Thursday, October 21, 2010

Glass In My Garden For Winter Interest and Bright Color



From In the Garden
I have come to the conclusion I am a glass lover-you think? It all started with the bottle trees and glass on glass mosaic doors and has now moved on to just plain old wine bottles and glass plates for my garden. Glass is one of those things that provides so much color and requires so little care other than taking caution to not break the glass of course; which I did recently:(

Well today is glass day and Glass Day comes at an opportune time. You see, the garden is beginning to slow down and turn brown. Soon, most of the plants will disappear for the winter. Once the plants are gone the glass in my garden takes center stage.
While my garden in no way resembles Chihuly at Cheekwood with its lovely glass sculptures I do have a few glass items here that I can enjoy all year round in my own garden. Let's start with one of the two glass mosaic doors pictured above. This particular glass mosaic sits outside my window and faces WSW. It catches all of the sun's rays perfectly and I have the greatest view of it from my kitchen window. It also looks pretty nice tucked into a garden and really makes a nice focal point along with the plants. This is a view of it facing east in the morning. I enjoy this view while in the garden early in the morning but I mostly look at this sculpture from inside the house behind the sculpture. This glass door is my main winter focal point for color. The other glass door is also visible from the house and faces west. It catches the sun wonderfully during the summertime but not so much in the winter when the sun is low. Nonetheless it too provides great color because no matter where the sun is located the doors look different all day long.

From In the Garden
Next up on Glass Day are a few new projects I just completed thanks to my daughter Christine. On her recent trip to Maine to pick up her household goods she picked up a couple of bikes from my parent's home. One of the two bikes was lovingly placed in my garden where it will remain permanently. The other bike lost its wheels to my western fence where it became a glass project. I had picked up some transparent glass plates at a few thrift stores and stuck them into the spokes on these wheels. I then stood the wheels up next to the fence and chained them to the fence to prevent them from falling over. The glass glows as it catches all available light and looks like shimmering stars when the sun sets behind these plates. It is a lovely view!

From In the Garden
I did not come up with this project on my own. I had clipped a picture of a wheel just like this from a recent issue of Fine Gardening. I thought it a great idea and a cheap one too! I think I'll try to get some more rims for my very long rear fence. It has been suggested to me that perhaps bicycle repair stores may have some extra rims they won't use or can't use which may be very cheap or even free. I hope so!

From In the Garden
This is a simple project in my new 'Non' Pool Garden. This grouping of bottles is 'planted' en masse and sure does add to the garden. I planted coneflowers all around the bottles; but they are small right now so not really visible. That is fine though because the bottles will provide year round interest and once the coneflowers grow up and come into bloom the whole area should be quite a sight!

From In the Garden
Normally I view my bottle tree from the house but on this day I was facing the house as the sun came up in the east. It made a lovely sight for me so I just had to add this view in to this post too. Glass is such an awesome material in the garden. It does not rot, rust, or fade away. It shimmers and sparkles and glows and makes me ever so happy-that is what gardening is all about right?

From In the Garden
Finally a view from the deck and house toward Mr. C's cow pasture. We have the most wonderful view of the sunset each night. As a bonus we get to enjoy the field and its cow pond. I love having cows for neighbors! Just had to say that. I've added to the view by placing my glass wheels and bottle tree in strategic positions on the boundary fence. This view tops almost all in the fall and winter and the glass really makes it a wonderful sight. It helps to keep me....

in the garden....

46 comments:

  1. What a great idea to have glass in your garden. It does reflect more beauty & for the winter time it will be awesome. You have some great ideas.
    I sure wish I could get out & find myself some goodies to put in my garden, small as it is. I do have to be careful as I don't {can't} do the mowing any more.

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  2. Hi Lola, You are up late. Me too-don't know why either. About time for bed I guess. Glass need not be fancy, just a bottle or two is fantastic for color and will make an even bigger impact in a small yard. P.S. Plan to mail you a box tomorrow.

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  3. Your bottle tree and glass wheels sure glow! Is that a heron sculpture at the fence, behind your bottle tree, or just a lucky photo?

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  4. Very nice...now you have sent glass ideas right into my brain.....thanks.

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  5. Tina,
    I just recently saw a bike wheel with multi colored plats inside it like yours! Are you going to build any bottle walls? Use concrete and cord stack the bottles, if you place then in the right place the bottles will light up in the sunlight. Next project? I've been collecting bottles for a while will start one soon.

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  6. I love glass in the garden too, and your pictures have inspired me to add more.

    In your last picture, there is a bird on the other side of the fence, is it carved wood?

    Thanks for sharing your colorful glass collection in your gardens Tina.

    Have a great day ~ FlowerLady

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  7. Good morning all! I should've mentioned the heron in my post but forgot it was even there. It is a concrete sculpture I picked up at the Crossville Flea Market a few years ago. It is in the perfect spot. I do have a picture with a blue heron behind it by the pond though-that was the very lucky picture.

