I absolutely adore your toddler with the bunny. Children just seem a natural fit for the garden especially because these kind don't pick or step on anything!!!
Your grandmother's plaque is quite lovely and such a beautiful verse. I keep family and friend momentos in my gardens. Just makes you feel their presence, especially those who are gone. Well, I certainly do hope we get to see it in your new rose garden. LOL !!
Garden Objects #2
Not here, but I found this group of children running at Collections Etc. and ordered it for my mom for Mothers Day because it looked so much like my sister, brother and me when we were kids.
http://www.collectionsetc.com/Kids_at_the_Park/product.aspx?Ntt=kids&productname=Kids_at_the_Park&No=0&N=0&productid=388861 If this doesn't take you directly to it, it's item 12995
That's really cute Hart! You'll have to post a photo of it in her garden next time you visit your mom! Such a sweet gift.
Well, we've been on a painting kick trying to spruce up some of these garden objects. Ergo, the infamous red bistro set. I've been trying to decide what to do with this chair. Definitely not white or black. I actually like the color it has rusted to. If I am to leave it this color, I want to put some kind of a protective coat on it. Don't know if it should be sanded first. Anyone have any thoughts?? I was also trying to think of how it would look a vivid purple or bright spring green.
Lady, when your glider is painted, I'd love to see a photo.
Stormy, don't hold your breath on the glider, I still have plants to get in the ground. The glider needs sanded and a primer put on the rusting areas and then paint, after I mask off the area around the glider. It is on my deck facing the driveway. When I first got it I sanded it and painted it an almond color and stencled green ivy leaves down the back and over the seat, it looked pretty nice till the paint started peeling off, lasted a long time too.
I like the color of your chair too, maybe you could just clear coat it, but even that may change the color, if you do try it maybe go with a mat finish, nothing glossy.
I like the rusty color as well and was wondering if you could just clear spray it. Or you could paint it a reddish brown or dark beige and rub some darker brown into the detail. Kinda of like an antiquing. There is always the option of Candy Apple Red. LOL
LadyG, I know all about those projects that take a couple of years to finish. I've got my tub all cleaned up, talked to Jamie about plumbing it. With a little luck I will have it up and running by next week.
I think it would be very cool painted a rich dark purple. Of course rustoleum doesn't make that color - so it would be a lot of work to do this (rustoleum black first, purple exterior paint, clear protective coat). Check out Benjamin Moore colors Caponata (Affinity line) or dark purple (color preview line). I happen to be picking a new color for my living room and my paint decks are here on the desk! :-)
Hmmmmmm. Rust or Purple. Decisions Decisions. Let me consult with the little old painter! I may choose the rust only to go easy on him. My big butterfly bench needs a complete overhaul and I want the job done with no short cuts!!! LOL can't wear him out!!
OK Lady, I'm breathing freely. Wow, the job you did sounds pretty. But Red & White sounds really nice too. I loved those old gliders. My grandmother had two. Many a nice evening spent on them!
Beaux, I have a big Rubbermaid chaise that I've been thinking of painting. Maybe I can try imagining it purple like Pam's chairs. I don't know, it would be an awfully big purple thing out there in the yard!!
Stormy, I wonder if a few coats of linseed oil might be better for a rusty piece than a spray finish? Let me look around tomorrow and see what I can find. I don't even know if linseed oil would work on metal. I know you want to make sure it doesn't continue to deteriorate under the finish.
Preventing rust in iron
With sculpture or furniture made of iron—whether fences, urns or seats—water, rather than ice, is the enemy. "Sometimes people will buy a cast-iron piece that has a soft rusty finish," Israel says, "and they get it home and put it outside, and suddenly that nice patina begins to corrode." Owners of iron furniture often ask Israel whether they should repaint what they think might be original, or leave it alone.
Don't worry, she says: It's next to impossible to find antique iron garden furniture or sculptures that have only their original coat of paint. To illustrate she adds that an 1870 cast-iron Civil War monument on Martha's Vineyard was found to have no fewer than 21 coats of paint prior to being restored.
Stripping or gentle sand-blasting can restore detail that has been lost because of the build-up of too many coats of paint, but this requires the removal of the existing paint first, a process that may need a professional's touch. Owners also paint their iron garden pieces to stem the destruction caused by rusting. To remove rust, take a wire brush to your piece and the surrounding loose paint, coat it with a primer, and then paint it. Because rust bleeds through white paint more easily than through darker colors, she says you often need multiple coats of white paint to cover a rusty surface.
