Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Garden Art and Garden Junk

I have several pieces of art in my garden, but most of them are not really well integrated, because there's not enough plants for them to be integrated into. So they kind of stick out. They all came from my old garden.

My Green Man looks nice on my new fence, I think.
He looks a bit weary, do you think he's sick of the cold, wet Spring too?

In the mostly native area, where I have two bird houses that I hope will attract a nice bird family, I have a bird lady. Her face is made of feathers.
I think of her as the birdie guardian angel (although I also think she's just a little creepy)

My toad house looks good too, tucked into some plants near one of the big rocks. I've never seen any toads in it, though.

My Gardener Minnie Mouse needs some plants to hide in.

This leaf casting that I bought last year is surrounded by Lady's Mantle which will eventually grow up around it and soften the edges.

These hangings look OK on the side of my windowless shed, I think they give it a little character.

This Face on a Stick was a gift from my son many years ago.

But I need to find a better spot for him.

My Welcome sign keeps getting blown off the fence, even though it's heavy slate, and sits beside the gate amongst the shards that break off each time it falls.

I bought this crow at the NWFGS. He's taken up residence on the porch.
My husband says his name is Ciscrow -- named after Ciscoe Morris.

This metal duck, a gift from a friend, sits in the stream.

I recently made a handful of these little bottle vases to hang on the fence, using the off-cuts from when the fence was built. I plan to fill them with water and little bouquets from the garden.

Everything is fairly tasteful and low-key.

In my previous garden, for a while I had some very colorful art, mostly stuff that I made myself from items bought at the thrift store.

A few candle-holders with a teacup glued to the top.


I made a birdbath by turning a glass vase upside down and gluing a crystal bowl to it. Scattered some red half-marbles in it. I never saw any birds at it. I had outdoor cats then, and they used to drink from it.
For a while I was active at the Garden Junk forum at GardenWeb, and totems were all the rage, made from various thrift store bits and pieces glued together.

These two sat beside my pond.




 I also made plant stands using an old lamp, with a hanging basket (sans chain) attached to the top.


Not much of my Garden Junk came with me when we moved here to Washington. I gave most of it away on craigslist, including these two lamp plant stands, which was probably a smart move, since the only thing that the movers broke when we moved here was a lamp! In the Massachusetts climate, everything needed to be dragged back inside in the winter, and it got to the point where I practically needed a second house to hold all the junk in the off-season.

I did like these plant stands, though. Maybe I'll make a new one for my patio.

But first I have to make a bottle tree. I've been saving bottles for a bottle tree since before we moved. In fact, when my son came to help me get ready for the move, he noticed that the movers had packed two big boxes in his room, and on the side it said just "empty wine bottles." He was amused by that.




Nekkid bottle tree (my summer project)

 I have quite a few things that I'm storing in my shed that I need to find a spot for in the garden.

Gargoyle

Birdhouse -- do you think any birds would actually nest here?

Fairy wall/fence hanging -- definitely needs some vines around it

I bought these arches several years ago, thinking I would incorporate them into an arbor I was going to build. I was a heck of a lot more ambitious (and younger) back then.
Hmmm...what can I do with these?

Any thoughts?