    Garden Lily, Glad you like the glow-it is one of my favorite parts of the glass.

    Darla, I can just imagine!

    Randy, You maybe saw the same article as me on the wheels. I loved the idea! No, not building a concrete glass wall though I've seen them. I really don't have anywhere to put it here. Can't wait to see yours. Enlist some friends and I bet you'll get bottle really quick.

    FlowerLady, Glass has a way of collecting for sure. Can't wait to see what you add!

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  8. Wow, Tina, beautiful! I love those mosaic doors, have not seen anything like that before. And I like your single rebar/bottle "flowers" too. A nice accompaniment to the glass trees. But my very fave are those plate tires!! What a great idea. I love them close up and in that far shot glistening in the sun. How did you get the plates to stick? Some kind of adhesive?!

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  9. Tina, your garden is glowing with all these lovely glass sculptures. I love the bicycle wheels with glass plates!

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  10. Wow! At first I wasn't to crazy about the wheels of glass but they look wonderful lit up on the fence, multi-colored sound spectular too! Maybe I'll find a spot for something like that. I'm running out of room though, have to cut some trees down ;)

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  11. Very cool uses for glass! I really don't have much (unless you consider the glass windows on my shed!) but have thought about making a water feature with wine bottles.

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  12. Tina I love your rainbow-colored glass panel and the glass plates in the bicycle tires! They catch the light so beautifully!

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  13. I have always enjoyed the veiw from your deck or kitchen but oh my, the glass just enhances it so much. Awesome. I remember when about the only thing down by the cow pond was just the heron and I thought it was gorgeous then!!

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  14. I love how the light shines through the glass! Your gardens are gorgeous! Carla

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  15. They all look so beautiful filled with light! I especially love the panel. Great ideas! ;>)

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  16. The bike wheels with glass plates are phenomenal. You're almost making me want to get into glass! What a fantastic way to add winter interest Tina. Great post!

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  17. What a great idea that bike wheel is! I'm a big fan of bottle trees since seeing one at the beach. Alas, my husband is not a fan, so I don't have one in my garden. I'll have to be content to admire those in other gardens and yours is at the top of my admiration list right now!

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  18. Like other commenters, I love the bicycle wheel with the plates in it. I can do that, and it might even stay where I put it. Thank you so much for the terrific idea. Now I just need to gird my loins and go to a few thrift shops...not my favourite thing to do. I've long adored your glass door in the garden, too. Glass is a fabulous garden accent, indoors or out--the more colourful, the better, in my books.

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  19. Wow, talk about creative, you are oozing, Tina! A glass lover (though none in my garden, love how it captures the light), so appreciate your many talents.

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  20. Monica, I stuck the plates in between the spokes. A tricky business that is not fail safe as one of the plates fell out and broke:( Pretty easy to do though!

    Rose, Aren't they the coolest-and so easy.

    Dawn, The darker colored transparent plates show up better but those kinds of plates are hard to find for some reason. More trees down? You still have privacy though-in the woods in Maine-such a charming place to be.

    Dave, Can't wait to see what you come up with!

    Sweetbay, Yes indeed they do glow with the light-so nice in winter.

    Mom, Boy that is the perfect spot for that heron. The view has changed a bit but I think only improving and you know change is good:)

    Carla, Thanks!

    Carol, That panel is truly the masterpiece and so unique-I've made several and no two are alike. They sure do shine in the garden. Thanks so much for dropping by.

    Kathleen, I know you would have something truly vintage and truly wonderful if you put glass in your garden. It is a cool material to create with for sure.

    Ginny, Thanks so much! Glad you like my glass-enjoy it all and perhaps show your husband-who knows he might come around.

    Jodi, The glass would hold up well in your Canadian winters and perhaps give you some color? They are most easy to make. Your fall color viburnums are awesome!

    Joey, Thanks so much. Glad you like the glass.

    Tatyana, It is an awesome view and one I can never get enough of. Even at night with a full moon the pond is wonderful and the glass shines during the day.

    Everyone have a fabulous weekend!

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  21. I love it all! It's simply inspired and inspiring~I want to do more glass on glass myself! gail

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  22. You do seem to have an infinity for glass in your garden. I love that mosiac glass door, it really adds alot of color to the garden this time of the year. The bicycle rims with glass plates is so clever too. :)

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  23. What a fabulous idea! Rain or shine the glass is going to "bloom" for you all winter long. My wheels are a turning... :)

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  24. Glass adds so much sparkle and color to a garden. I love your projects and the bike wheel was so clever. I have seen the blue bottles before, but they are so great, they can be in just about any garden as garden art.The color is a standout.