An alternative to paint that won't further dull the detail of your piece is wax, which should be applied at least once a year, if used. A new kind of paint called a powder coat finish should also be considered. It's a resin and pigment that is applied to the surface with a spray gun and then baked on with high heat. This surface lasts far longer than paint. The downside to this treatment, Israel says, is that it never gets that "look of age" that paint provides and which many collectors prefer.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/gardenornaments.html
Thanks, Hart. That was really nice. I've decided to go with the rusted look! He will take a wire brush and some sand paper and maybe the wheel buffer to remove any rust chunks and try to get a smooth finish before spraying. I'm going to ask him to do 4 or 5 coats.
When I buy even a brand new metal piece, before putting it outside, I spray it with clear rustoleum. Sure enough before the end of a year, there's rust on it!!! I usually do two coats.
I never take the furniture in or cover it, because I work outside virtually 10 months of the year and still use it. I made all of the greens arrangements for christmas out on the deck furniture. I use it in the dead of winter when I'm outside splitting logs too. I have an outdoor fire burner on the lower back patio and often burn a fire in it when I'm out there in cold weather doing something. Goes great with a cup of cocoa laced with Sambuca!!
This was one of this past weekend's projects for the sometimes grumpy painter. It turned out pretty nicely. All of the metal was scrubbed and the electric wheel buffed off the rust. Then it was sprayed, 3 times.
This is the table where the tile had all shattered. Sure enough I scanned my memory banks and realized that I had a box of tiles from a never done project down the basement!
Here's the top. These tiles are actually from a larger set of tile. It was pretty tricky trying to keep the pattern going while eliminating tiles. For the most part it works ok. It would have been very hard to find a table to go with these seats. I was lucky to stumble upon one the first time.
That angel is something I'm hoping will be leaving soon. My nephew gave it to me a couple of years ago for my birthday. It falls over with the slightest wind. This winter DSO knocked it over while it was stored under the deck and one of it's wings broke off. Before I got home he had it glued and clamped and now it's here for at least another season. I have to rescue the Daylilies from it about 4 times a week!! Some guardian!!
Tough to keep up with you Stormy! Love the new look for the tiled table and chairs :) Does your angel have a hole in the bottom or is DSO handy, could he drill one? You could put a stake in the ground and set the angel on it to keep her from toppling over!
My daughter sent me this picture. Her father was at the house working over the weekend and brought this along with him. I completely forgot about it! A bench I used to have in my Maine gardens and he thought it should go in her new gardens :) I used to have it painted green but 10 years later you'd never know it! I think we'll probably give it a new look, paint it white and find a spot in the gardens I'll be working on in two weeks!
RCN, That bench has held up pretty well for being neglected for 10 years! It will make such a nice resting spot for your daughter. Can't wait to see where you place it.
Oh Stormyla, I just love this idea..."cup of cocoa laced with Sambuca!!" LOL
and that sunflower table Wow I really love those tiles. That whole set is beautiful but those tiles are just great. I would love to find some like that, where did you get them?
I have an old coffee table on my front porch that has a tile inlay. I haven't completed the refinishing and the tiles are just sitting in the top not glued in. I also have a sunflower and bee theme going on out there. I may need to start prowling around the title stores.
RCN, Bet you will have a great time working in your daughters garden. I was up at my parents house the other day. Ric mowed and I planted it looked so nice when we left. Not that they don't keep after it. But they really appreciate when we come and do it up for them.
Stormy, there is a primer you can get that converts rust. Auto supply places carry it and I've found it at Walmart in the auto section too. You still have to clean off the loose rust and it turns the rust kind of a dark slate gray/black but it stops the rusting. You might want to try the wax route. My father always even waxed things like refrigerators to keep them from rusting as they got older and to protect the finish. Any good car wax would work.
Is there a way to put some sand inside that angel? Even if you have to drill a hole, assuming it's resin or plastic. Love the sunflower table and your old bench, Deb.
Okay dog lovers, you have to check this out - dog breed topiary frames. Way cool.
http://www.gardeners.com/Dog-Breed-Topiaries/DogBreedTopiaries_Cat,default,sc.html
Hart, That is the best!!! What would you plant on one? I'm tempted.
