A Candle Holder for the Garden

A few weeks ago I happened to be in an antique store (I'll bet you didn't see that coming!) when I stumbled across this rusted old candle holder. It was only 5 dollars and I thought that it had some potential. If I cleaned it up and repainted it I could put it on our front porch during the growing season with some LED candles. I haven't added much garden art to the garden as of yet but I thought this would serve to add some light and atmosphere to our front porch.

So after a little bit of sanding with steel wool and a coat of metallic paint here's what emerged from the rusted old candle holder:

Not too bad for $5 and a can of spray paint!

How do you like to add light to your garden?

A Touch of Whimsy in the Garden

This month's Garden Design workshop at Gardening Gone Wild is all about Whimsy in the Garden. Unfortunately my garden is not the most whimsical that you will find, in fact far from it. My sense of whimsical garden implements dodges the garden gnomes and household items that other gardeners are prone to plant amongst the hostas and heucheras. Truthfully there are very few whimsical ideas lurking underneath our foliage but I can tell you that my whimsical senses would venture toward the more mystical gazing balls and dragon statuaries. In my mind I have the perfect place to for a dragon statue near the 'Dragon's Blood' sedum, although I'm not sure what my wife would think of that! Some whimsical elements will eventually wind up in our garden but for now the whimsy you are about to see in this post is in my mother-in-law's garden.

From the vegetable garden to the flower beds each has a little element of whimsy for the casual observer to see. Inlaid in the natural stone wall surrounding the vegetable garden is a stone that reads "Grandma's Garden Grandpa's Weeds."

Here are grandpa and grandma themselves sitting next to Tennessee Volunteers birdhouse. Yes here in Tennessee you must have a bit of orange in the garden!

Among the many statuettes in her gardens is this little dachshund. It represents their little dog Molly.


In another spot is this toad house. I'm not sure that anyone lives here but perhaps Mr. Toad is off taking a wild ride, you never know!


Stone birdbaths make great additions to a garden. Aside from the structural element they provide birdbaths attract birds by giving them a place to bathe on a hot summer day. Beneath the birdbath is another statue, this time of three children. Again this one represents something from her life, her three children.

Sometimes planters can look very whimsical as is the case with this turtle.

No need to fear these bunnies taking a nibble on the hostas.

Here are the ducks playing in the mulch.

Squirrels have a place in the garden also, as long as they aren't rooting up the garden looking for acorns.


Hmm...kissing in the garden are we?

Slow and steady. Although slower than most other breeds of turtle the stone turtle can be a welcome addition to the garden. They are fairly docile and don't eat m(any) plants while they quietly make their home beneath the shade of the perennials.

There's a touch of whimsy from my mother-in-law's garden. I'll show the whimsy in my garden later in the week!

Wind chimes for Whimsy

There are very few gardens I know of that don't have some sort of wind chime.  Wind chimes add an extra audio element to the garden as well as a touch of whimsy.  There is quite a variety of wind chimes to choose from out there and it all depends on what you like.  Recently Windchimesonline.net sent me three bamboo wind chimes to test and review.  Each wind chime is different in very unique ways.

The first one I examined was the whisper pattern 16 inch wind chime.  The bamboo chimes are carved with a unique pattern and the tone sounds deep, rich, and resonant. Of the three wind chimes I tested I enjoyed the sound from this one the most.

The second wind chime was decorated with an elaborate cardinal.  This was my daughter's favorite.  When she first saw it she said "The Steelers beat the Cardinals!" (I'm raising her right!) The cardinal is hand painted and if you don't like cardinals they have several other types of bird wind chimes. The tone was in the middle range of the three tested. 

The third wind chime, and my favorite of the three, was a bobbing head wind chime in the shape of a crane or heron. This wind chime is unique in its simple yet clever design.  As the wind blows it moves a small tail that pulls a rod attached to the bird's head.
The bird's head then moves up and down and follows the breeze. It's very nifty as it is something you can listen to and watch. It doesn't seem to make as much sound as the others since there are only three chimes but its bobbing head makes up for it!

All three of these wind chimes are made from bamboo which makes a softer more subtle sound than a metallic wind chime and is perfect for any tranquil garden setting. I was outside trimming on the rosemary bushes in the front of our house and listening to the chimes in the breeze.  It made a for a pleasant experience. I was most impressed with the workmanship on the bobbing head crane wind chime. The rope was attached in a way designed to appear like the bird's feet and legs.

Each chime includes the care instructions necessary to keep your wind chime looking good throughout the seasons. They recommend to keep the wind chime out of any direct afternoon sun and to wash it occaissionally with mild soap and water. Anything outside weathers over time and they recommend to add a coat of varnish to the bamboo to keep it looking its best each year.

If you're considering a new wind chime to add some whimsy from the wind you should give Windchimesonline.net a try. They have some unique designs.  Which one works best for you depends on what you like.  If you want a deep, rich, and resonant sound find one with longer chimes.  If you want something as a novelty to add whimsy to your garden check out the bobbing head wind chimes. And if you like the Cardinals, they have one just for you!

From the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show 2011

I think it's important for anyone interested in gardening to visit the local garden shows every now and then. Nashville's Lawn and Garden Show was this past weekend and I stopped up to pay a visit. Overall it was a nice show but I have to say I wasn't as impressed with it as I was last year. The display gardens of last year seemed more creative and unique while the vendor selection was a little better. Most likely it's because of our current lackluster economy. Despite that fact there were still a few things that I found worthy of mentioning - and a for taking a few pictures!

The Gardens of Babylon had this demonstration garden set up for aquaponics. Aquaponics is a growing system that uses fish and plants together to sustain each other. The fish water feeds the plants which helps them to grow.

Espalier displays could be seen in several areas. Espalier is a very cool pruning technique but I have to say it takes more time to do it properly than I would be willing to spend. It would definitely be worthwhile for someone with just a little gardening area who wanted to grow fruit trees.

There were lots of water features.

Many of the display gardens featured edible plants. In this picture there are several kinds of spring vegetables.

Need a new ornament to add to your front garden? Why not try this big head made from carved wood? Bring that Easter Island feel to your garden! I would put one in but then my neighbors would just say that I had a big head...

If you're crazy about eights you might try growing your vegetables in a figure 8 planting bed! Who 8 the garden?

Hydrangeas were popular at the show. So were the evergreens.

I liked how this garden with the Japanese maple spilled out from the stone bed and poured out the tulips.  The stone walkway was a nice feature as well.

Of all the water features I thought the following two were the most creative. This first one was made from several hypertufa leaf castings put together into a multi-tiered fountain.

This other water feature was actually built into a rustic table. The water spilled out from the side of the table into a small pool with a few water plants.

It was a good show but not as strong as in the past. When I go to a garden show I expect to see something new, something creative, or something very unique and I really didn't get that feeling this year. If you want to see a list of the display gardens and who made them you should check out the display garden page.

What was the most unique garden display you've observed at a garden show?