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  25. Great ideas!! I really love the glass door! Will that freeze and crack in the winter? I had glass birdbaths mounted on spiral stands in my garden this summer that cracked when it rained on really hot days. It was so frustrating.:( Have you ever been to Venice to see their glassworks? I think you would really love the Venetian glass from Murano.

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  26. Hi TS, No, the glass doors have been outside nearly two years and so far so good. They have strong metal frames and are upright. No problems with moisture or rotting or freezing. Yes! I have been to Venice and do love Murano glass. I lived in Vicenza for a couple of months in a few years ago plus I've visited Italy many times. The glass is fabulous. I think I have a small piece because it was rather pricey-but beautiful. I also love the Italian pottery and have the Capodimonte porclain flowers. Do you know these? They were cheaper and so realistic-a part of the garden in the house all year long. Perhaps you needed a hard fired bird bath in order to withstand the temperature extremes? I can totally sympathize with you on the glass baths cracking-not fun at all!

    Everyone have a great weekend and I'm sitting here waiting for rain!!! That will make mine!

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  27. Wow, I love the way light shines through your glass bicycle wheels! I have never seen that done before. I like the way you have incorporated them into the fence. All of the glass objects do contribute some lovely color in your garden.

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  28. Tina girl you come up with the best ides with garden art ! I want more glass in my little garden to reflect light like that too ! It is so pretty no matter what time of the year but especially in winter ... especially for my winters !! LOL
    I am amazed at the bike wheel idea !
    You have me thinking girl : ) Thank you !!
    Joy : )

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  29. What a great idea for those bicycle wheel glass displays and how pretty they look in your garden along with the bottle tree Tina. I can only imagine how stunning they must look when the sun shines on them.
    In my garden I get a similar effect when the sun shines onto teh snow and ice :)

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  30. I like your bottle tree especially. I have glass balls in my garden already and it would be nice to try a new experimental bottle tree.

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  31. I KNEW you'd come up with something cool to do with that bike! How brilliant. No shortage of color in your garden, even when it's fading from the landscape.

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  32. It's an interesting idea. I like it. And need to think some more about how I could do this. :)

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  33. Hi Tina, I am awed by your glass projects. I think only someone with creativity and taste can pull that off with such great results - even if you say it's easy.

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  34. Tina,
    You are very artistic with your use of your glass in your garden. I really like that bike wheel! I am like a bird, I like shiny things too.
    Rosey

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  35. What great ideas you have! I love the mosaic door, it's so colorful. I can just picture the coneflowers growing around the bottles too.
    I love how the glass wheels and bottle tree are lit up from the sun, pretty!

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  36. I love the mosaic door. I'm still trying to figure out how you made it. I could use something like that is my garden.

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  37. Great ideas, Tina! The mosaic door is so colorful. You wouldn't think that Florida gets dull looking in the winter, but the northern part sure does. Maybe I need some sparkling glass to liven things up. I've been collecting wine bottles instead of recycling them like usual, but it's not for decorating. We've started making wine. The first batch was pretty good, nothing to brag about since we used a kit. One of these days I'll have enough fruit to make it from scratch.

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  38. Cool garden glass!

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  39. Tina I love what you've done with all of the glass and I especially love what you ended up doing with the bike wheel and the plates. How beautiful is that. I saw something online that I plan on doing next year - ran out of time this year. Taking green wine bottles and will trim the flower bed around my greenhouse. They should match just great! Can hardly wait to see them finished.

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  40. Bike wheels are cool alone.
    Must be pretty with the sun reflecting off the glass plates.

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  41. Very cool... the glass does make everything much brighter!

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  42. As Dawn, I was not too sure of the wheels at first sight but after seeing them from afar, I love them! Is there anyway Mr Fixit can attach them to the ground so they could spin in the wind? I think that would be totally awesome with the sun shining through....

    Wish I could have fit a visit to Tiger Gardens in this last go round but even though I was in town for 17 days, I was so busy and when not working and trying to enjoy myself, my mind was on what I needed to do next when I got back to the house. A bit stressful but now all is pretty much in place. My next visit to TN will hopefully, be a relaxing one....

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  43. Oh Tina, I love glass, too! Especially colored glass. I have quite a few pieces inside the house and love to see the sun reflect off them in the windows. I still don't have a bottle tree, but it's on my list of future things to acquire;-) I love the idea of placing colorful bottles on individual rods, placed in the ground. Now that's an idea I just might try! I LOVE the mosaic door...beautiful! And the bicycle rims w/glass plates is a really cool idea. They look great!! You are one creative gardener;-)

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  44. What a brilliant way of adding colour and light to a dormant Winter garden. I love it!

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  45. I like the bottles and other glass objects! Very nice and creative.

    Sorry that I've been away. I'm so not back into gardening or blogging, yet.

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