I spoke with DSO about waxing the iron. He said people always did it. And they didn't always use good paste wax, sometime just the cheap kind you rub on and don't buff. But if you wax it, would that be in lieu of spraying it? Would it last the whole season? That chair is structurally perfect and I want to keep it that way.
OK guys, stop, I want the angel to go. Never did like it. I don't like any of that resin or plastic stuff. RCN, DSO is so handy he won't throw anything out. He's always going to fix everything, even stupid cheap stuff. So now if it's not fixed in a month I tell him to take it to HIS garage or I'm going to throw it out. He's also cheap about fixing materials and supplies. He makes all parts from nothing, just odds and ends scraps. My garage is full of things that he might have a use for. He is wonderfully helpful, but enough is enough.
Holly, I bought those tiles a few years ago to go on another table. I got them on Ebay. Take a look, there are lots of tile dealers on there and a very large assortment of patterns and murals.
Hart, I used some of that spray that converts rust to paint last week on my old sleigh rocker. It's about on it's last year. It turned out not to be such a good purchase as it was powder coated and the powder coating did not stand up to the elements. It chipped and then rusted. Here again, I sprayed it right when brand new and again at least every other year.
If it falls further apart, I'll be shopping for something else to put there. It's right beside the garage. DSO works on his projects in the garage or on the driveway and I'm always around back at my potting bench. A couple times a day I'll bring him coffee or maybe a brew and we'll sit here and rest. If I didn't do that we'd be in our own little worlds all weekend.
You remember me saying that friends and neighbors bring me their cast offs? Last month a neighbor brought me this. Don't know where I'm going to put it. Not the best thing for a shady gardener. I'll be thinking about this for a while.
Actually, I should put it right beside this bench. DSO never wears a watch and is always losing track of time. Least he'd have a clock to look at. Nope, the grass guy would be moving it and the time would always be wrong. It definitely has to go in a flower bed so as not to have to be always adjusting it.
This message was edited Jun 3, 2009 3:15 AM
That same neighbor came by today and gave me this wonderful thing. She bought it at a yard sale over the weekend and then found it wouldn't work for her. Actually she had a little plant on it and liked it, but her beagle kept playing with it and knocking the plant over. Isn't it cute? It's all metal.
Here's a side view. OK, now I'll have to go rummaging down in the basement to see if I have a doll that will fit on it. Things like this stay here for 6 months or so before some visiting child becomes enthralled and just has to take it home.
Speaking of always needing adjusting, for some reason people are always knocking this off kilter. Then they can never figure out how to reset it. Guess I should find a better spot for it.
Okay, the angel is history. LOL
I would think you'd plant ivy in those topiary forms. Aren't they the coolest things?
It looks like the article I quoted above is calling for using wax as an alternative to paint. I'm sure you could use it on top of paint too because that's what my father always did. It certainly would protect the piece either way.
The spray I was talking about doesn't convert to paint. It's a primer and not meant to be used alone. You would clean off loose rust, spray with this stuff, after it converts you'd paint it. If you don't do something about the rust before you paint it, it's just going to bubble up with new rust under the paint. It's not something made by Rustoleum that you'd find in the spray paint section. I've only seen it in the auto section or auto parts store.
http://www.gemplers.com/product/RCQ/Rust-Converter-One-Quart (what I've gotten was in a spray can, not a paint on)
http://www.gemplers.com/video/rust and a handy dandy how to video
Hart, Do you remember the type of wax your dad used? I will have to look in the store for that primer. Thanks for the link.
I wouldn't want to introduce Ivy into any of my beds. I will look for some other ideas.
Maybe that swing needs a rubber or plastic frog on it. How about a prince frog with a crown???
Do you plant the ivy in the ground? I thought you used spagnum moss and just planted it in the topiary form. I don't know why you couldn't use anything that will grow fast and can be pruned to keep the shape. Maybe the forms come with instructions. How about some of the short thymes?
He always used paste wax and for metal stuff he used car paste wax, mostly just regular Turtle Wax paste but there are better waxes. The ones with a lot of carnuba are the best. I wouldn't use the stuff you don't buff or any kind of liquid. It's liable to do something funky in the sun.
You got some really cute cast-offs, Stormy.
Maybe save the angel for the next swap someone will take it.
