Mosaic Windows

BY SKEETER

 The Master Gardener here at In the Garden, Tina has inspired me yet again, to create a fun craft for my GEORGIA GARDENS. Click Here for the popular Posting of Tina's Mosaic and how she created it.

Soon after Tina had posted that wonderful tutorial, back in 2009, I decided I needed one as well. I picked up 3 old wooden windows at the Rehab store for a mere $5.00 each. Those 3 windows have spent the past 5 years tucked away in a storage closet just waiting for me and this project. Ha, I have such intentions but as I age, it seems I have issues becoming motivated to follow through with my plans. I am trying to get over this issue but I feel I am fighting a loosing battle at times. Sigh... 

Winter is a great time to take on crafty type projects so finally, the windows came out of the closet and into the sunroom. The windows had been a set of odd windows to a home therefore, there were metal tracks on them. I asked the Saint if he could cut them off for me. With us not having the proper tools for that job, we got assistance from a neighbor/friend with the proper tools. Thanks Dion for your help.

 The cuts exposed holes where the casings and grid were attached together.

 

No problem as I have filled many holes over the years. Out came my wood filler.

I filled the holes using a putty knife removing excess filler.

 These were small holes where hinges were attached.

 Once the filler was dry, I sanded the area smooth.  

 Next, I painted 2 of the window frames black.

 I do most of my craft projects in the sunroom as I enjoy the natural lighting from the surrounding windows.

 I allowed the windows to dry and cure a few days before moving forward with this project.

 I found many different colors of glass rounds at different crafts stores to include Michael's, Hobby Lobby, The Christmas Tree store and even the Dollar Tree!

 The fun part is creating a design using all the different colors.

Once I had my design in place, Out came the E6000 Glue. Be careful when purchasing this glue as you want to use the Transparent color! I found this out the hard way and now have an opened tube of Black Glue. Grrrrr....

 Here is the second pattern I created. As Tina mentioned in her tutorial of Mosaics, be sure to use plenty of glue or the glass rounds may not adhere to the glass panels. 

 I allowed the glue to cure several days before starting the next step.

 Now comes the messy, time consuming, tedious and at times, frustrating part of this craft.

 I chose Black Grout (no sand) to match the black trim of the windows. I had the Saint mix small batches and I put it into a baggie and cut a tip for easy application. More so like when cake decorating with icing.

This was such a slow process for me, that the panels were drying way too quickly. So I would grout a panel then lightly wipe a panel. Then tend to another grouted panel before starting to grout the next panel. I felt I was keeping up doing it this way. It took many times of wet wiping them before they were finished. Very time consuming.

 

 I was finished with the grouting process, on March 11, 2015. The windows have been sitting in the sunroom waiting for the Saint to hang them for me. As me with my "putting off" things to be done, the Saint has been in no hurry to hang them. I have harassed him a bit but he knows that I understand that some things take time. Ha ha.. 

  The windows were now very heavy so the Saint and I had to carefully chose good quality heavy duty hooks and chains for hanging them securely to the front porch. 

 I had the Saint hang them on each end of the front porch.

Opposite side of porch with swing. 

 This one has the morning East Sun shining through it.

This one has the evening West Sun shining through it. I am so happy with the way these two panels turned out. I still have one window that I have yet to create but in time, I will get to it.

I am so grateful to Tina for sharing her Mosaics with us on this blog and inspiring me to make a couple of my very own.

Click Here to see another of Tina's wonderful Mosaic creations. This is a great way to recycle old windows into a work of art. I just love these MOSAIC WINDOWS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Visit to a Special Garden in Portland Tennessee: The Schneider Garden

 Driveway leading you to the house.
Boy do I have a treat for readers of this blog! A wonderful garden tour in the garden of both an artist, and a plant collector. The combination is quite a unique combination and can, at times, become overwhelming. Then at other times (such as this one), can be so amazing you just want to take 157 pictures and try to post them all. Yup, that is what I did this past Saturday when Farmer Fix-it and I traveled all the way from our northwest Middle Tennessee home to Portland Tennessee. The trip was worth it as the day was wonderfully cool with bright sunshine, and the company found at Paul and Dot Schneider's garden was even better!

 The plantings alongside a busy highway.
Being a member of the Perennial Plant Society of Middle Tennessee (PPSMT) has its benefits. I have been a member of this wonderful society for about eight years now and not only am I a member, I am the editor of the quarterly ten page newsletter, administrator of their FaceBook page, and have even been privileged to speak to this esteemed plant society just this past year! Speaking to them was never ever on my agenda and wow, was I honored because sometimes local plant people can wait ten years to speak to our group! Another little known benefit of being a member of the PPSMT is the fact that we members get the opportunity to tour fabulous gardens in the Middle Tennessee area. I must confess, this was only my second garden tour and I know I miss an awful lot of great garden tours. I really wish I could see them all but the travel time and distance is a bit much for me. 

