.

I now use it as a rooter for my african violet leaves.

It didn't really work well as a feeder, because the sugar water had to be completely full in order to work right, so it wasted a lot of sugar water.

It works much better as a rooter for av leaves because they can rest at their normal position, and slowly root at their leisure. The colored glass helps protect the roots, but still allows me to see in

I was very mad at the squirrels at first, but now glad it happened.