Garden Art - Make it Personal

Savannah Bird Girl in my garden

After spending some years working on my garden by adding and rearranging plants, I decided to amp things up a bit by introducing some art. Sculpture, attractive stepping stones, amusing junk displays, and other man made items personalize your garden by creating a space that reflects your interests. 

My first little statue, found in a catalog, was a replica of the Savannah Bird Girl that was featured on the cover of one of my all time favorite books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (John Berendt 1994). So maybe the famous Bird Girl no longer graces Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery, but a smaller version stands in my yard, a testament to my love for birds and novels.

Glass Flower

But not all garden art costs money. Or at least some garden art can be had for very little. My friend, Leola, has created some lovely glass flowers from cups and saucers, bowls, and candle holders that she picks up at thrift shops. When the real flowers start to fade, these glass flowers hold the spirit, catch and reflect sunlight, and are just plain pretty.

I like to place certain items inside shrubs, or under trees, almost hidden from view to add a whimsical surprise. I found a ceramic doll head at a thrift store and just knew she would wind up tucked between some evergreen boughs. She reminds me of a faerie peeking out of the greenery, an elvish face studying on passersby. I figured that few would even notice her, which somehow made her more interesting to me. Well, someone did notice her. They stole her. I wonder where she is now and hope she found a good home. She'd become a bit weathered and her hair had gone ratty. I still miss her and am glad that I took a photograph.

Garden Art - Doll Head

 A young friend of mine made this attractive piece from salvaged bathroom tiles, rebar, and chain. The piece hangs on the edge of the garden, sometimes obscured by plants, but revealed when the growing season passes and in Spring when this picture was taken.

Garden Art made of salvaged material

The books in the bike basket below is spewing water. If you look at the right side of the book pile, you may notice water dribbling down. Now, I hate the idea of ruining books but this is one original idea!

I love how this looks like plants growing in a pot. Actually, the pot, one that I loved, a gift from my mother, broke in half. I could not part with it, so upended it in the soil to mimic a standing container. The plants are growing in the ground, but seem to burst out of a container that is much too small. I like containers but hate the constant watering. Using salvaged material is a great way to add interest and a bit of humor into a garden design.

Container that is not a container

I would not want to use this lovely mosaic stepping stone to actually step on, so have set it on the edge of a garden. Mosaics like these are simple to make using concrete and broken tiles. Craft stores offer kits that you can try out to see if you enjoy creating your own unique stepping stone. It's best to bring them indoors for winter storage.

Mosaic Stepping Stone

Upended bottles used to edge gardens, hanging unusual objects from tree limbs, incorporating architectural salvage as an art form - you can create a personal space in your own back yard. You can add one or two art objects, or go wild and turn the place into one whole art piece. And when you think to yourself, that there is no place like home, you will be right. 

Collections - The Sentimental Value of Children's Books

Vintage childrens' books

Somehow, I accidentally own a collection of old children's books. Some were mine when I was a child; others given as gifts. 

Some are in poor condition and some are nearly pristine. 

The collection is not an investment, nor am I a collector who appreciates the value of old books. These are sentimental items. I love the illustrations and graphics, the adventure, and the old fashioned values. I appreciate how we've changed and old stereotypes seem far-fetched and absurd.

Vintage Bobbsey Twins

Often, children are drawn into the habit of reading by series books. For me, it was the Bobbsey Twins. This old copy of The Bobbsey Twins: Merry Days Indoor and Out by Laura Lee Hope (Grosset and Dunlap, New York, 1904) offers a view of a bygone era when people rode in horse drawn sleighs and happy children yelled things like, "Hurrah!"

If you are not familiar with the Bobbsey Twins, they were two sets of fraternal twins with Nan and Bert the elder set, both sensible and adventurous; and Flossie and Freddie the younger, a bit silly and wild. 

As I paged through the book, I found one page featuring Dinah, the African American cook who ran the house and assisted in all aspects of the lives of the famous twins:

"Well I declare to gracious!" she exclaimed. "If yo chillun ain't gone an' mussed up de floah a'gin!"

"Bert broke my boiler," said Freddie and began to cry. One must wonder - where is Mrs. Bobbsey and what is she doing? What the heck is a boiler and why is a kid playing with a boiler? 


The Bobbsey Twins at Home, circa 1916, is filled with chestnut hunting orphans, a staged train hold up for the "moving pictures, children lost in lumber yards (where they like to play), and grown-ups leaving 5 year olds to tend boiling sugar. Times were different then.

I remember reading an old Hardy Boys book to the boys where folks are shocked by the sudden appearance of a woman wearing pants. Villains  were swarthy foreigners, and all the brats were red haired boys. The boys got a kick out of the way life was presented in the past. It gave them a little window into history, the way people looked at the world. Vintage stories can feature uncomfortable stereotypes. They can appear mawkishly sentimental.  Sometimes it was a wonderful world, where kids ran wild with a freedom most kids just don't experience today. Sometimes it was ridiculous.