A xeric garden with specimen plants growing in scree. 
 It just so happened that I have known Paul for several years having met him at the PPSMT meetings. Paul is a plant collector of several kinds of plants. Included in his collection are: xeric plants, conifers, and bamboo! You shall see some of them in this post and the following three posts I have prepared to showcase this garden. So, Farmer Fix-it and I took the day off from working on our land to go on a date day-garden touring! We had an awesome day too. Many thanks to Paul and Dot for opening their home and garden to the members of the PPSMT. And as a side note, many thanks to all people who open their gardens to tours. This is not always an easy or desirable thing to do and takes a lot of work!

A very unique feature of Paul and Dot's garden is the number of sculptures throughout the garden. Sculptures start right outside along the roadside and lead on up to the house and all around the house. Sculptures are made from not only natural elements such as the above rock sculpture, but from many man made items. It is clear Paul has a great eye for art and beauty.

This particular sculpture contains no less than 92 bowling balls! It was one of two bowling ball pyramids to be found in this garden. You'll see the other one in a later post. These pictures are in no particular order--they were mainly uploaded as we saw the views in the garden. I like to think I could be organized and group pictures of sculptures together in one post, the bamboo in another, and so on, but there were just so many things to see and so many pictures to sort that I gave up sorting photographs.

Here is another bowling ball sculpture. Note the natural and man made elements in this joining of earth, wood, and stone.

Yet another beautiful sculpture. The artwork in this garden was SO amazing! It was amazing not only for its beauty but for how it all fit into the garden. The artwork was one with the garden. This is a rare thing in many gardens where artwork can overwhelm a garden. Not so in the Schneider garden. 

Earth, wood, and stone again. How cool is this?? The brilliant use of the dead trees on the property was quite clever. It was almost as if Paul had planned it all out ahead of time.

I had to show the winterberries. Everyone was taken with these and I asked Farmer Fix-it what they were. That is another note, most all of the plants were labeled in an easy to read fashion. Farmer Fix-it (the non gardener) said holly. How smart was he? This was before he looked at the sign and let me tell you, knowing any plants was a change for Farmer Fix-it. This particular winterberry was 'Red Sprite' with a pollinator of 'Jim Dandy' in the center of the grouping. It was a brilliant display.

We finish up this post with another tree trunk that is sprouting some plant pots containing some unique specimens. Paul and Dot's garden is a mixture of sun and shade. Can you see the large windmill palm in the background to the right? This fella likes the sun and is in a sheltered spot on the southern side of the house. It is quite a large specimen for a palm--in Middle Tennessee!

There are three more posts on this wonderful garden so come on back and check them out!

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Lady Bug

BY SKEETER

 I found this Safety Hat (Hard Hat) at the thrift shop. I decided it had to find a place in my GEORGIA GARDENS.

 I purchased a can of red paint that bonds to Plastic.

 A nice coat of red paint.

 A few dots with Patio Paints and we now have a LADY BUG, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Bloggers Fling: North Carolina Arboretum

                                                             BY SKEETER 

Here we are still on Day 1 of the Garden Bloggers Fling! I feel like I have been talking about this day alone for a month, ha. There was so much to see on this first day that I decided to break it down into each garden having its own title. Winding down the day we visited the North Carolina Arboretum. (Click HERE to learn more about the NC Arboretum.) Of course, there is Art as above.

                                                               Lush Green.

                                                       More Lush Green.                                                    And more Lush Green.

                                   Large potted beauties.

                                   Beautiful Walk ways.

                                                         And Gardens within gardens.

          Bonsai Exhibits. Doesn't this scene look similar to the garden in the previous picture?

                  The Bonsai walk was most interesting.

 One can only wonder how old these could be as it takes years to create.

 Wild life was enjoying this garden as well. I looked into my Lizard book but could not seem to identify this lizard. Maybe a Fence Lizard?  

 This water was calling my name but the Saint would not allow me to soak my hot tired feet. 

 Stone work stairs and pathways lead one to a beautiful shade garden. 

                                 Sunny pathways are not to be forgotten. 

 The Quilt Garden was my favorite. Fresh Spring plantings of summer thriving plants will soon make a quilt of many colors. In this case, a Spool Pattern. I would love to go back and see this quilt pattern once all filled in with full blooms. 

 This is my Favorite view in the Garden.Can you see the quilt squares better now? 

 This would be a perfect spot to have a picnic on a sunny afternoon. I really did enjoy my time at the NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM, in the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden