Peacock stash and Victorian sitting bench...

I have just 5 days to get my blocks together to mail for the fan RR.  I wanted peacock colors because I want to combine it with a peacock UFO... So while Susie was here I went through my stash plus added a few from a thrift store on the only day we were able to get out.  Our cold spell is about over and we managed to get through it with no frozen pipes which is always a relief in this old house.  The pickup hasn't started for days. I bundled my California Susie in heavy sweat pants, warm jackets and plenty of quilts.

The Victorian sitting bench is on a holding pattern...  I have it all screwed together but don't want to add a cushion until I get it outside to paint...which will be a couple weeks at least... Now it just has just a couple blankets on it but it is safe to say that it is a success even in it's unfinished state...



 
  

Tour of funky garden makeover....

Remember my poor little funky front garden whose fence was periodically destroyed by snow plows and UPS trucks and it's dismal  collapsing rear stone wall?  My goal was not only to repair the stone wall and build a new fence but also to drag in some more "yard art" from the back of the larger garden...

Well look at it now.

Yesterday we worked on the stone wall....  I say we....but I never lifted a stone...  I sat on a stool pointing to the stones I wanted and directed where each should be placed...  Hardly worked up a sweat.

We must have moved each stone at least 6 times until we ended up with a very sturdy stone structure...










I had built two little gates the Friday before I left town.... I do have antique door knobs to use as finials but haven't polished them yet.














I was also able to incorporate some more iron into the back wall which made the stone sections shorter and more stable.  The top piece of iron is from an old balcony railing and if you guessed all day, you would not think the bottom section is from an old cast iron crib.  I use the head of the crib for a gate on my veggie garden and the foot will be a trellis for a clematis...  The lavender hedge took a severe beating during the whole process but it will recoop in a year or two....

And of course now you can see that there are nine of the whimsical bunny finials.... and we are done.  I am soooooooooooo grateful for a really handy man!!!

At our house it is rhubarb pies galore in the spring but in the fall it is DH's aunt Margaret's plum tart with a sour cream custard filling... Here's a photo going into and out of the oven..... In the picture of the garden makeover you will notice a ladder under one of our five plum trees... It takes a frost for them to turn sweet...  DH picks and I bake.. What a team...(he thinks!)

Bench using sheep shelter glass

I don't have time to photo Lauri's block this morning but I can give you another bench and this one has a story.. We were visiting Ron's uncle in Hebron ND years ago and he was giving us a tour of one of Ron's aunt old farms... Coming home we passed an old railroad car sitting in the middle of a field with sheep wandering in and out... I could see stained glass windows along the top of the sides and some that had broken...

Always wanting really old glass, we walked over to look. The farmer was using this old discarded dining car for a sheep shelter. Not only was there gorgeous glass on the ground, the car itself was filled with elaborate wood paneling and ornate brass hardware to die for....and everything was rotting away. Since the farmer was a friend of Ron's uncle we decided to ask him if I could have some of the glass and some of the hardware.... His grown daughter hadn't realized the hardware was there and wanted it, but I could have all the old glass I wanted...

I pieced it back together and used it in this bench and in a ceiling light fixture in our family room.... There's a wonderful quality to really old glass. The wood in this bench is some I salvaged from an old barn the fire dept. was burning down for a training exercise... They had to drag me out... If I had known earlier I'd torn down the whole barn and toted it home...

But I still often think of all the ornate brass hardware...handles, knobs, hooks, door plates etc.... I hope she did something wonderful with it because I sure would have!!!

Sunflower Bench

When is a bench not a bench? When it is 3 chairs. This "bench" is actually 3 chairs held together with pipe clamps. Again the chairs were thrift store finds and classic "70s" complete with ugly plastic upholstered seats and back inserts which were trashed and replaced with boards I painted.... I do not leave this outside. It is in a workroom in the barn and on occasions such as a garden party it is pulled out. If I had a house with a large entry it would be perfect.... Right now it is piled high with fabric. (This photo was taken by friend and garden photographer, Charles Mann and was in BH&G 3/2003)

Madison's bench (Repeat Post)

This is a repeat post but appropriate for spring... I used to haunt farm auction for cheap used lumber to build benches so this post falls under recycle, paint it if it's ugly, and painted furniture.. Enjoy

Years ago I had an on-site rose nursery. After one season I discovered people bought plants, walked around the garden and left. But if I had benches they bought plants, walked around the garden, rested on a bench and ..."bought more plants" So I started building benches during the winter months...all from recycled lumber and odd bits.

I made this bench for my princess

granddaughter, Madison, for a summer visit from Alaska... The "jewels" were odd bits of stained glass.This bench was by far the most popular with customers as a photo opt. It easily sat two people and there must be hundreds of photos floating around my area of gardeners seated on this bench holding a hoe or rake as a royal staff. I devised a plan using NO nails and just a recipitcating saw, lag screws, and a socket wrench that would allow anyone at any skill level to build a bench.

Madison's Bench

Years ago I had an onsite nursery. After one season I discovered people bought plants, walked around the garden and left. But if I had benches they bought plants, walked around the garden, rested on a bench and ..."bought more plants" So I started building benches during the winter months...all from recycled lumber and odd bits. I made this bench for my princess granddaughter, Madison, for a summer visit from Alaska... The "jewels" were odd bits of stained glass.

This bench was by far the most popular with customers as a photo opt. It easily sat two people and there must be hundreds of photos floating around my area of gardeners seated on this bench holding a hoe or rake as a royal staff. I devised a plan using NO nails and just a recipitcating saw, lag screws, and a socket wrench that would allow anyone at any skill level to build a bench. Years ago I actually wrote a book but never tried to get it published....maybe next winter.. but will share from time to time some of my garden benches with "personality.....