I hold these books with tenderness. Most of the original owners of these old books are long dead, children who took these books to bed at night, or read them on the porch on a summer afternoon. Some of these books could not stand up to another read. They have cracked spines. They've been read to death. They've been loved.

Old children's books can be found for next to nothing at yard sales and thrift shops. They may be found in your grandmother's attic, or tucked away in a forgotten corner of your own home. They can be found in the way that you live as you suddenly find your favorite hobby or interest presented in one of these old stories. They can be found in your dreams. They live in your heart.

Hutch Display for Collections

Keeping the same objects in the same place in your home for a long period of time renders those items invisible. Favorite pictures and decorative items seem to disappear into familiarity. Thinking of this and looking at my hutch that held the same old antique glassware for seven months, I decided it was time for a change. 

Usually, I like to introduce floral, pinks and green dishware for Spring; blue and white for Summer, and woodsy themes in green and brown for Fall. Now it's time for something new. 

 

Why not display an unusual collection of organic objects, interspersed with old metal, glass bottles, and a few candles for a bit of variety! I like to decorate my living room like a personal mini-museum, like a Victorian cabinet of curiosities. It  makes sense to group these objects together. 

I walked around the house with a box, filling it with shells, coral rock, antlers, a handmade wooden spoon (made from my dead Japanese maple tree), shoe lasts, artisan tile, a bottle brush bear from the Adirondacks, the thrown out spigot handle from the historic home of someone I admire; and a few fossils that I found at Calvert Cliffs. Arranging the items was fun. The hutch now has a whole new look, with unique items gathered over the years. 

Every piece has a story behind it - the twig frame with my favorite camp-site view; a few old bottles that I found in a woods; a block of wood picked up on a beach; a little iron bird from my annual trip to Pennsylvania; a rock my son brought home from a beach in Denmark. The ice tongs are left over from the ice-box days, used to tote large chunks of ice. I found them in my grandfather's basement when he was downsizing. It's funny the things that people keep.

Latest Batch of Homemade Soap

Homemade soap

For my latest batch of homemade soap, I thought that I'd do something different. It's so easy to fall into the rut of sticking to proven winners, the ones that people request, or my own favorites. Of course, my favorites are the soaps I make with inexpensive essential oils. Occasionally, I splurge on patchouli or lavender for Christmas gift giving. 

Wintergreen, peppermint, and a splash of eucalyptus make a refreshing blend of scents. I wanted a deep green color so I added some green French clay and some kelp granules. I can't wait to try it! The soap needs to cure for at least one month. Meanwhile my bedroom, where I store it, smells wonderful.

Homemade soap

Though I usually like to experiment with color, I thought I'd leave this batch (below) alone and see how it looked without additional colors. Two ounces of anise give this soap a wonderful licorice scent. Up close in person, the soap is a bit whiter than it looks on here.

Homemade soap

For detailed instructions on how to make homemade soap, read my hub on how to make soap with Crisco by clicking here

A Simple Blue Garden Arch

I love my backyard garden and am always looking for ways to add an inexpensive special touch. An arch placed at the entrance seemed like a good idea to create the feeling of entering a room. You walk into the garden and leave your troubles at the door, moving into an area of serenity and relaxation.

Of course, I wanted to keep it simple and budget friendly. I purchased two ten foot 4 X 4s to use as side posts and two 2 X 8s for the top. Using a piece of stiff paper, I outlined a quick cutting guide, a simple curve, which I traced at each end of of the top cross beams. Then, using a jig saw, I cut the pieces.

I chose a cobalt blue stain because I find the combination of blue and the greens of garden foliage to be quite inviting. I stained the wood before securing it with screws. 

My sons helped me to set up the arch. First, I dug two deep holes. We sunk the side pieces into a combination of rocks and cement. 

I was very satisfied with the project. Then, on a trip to the National Arboretum in Washington DC, I spotted an arch that was quite similar and stained the same shade of blue! I love public gardens and often draw inspiration from visits to places like the National Arboretum as well as our local Cylburn Arboretum. Somehow, this time, I was one step ahead. Suddenly, I was no longer merely satisfied with my garden project, I was thrilled!

Portraits in Cheese

As an amature artist, I have struggled with painting or drawing the human face. Of course, I could attend art classes and learn how to do it right, but sometimes when the muse strikes, you just have to make do. 

I felt a pressing need to portray myself, as well as create a portrait of my handsome youngest son. All we had on hand at the time (this was at a party) were red napkins and that so called cheese that comes in a sort of spray can. Spray cheese, actually called Easy Cheese makes for a wonderful art medium.