My friend Jane, that some of you met at the swap, has a topiary dog it's a basenji. She use to own a Basenji and her DH got it for her one year at Christmas. Come to think of it I'm not sure how she planted it. I'll have to check it out and maybe get a pic tomorrow.
Ric and I along with Buttoneer and Jane & DH and the rest of our HGHA were on a tour of La dew Topiary Gardens last week. I have some very nice pics and will post a thread with them as soon as I get a chance.
Holly I read that as " she used her own Basenji"
I was about to say "ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!"
lol
I've never heard of that breed. Hart, when you wrote that this am, I searched DG and found a thread about making them. They are grown either in peat, with potting soil inside of the peat or just planted in the ground and vines trained by tying.
The posters all agreed that either method is very laborious and the final result is rarely satisfactory. Apparently, the peat method is never uniformly moist and there are bare and dead spots. The other method often does not produce enough shoots to uniformly cover the creature. OH Well, it looked good!
Also, I saw some other threads where folks were talking about treating their garden objects with UV resistant marine boat clear cover paint. My problem as a shady gardener is more rust and mildew than fading.
Maybe something drought tolerant like sedums or the thyme would work better with the peat? Oh, well.
I used marine finish on a wooden sign I made years ago for the pavilion my dad built and that sign was still okay years later. Gosh, that pavilion was so Daddy. Mom just wanted a simple shade structure to put the picnic table under. He built a fancy screen house with two ceiling fans, a full sized refrigerator, a bathroom with toilet and sink, a larger picnic table he built and finished with a better finish than you find on most fine furniture, cabinets, a kitchen sink and a stove, although the stove was an antique wood cookstove they bought at an antique shop years before. He never did anything by halves.
We still use that pavilion every summer for family get togethers and reunions and Mom's birthday party. Sorry for the digression. I guess it is a garden object of the largest kind. LOL Here's a photo that shows the side of it several years ago. That's my daughter, her husband and my oldest granddaughter when she was about 2.
Jen , LOL
I talked to my friend Jane and she told me that she planted 4 small boxwoods at each foot of her dog frame and they are growing very well and filling out the frame nicely. It's not ready to have pic taken yet, she wants it to fill out more around the face area and she has some clipping to do. I will post pics of it later when I can.
I deceided to start a discussion on Topiary had it all set to post in the MA Fourm and changed my mind. I put it out in the Garden Talk Forum. I'm going to post some of my pics from the Ladew Gardens. Please join me over there if you are interested.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/997862/
OK Guys, This is just too funny!
Hart, your dad just wanted to make your mom happy. You're right, that is one massive garden object!! A lasting legacy from dad. Many folks used to build those summer type of kitchens in their yard. Suppose it was the precursor to the grandiouse alfresco setups of today. Not many of the ones today have bathrooms unless there's a pool house involved.
Thanks Holly, I'll check out your Topiary thread.
Actually, they built summer kitchens because they didn't have air conditioning and they could cook without making the house hot. It was the same reason they often had a separate washhouse too.
The pavilion is great - big enough for the whole gang at the big family reunions and cool and shady with no bugs. It won't be too lasting though. Mom wants to sell the house, which Daddy also built and where we all grew up and they lived from the day they were married, for commercial use. So one of these days, when she decides to go ahead and sell, everything will be torn down along with my grandparents' house next door, which my grandfather built. I don't think she can stand the idea of someone else living there.
Love the Betty Boop begonia. LOL
Hart, You have just christened my no ID plant! "BBB"! Don't you just love it when you pay full price for a nice plant at a regular nursery and they don't have the name of the item?
The BB Begonia is what I had in the white urns in my bed. The road wind was just too hard on their lovely leaves. So I found these "Bonfire" Begonia. For some reason I always put a type of Begonia in these pots.
This is the Bench that is going to take a lot of work. It is at the back of my garden path. It gets hit from 2 sides with sprinklers. I love to sit on this bench especially in the spring. It gives me a clear view of both of my big beds and those on 2 sides of the house. I think I am going to look into some of that Marine clear finish for it. Sanding it will be a big job. Also,the color is hard to find. I've only been able to find small cans of rustoleum in a brush on, not spray.
Stormy, I got marine clear finish for putting on my front porch floor from an online store called jamestown distributors
www.JamestownDistributors.com. They were very helpful in giving me advice on how to apply it - haven't done it yet, but it is on my ever expanding, never ending "to do list" LOL. terri