Patio Container Garden

Old pieces of French and Czech enamelware give wonderful textures and shapes in this corner.

I have had this lady for many years, too many to count. I bought her from a place called Hahn Industries. The company is a family run business that is still making garden ornaments. My lady has been in my garden or on my deck each summer. She made the trek to Michigan and back to Illinois again. She has outlasted several concrete bases. This time she has a tin wash tub. This is much more economical, and easier to move inside for the winter.

Peter has gone to stand by the antique iron gate.

A birdbath was made from a farm drainage tile and a plant saucer.

I have used the old coal scuttle for a planter. There is no fireplace in this house anyway! The washtub got me in a bit of hot water at first, since it was $6 (new ones are around $20 at the hardware store). I knew as soon as I saw it what I would do with it. Hubby plumbed my lady fountain statue, and then her put the tub on bricks. The aquatic plant was a gift from Kim, another of her perennials from her garden, this one was in her pond.

Ok this is getting to be addicting. I can't stop tweaking this little corner of my world!

Looking back to my Kingfisher Farm gardens

Made in the Shade with a lot of help from a friend

A wheelbarrow is a gardener's necessity!

A little vignette, created with items on hand, a vintage toy push mower, a french wash tub, and a few odds and ends.

Above: the pesky fittings for the fountain pump, I want to design a universal fitting, made out of a magical flexible substance.

I have been working on a shade garden under the maple trees. And fiddling around with a pesky fountain. My dear old lady that pours a jug into a basin has lost much of her original tubing, and what remains is hard and no longer pliable. I have made three trips to the hardware store to plumb her but so far its an epic failure!

The ghostlike bag is one of my rose nurseries, containing a precious cutting of my beloved "Constance" from Kingfisher Farm. You can see coral bells and ferns, as well as the magnificent hostas from my neighbor's garden beyond the chain link fence.

The slope down from the concrete deck is a challenging place to garden, and I would like to terrace it with limestone.

Kim points out a place to plant a few more perennials.

With the generosity of my friend Kim, I have been expanding the area under the trees, and she not only gifted me with lovely ferns and shade plants, she insisted on helping me dig them and plant them in my garden. Her own garden is quite simply a little Eden.

A pond and borders with delightful fountains and gecko sculptures make it a whimsical place. Her knack for mixing flowers and foliage in the earth as well as water are exemplary. After being in her creation, you walk away inspired and uplifted. Kim has many "memory" plants, starts from dear departed friends and relatives, and her belief is that gardens and plants are to be shared. Here she is designing a pocket garden using my iron gate as a focal point.

I designed my own rose nursery made from tomato cage and dry cleaner bag. I used what I had on hand, and dipped the stems in rooting hormone and tucked them into potting soil. In case one location fails, I have 2 separate sites. So far so good, we have had a lot of rain and cool weather which is ideal for starting roses and transplanting plants.

Kim still smiles after hours of transplanting flowers and removing turf. She's the energizer bunny!

Baby Steps

Au Jardin chez moi!


I am planting things, even in the shade and added a birdhouse I bought from the Antique Market. Hubby says it looks like the Beverly Hillbillies moved in! I need a birdbath, I was loathe to leave the one I made myself behind, but it was so enormous and heavy. But the birds really liked it. I just saw an Oriole in my backyard! A family of chickadees have moved into the birdhouse I hung from the Maple tree. I'm not sure I can get a photo, they are so quick!

Antique Market

This bucket stand would be great for display of anything, but dolls and teddies would be delightful.
A rugged old cupboard and ironstone china make a perfect combination.
The tiny little buckboard seat was hard to pass up, but I did. Sad face!
This was titled "The Hunter."
Taxidermy is all the rage now, but it's so creepy. Early naturalists killed first and studied later.
The punch tin pie safe with unusual tins was already sold. The tins were a variety, and there were even tins on the back, which is very unusual. No doubt the buyer was thrilled to get it.