          

 Here are the results of using this unique  method combined with the use of original art materials. It may seem like a waste of  food, but I don't think of spray cheese as actual food. In fact, there are probably few ingredients that qualify as what a  normal person would think of as food. The portrait of my son was so well   received that he used it for his Facebook avatar!   

And there am I, in cheese looking a lot like a self portrait I drew when I was about 12. Only then I used a pencil. 

Blue and White Dishware - Classic and Beautiful

Finlandia china

 I love blue and white dishware and collect without discrimination. I love it all - my old Victorian Flow Blue, the clean lines of Finlandia patterns (poor man's Royal Copenhagen), and rustic blue and white spatterware and spongeware.

There is something so clean and bright, a simple purity that speaks of home. Oscar Wilde once claimed that he feared he would never live up to his blue and white dishware. Old collectible Flow Blue can cost a fortune. Or you can find blue and white china for next to nothing at a thrift shop.

Blue and white are the colors of the sky, the sea, and the colors most associated with the Blessed Mother. Blue and white china reminds me of the sky on the most beautiful of days, when the weather is dry with a few clouds in the heavens, and the air is fresh and clean.

Transferware, developed in England in the late 1700s used a printing method to decorate dishware. Previously, dishes had been hand painted. The new method transferred ink from copper plates onto tissue paper which was applied to pottery. Quicker, cheaper mass production of transferred designs became popular with England's burgeoning middle class. Blue and white was the color combination of choice though other colors eventually included brown, cranberry, and mixed hues. Popular designs featured flowers, rural scenes, and souvenirs. The plate below depicts Franconia Notch in New Hampshire USA.
 

Blue and white souvenir transferware plate

Flow Blue

Antique  Flow Blue is a beautiful transferware china that originated by mistake in the early part of the 19th century. When the color ran ruining the pattern, sets were shipped to the United States where they caught on.

Tea cup with no handle - vintage Ridgway University pattern circa 1840s

 Early British tea cups had no handles. Though handles were common by the early 1800s tea cups without handles (like the one pictured above) were produced into the mid 19th century.

Old blue and white spatterware pitcher

Spatterware and spongeware refer to simple techniques of decorating pottery. Blue paint was spattered onto a piece creating an interesting design. Sponges could be cut into patterns and used to print a design on a surface. The stoneware pitcher above shows a spattered decoration. Here too, blue and white were the most popular color combination. 

Paperwhites -Beautiful White Flowers That Smell Bad

Paperwhites

Paperwhites are beautiful white flowers often grown indoors during the winter months. Grown before Christmas, they make an excellent holiday decoration. Grown to bloom after the holidays, paperwhites brighten up the winter doldrums with their promise of spring.

Members of the narcissus family of bulbs, paperwhites can be grown outdoors in warmer climates. But they make the biggest splash inside. Tall 12" - 18" stems produce tiny white bloom clusters (as pictured on right), that exude a distinctive aroma. So who put the stink in distinctive aroma?

Some sources claim  that the scent comes from a chemical called indole, a musky smell that up to 1/4 of the population find, frankly, putrid. So doesn't that make me feel special!

Now, some folks are offended by the smell of Oriental lilies. But I think that they mistake too much for too stinky. One or two Oriental lilies smell heavenly. More than that can be overwhelming so that the heady perfume becomes offensive. 

Paperwhites aren't like that at all. They just plain smell bad.

Will I attempt to grow them again? Sure! They are so beautiful that I am willing to forgive the stench.

Paperwhites are easy to grow. For most attractive results, plant an uneven number of bulbs, 5 or more.

•  Just place the bulbs in rocks, pebbles, or a loose growing medium like shredded coconut fiber. Plant bulbs very shallow, allowing 2/3 or 3/4 of the bulb to protrude above the growing medium.
• Add water, filling the container so that the water just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Maintain water level.
• Alcohol - some growers add 5% alcohol to the water. The alcohol (gin, vodka, whiskey) prevent the stems from becoming too leggy.
• Place potted bulbs in a cool dark place for 2 weeks or until sprouts grow 4" - 6" tall. (45 - 55 degrees F works well)
• Move container into a bright location at about 60 - 65 degrees F (a good reason to keep the thermostat turned down).
• Turn the container every day or so to help the plants grow straight (they will lean toward the light)

If you want to go all out and have a dramatic show, plant all the bulbs at once. Or you can stagger planting a few bulbs at a time for a longer lasting show. 

Paperwhites grown in this way are referred to as "forced." Forced blooms, in general, produce an attractive display, but create a weakened plant. Many people throw out the bulbs after the blooms have faded. 

Paperwhites stay in bloom for quite a long time. Remember to keep well watered.