Friday, January 2, 2009

Decorations from and for the Garden

Do you remember my little wheelbarrow Mr. Fix-it built for the garden way back when? Well, it is still in the garden and still giving me lots of pleasure. During the summer the wheelbarrow held a bunch of Boston ferns. Now that they are packed away for the winter I decided I could do a little something different with the wheelbarrow in the form of outside garden decorations.

While cleaning the garden I found many usable plants that either had a great texture, great color, or both, that would work well together in this wheelbarrow. The materials I used here are: helianthus 'Maximillian' (the bunch of gray stalks on the left), PeeGee hydrangea blooms, Nandina berries, and a couple of gourds. All of these materials will last well in the garden and in the elements, so why not join them together in a bouquet for the wheelbarrow or wagon or basket or anything thing you have in the garden?

Some other garden materials you can use for decorations include: pine cones and pine or spruce boughs, camellia leaves and branches, corn stalks, ornamental grass blooms, coneflower and brown eyed Susan spent blooms, stones, seashells, honeysuckle or crabapple berries, sedum heads, silverberry branches, evergreen branches, pawlonia seed heads, and sunflower heads. This list is not all inclusive. Let your imagination guide you when designing bouquets outside.....

in the garden....

33 comments:

  1. Oooooh that's a good idea Tina. I have a little wheelbarrow by my front door which has a dead plant in it at the moment. I can feel a need for a makeover project coming on :)

    Happy New Year!

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  2. Good morning Tina, your wheelbarrow is so cute and you have filled it nicely with seasonal decor. Good recycling! There are always interesting finds in the garden, and pretty rocks and stones are everywhere. Happy new year to you too, my friend!
    Frances

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  3. Too cute and so right! The journey to gather is half the fun.

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  4. Tina, I love your arrangement. The wheelbarrow is just wonderful!

    Cameron

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  5. Looks great Tina. That's a great idea to use the spent blooms and berries for your wheelbarrow!

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  6. Good Morning All,
    Tina I love your little wheel barrow. What a lovely way to use material from you garden. That extends their life & gives you beauty from them in another way.
    I've always wanted one of those old time wheel barrows to set in the yard with flowers in it.
    Have a great day all.

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  7. When I first looked at the picture I thought the gourd was a stuffed goose! It looks very cute, pee gee blooms get me every year, they are just right for drying.

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  8. VP, No time like the present-have fun!

    Frances, Thanks! I had a lot of fun with this and it of course holds up well. The new year is off to a really good start-garden day today! And yesterday too!

    Helen, Thanks! It was fun and a way to showcase to others what you can do with garden 'things'.

    Cameron, Thanks! Those nandina berries really add color this time of year.

    Dave, Thanks!

    Lola, Thanks! This wheelbarrow was so easy and Mr. Fix-it made it with stuff we had laying around. You can make one too-just adapt it to your needs.

    Dawn, I checked those two gourds yesterday and they are nearly dry-drying MUCH better than the ones in the garage. Go figure.

    You all have a great day-it is perfect here for gardening so you know where I'll be...

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  9. What a great idea! I always leave a few spent things on for the birds, never thought of using them for garden decorations, but love the thought for a winter garden!

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  10. What a lovely dried arrangement for the garden. I usually just leave them on the plants, but your wheelbarrow full of spent blooms is a great idea!

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  11. I love those balck-eyed susan seed heads. My assistant at work will be all over this idea.

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  12. What a great idea Tina! I may have to do something similar next year with my Wishing Well since I dont have a little wooden wheel barrel.

    Cloudy, cold, dreary day here in Georgia. I took the Living room tree down yesterday and today the Saint is playing around with the furniture arrangement with the TV being the focal point. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with. He has no since of style and I am sure it will be a hoot to see what he has in mind… tee hee….

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  13. Linda, Thanks! I can see some fun things in the area where you had all the coleus growing. I seem to remember you have a wheelbarrow too? My memory may be failing. I am thinking of putting some bird food in here too to see if they come visit it.

    Racquel, I had so many blooms and garden things that I thought why not? They are made to last outside anyhow. Try it out-especially with the hydrangeas. Great fun!

    Wayne, It would be a great idea to work with the children to come up with something creative. I bet they'll have good ideas-your assistant too.

    Skeeter, Yup, your wishing well would be perfect to fill up with garden bounty. I can even see some corn out there for the deer. And drat-I forgot to leave you a penny in it too. Next time I guess. The Saint will come up with something-give him credit! And btw, the Jimster has picked out his graduation gift-just a mere $3500! Ha! We get off cheap I guess!

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  14. Great idea for a 'dried' flower arrangement. And your little wheelbarrow is the perfect vase.

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  15. Hi, Tina! You are so crafty and creative--what a great idea for brightening a winter garden. I hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration (you were headed for the hot tub, right?) I lost at both Blackjack AND horseracing, but it was fun anyway.

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  16. Mr. Fix-It and you make a great decorating team, Tina. I can see lots more projects done together in the very near future...

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  17. What a great idea. You will have your year round flowers even if nothing else blooms this month. The paint job is great also. You are so good at painting and really should get back into at some point.

    We have not been home very long as we went to eat and I went to BJ'S and then did a couple of stops when back in Brunswick. Christy looked so cute when standing in the security line with her army uniform and boots on. She is so short and has those little tiny feet that I am sure some people wondered what that "kid" was doing in that clothing. She stuck out like a sore thumb. There were 2 others going to the same AIT school on her plane.

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  18. Hello,
    What a sweet looking wheelbarrow. The arrangement you created for it is lovely and I can just imagine how pretty it must be with live ferns spilling out of it.

    Happy new year!

    Karrita

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  19. Tina, Hello...Your Mr is very handy and crafty. You are also and I do like the wheel barrow. It adds color when we need it most. Did I hear Frances say to add rocks? If you need some let me know, we have a few at Clay and limestone! Wasn't the day scrumptious?

    gail

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  20. Beckie, Thanks! Flower arranging is not my thing but why not?

    Cosmo, Hey you! Hope you are having a blast in sunny Arizona! Mr. Fix-it and I did not make it to the hot tub Wednesday, but it is cranked up for tonight. We were working on computers-or he was at least. I was just hanging out. We did, amazingly enough see the new year in. Sounds like you had fun-sure hope you didn't lose too much-you need to get back to VA don't you?:)

    Walk2Write, That is so very soon! He'll be done with that recruiting job soon and we'll be creating a lot. Him in the garage, me in the garden. He should do a blog called "In the Garage"-wouldn't that be cute? I told him but he does not write and doesn't read and no blogging either! We are working on a project together right now. I'll post on it much later. Glad to hear your hubby is doing better. Now he should not get a cold for about two years since this one was so rough.

    Mom, I hope to get back into painting. My first project will be a landscape of the house. Someday maybe when I can't get outside as much. I still have all my paints from Nana. Those suckers are expensive in stores! I am glad they hold well. Sigh, someday. Glad Christy got off well. I spoke with her last night when I called. She is tiny. Even my tiny boots would not fit her feet. She'll have fun. Can't believe there were two others going to Texas with her! It gives her a headstart on meeting folks. Glad she got off okay. It would not do to have a snowstorm at this time.

    Karrita, Hello and welcome! Your blog is so awesome. My sister also does Etsy and handmade. Not ceramics though. I like how you combined ceramics AND the garden. So lovely. And thanks for the very nice comment about my little wheelbarrow.

    Gail, Today was just TOO awesome. I just came in and got quite a few loose ends tied up since it is going to rain tomorrow. Do you know I JUST finished planting all my bulbs? Too too late this year. I am a bit worried about all this warm weather. If the buds come out too far we'll have a repeat of the freeze of 2007. We are okay now but hopefully it will get cold and stay fairly cold for the next three months. You see it wasn't the freeze perse, so much as it was the warm spells. As much as I like them they do not bode well for the garden. Anyhow, I will keep in mind your offer for rocks. Frances is quite crafty and it was a good suggestion. I hope the way back garden redo is going well. You take care. Talk with ya tomorrow.

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  21. Happy New Year Tina, to you and your family. I'm sorry I've been away from the web a lot lately but I am trying to get back in a groove. I have been thinking of you though :)
    I love that wheelbarrow and the fact that you change the contents seasonally is great.

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  22. Christy called around 8:45 our time and she was at the base in her bay and having a good time. She is talking to 3 people she went to basic with, among others. You know Christy, she'll talk to em all. She said it was HOT. With our cold spell, just about anything would feel hot.

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  23. Cindy, You take your time and spend it with your family. I wouldn't want it any other way! Never be sorry for not blogging or talking so much. If you are, then it takes away all the fun and it must be fun, but always second to your family. Okay? Fair enough? Trust me it is okay. I am thinking of all my friends too and wishing you the best!

    Mom, So glad Christine got in ok! No delays on that flight I guess. She'll have a ball. Dad was wondering why they did not allow her to take her truck with her. I don't think Christine has ever been to Texas, I know I haven't. I wonder if she is excited?!

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  24. She was looking forward to AIT and going to Texas but not overly excited. She was overly excited when she called. in fact, so much going on she hung up twice, saying she'd call right back. Third time is a charm as we got to talk and then she was going to call Heather as Sandra had told her Heather was so soad she would not talk to anyone. But Heather talked as much as ever whe she has her earplugs in to her i-pod. No, Christy has never been to Texas. I have been twice but only to Austin and surrounding areas and Texas is a bit state. Going to bed now. Very tired tonight.

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  25. Whoops, left out a space and the s on sad when talking about Heather.

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  26. That's so cool. It adds a distinguishing touch to your garden. It's so fun to have garden props!

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  27. Christine will love San Antonio! The River Walk is amazing!

    The TV arranging is not working out but now the Saint wants to go to Sears for something. He was on the computer for a bit yesterday as I napped and caught up on overdue sleep so now I wonder what he has in mind.

    Ah, so now you have an incentive to keep those grades up for the Jimster! If it worked for the Saint, it should work for the Jimster as well. Maybe you need a wishing well to collect pennys for the pay off... tee hee...

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  28. Hi Tina~
    Thanks for your visit! Your kind words and enthusiasm put a smile on my face today! I'd love to know of your sister's etsy shop? and if she gardens too? I want to do feature interviews, on my blog, about other gardeners who etsy. Do you think she'd be interested?

    Happy day to you!

    Karrita

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  29. Hi again Karrita, I am so glad I put a smile on your face. It is always a nice thing to do for someone. I do comment a lot so if you like that, then you should smile a lot too:) My sister's blog and link to her etsy is on my sidebar. She is Dawn at C and G Design and a guest poster on my blog. You two should get together. Your blog overlaps with the garden AND craft blogs. She is more in the craft blog community but also gardens and hence the guest posts on my blog. She is in Maine. Do check her out. I have thought of doing etsy for crafts for the garden. More of pots and concrete things like marker stones, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. She was advising me and likes her etsy quite a bunch. It is a big deal I know. Gee, here I am posting this on my blog and I thought I was on yours. Ha! Too funny-bit scattered today I am thinking.

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  30. Mom, It's okay-I can't even imagine all the typos I have when I comment. I am mortified if I go back to read my comments so I usually don't. Glad when I do so I can fix the errors but it is understandable.

    Chandramouli S. Thanks! You know those garden props are fun!

    Skeeter, Have fun shopping...

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  31. Very clever idea, Tina; I like your arrangement. Other than Christmas decorations, I don't do much outside in the winter. An arrangement like this would add a welcoming touch to the garden.

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  32. Thanks Rose, So glad you like my little wheelbarrow. Folks on the highway in front of the house have a pretty good view, that is if they ever slow down to the speed limit:)

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  33. I have yet to take my red ornaments (the non-shatter kind) off the holly trees. Can't imagine what I was thinking. Tying all those ornaments up there. Not even thinking what a pain it was going to be getting them down!
    Brenda

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