The Evolution of the Garden Guy

Many years ago (about 30 years ago because Mollie was a preschooler) we went to an amazing garden show in the old Sears Building in Atlanta. It was filled with the most beautiful gardens created in the warehouse like space. One of the gardens that had been created was home to a garden guy made from terra cotta pots. He was so much fun and Mollie loved him. I was inspired to try and recreate one for our backyard garden. I did and he was around for quite a few years. Funny enough no one can remember what happened to him or why he was dismantled!

This spring when I was cleaning out for the new potager I uncovered a lot of terra cotta pots and I thought it might be time for Garden Guy 2.0. I had used a bunch of the pots to make a Christmas Tree outside the greenhouseChristmas Tree outside the greenhouse in December so I had a pretty good collection of pots to choose form. I had some wire and a pool noodle to use for spacers. I just needed to grab some wire cutters and a serrated knife. 

This is actually the old metal chair (all those pots get heavy) that the original pot guy sat in. I made a hole in the center and put a piece of rebar thru the pot holes and the hole in the chair to stabilize the whole thing and keep it from toppling over and breaking the pots. I also did this because I did not want to permanently glue the pots together. Everything is either wired or slipped over the rebar pole. It will come apart easily if I decide to dismantle him at some point.

I think the pots that form the body are 12 or 14 inch terra cotta pots. 

The rebar stabilizer is not noticeable once the guy is all put together and planted. 

The pot for the head is slightly smaller than the 2 for the body. I was using pots I had on hand. I slid them on the rebar to be sure the proportions worked and then removed them while I wired the legs on. 

I doubled the wire just to be sure and wrapped it around the pole under the bottom "body" pot. Using a serrated knife I cut spacers from the pool noodle. 

Then I simply threaded a pot followed by a spacer on to the wire to create legs. The pool noodle spacers hold the pot in place. You could skip the pacers but you would need quite a few more pots for each leg or arm.

You just keep adding pots until the legs are the length and configuration you want. 

I turned some pots the opposite way to make "knees" that I could plant  in.

After the legs were completed I added the top body pot and began wiring the arms in place. Having the rebar is helpful in securing the arms. The clay pots are a bit heavy when strung together. 

After both arms were secured I slid the pot that makes his head onto the rebar. You can see that I turned one of the arm pots so that I could plant in it if I wanted to. 

I hammered the rebar into the ground a little more once everything was all wired together. 

And then it was time to give this garden guy some hair. I had this asparagus fern already. I ended up dividing it in half with my serrated knife and planting it to each side of the pot so it would definitely hang down like hair!

He fits right in by the greenhouse and the old shed. 

Let me know if you create a garden guy to keep you company in the garden.

P.S. I have used smaller pots to make a small scale, tabletop version of these for a garden party tablescape and they are just as much fun!

 

Greenhouse

As I shared on my Instagram we 'did a thing' over the weekend. While I dream of charming English greenhouses and Victorian conservatories, I am also very excited to have this utilitarian greenhouse to have fun with. We had reached the point where either the ferns could live in our house this winter or people could. They have gotten huge over the years and I have to vacuum up a lot of little leaves when they "winter" inside.

 I ordered it from Amazon, it was inexpensive and arrived in about 3 days. This is the exact one/size I bought (the price fluctuated over the two week period that I considered which one to purchase. Amazon prices are like the stock market ;) so keep an eye out for price changes.)

There aren't any pictures yet with beautiful plants and gardening accessories in it because it is still a construction zone. I had a stack of salvaged bricks so I am currently, slowly, bricking the floor. The first frost deadline is looming so I'm trying to get it done asap! Stay tuned!

Bottle Tree

I have posted quite a few images recently on Instagram of our porch and backyard and our bottle tree has been spotted in the backyard. It recently got a bit of a refresh and I think that's why it has been noticed. 

Do you see it back there? It is beside our little garden pond. It has been in that spot for at least 20 years. 

Are you familiar with bottle trees? They have a long history and were believed to ward off bad spirits and any evil that might involve the people living nearby. Today they are considered to be garden art by many and southern homes have versions of the traditional bottle trees in their gardens. Originally bottles were hung in live trees or put on tree branch stakes driven into the ground. 

For a while I had to use a mix of bottle colors because the cobalt blue ones can be hard to find. You can see in the image below that I had two shades of blue on it when this picture was taken. But my goal was always to have lots of cobalt blue bottles on my bottle tree. 

Strolling through Publix a couple of weeks ago some cobalt blue bottles caught my eye on the water aisle. I stopped. Are they glass? Yes! I grabbed a four pack and took them home. The brand is Saratoga Sparkling Water and it is so good which is a bonus because I wanted to get quite a few more cobalt blue bottles for my bottle tree. Another bonus is that the glass bottles come in two sizes and the labels peel right off. I've linked them in Amazon in case you can't find them at your local grocery store. I mixed the two sizes on my bottle tree because the other bottles were a variety of sizes already. 

My bottle tree has been in that spot by our little garden pond for over 20 years and I've had only 1 bottle break in all those years. I love how it looks with the light shining through the cobalt glass. 

My "tree" is very basic. I used a 4x4 post that had been painted white and was already a little chippy. It has continued to weather over the years and I like that look. We used pieces of rebar as the "branches"  to hold the bottles. We just drilled a snug hole at an angle and used a rubber mallet to drive the rebar in so it is secure. Then you simply slide your bottles on. That's it!

My Garden "Friends"

 My collection of bust or statue planters get a lot of attention when I post them on Instagram. And my collection is "growing!" I started out with just a couple but I keep finding more "friends" along the way.

They are a LOT of fun year round. 

Right now they are filled with all kinds of beautiful plants for Summer. 

Some of these guys are going to need haircuts soon!

Back in the early Spring I found forced bulbs at Wal Mart for $1.00 per so I filled the planters with lots of blooms. It was so much fun to have all of those blooms in the early, early Spring and since they were up on a table I didn't have to worry about Cooper eating something harmful! Always something I have to consider when choosing what I plant.

At Christmastime I used my extra clippings of magnolia, holly and a few "faux" evergreen trees and topiaries to decorate my garden friends. (And the weather had been mild so far which meant my native, perennial ferns were still green and full!)

I never got a great evening shot with the lights on (and there were some things on the porch draped for the Winter so it's not an awesome image) but it was fun to have all the greenery during the Winter months.

This angel is actually something that used to hang on a brick wall but I added her to the mix.

I didn't do anything in the fall with pumpkins or mums for my collection of garden friends because I was all about my chinoiserie pumpkins and my collection of terra cotta jack-o-lanterns! I think that might change this Fall! 

This guy (Socrates, maybe??) isn't a planter but he hangs out on the porch surrounded by plants!

This little gal lives inside.

This large bust planter hangs out in our downstairs powder room.

She got a little seasonal change for the holidays as well.

Real magnolia but faux poinsettia because it was low enough for Cooper to reach it (Poinsettias are poisonous to dogs!)

These bust planters are great "Garden Friends" but they are a lot of fun inside the house as well. I have gotten feedback that they seem 'creepy' to some people but I like the 'classic' vibe I think they give off - think Roman and Greek statues in the garden. I am enjoying them each season and it's fun to add to the collection. What do you think? Like them or pass?

I've found mine in a lot of different places but here are a few I've found online if you want to find some "Garden Friends" of your own!

This one is just like one I have and if you have Prime that helps with the shipping on something this heavy!

Another bust planter for a good price from Amazon.

I love this one from Breck's. I'm very tempted!!

And this one is from Kroger!! Who knew!

Those are all great options if you don't find any locally but be sure to check out thrift stores and local garden centers and concrete "yard art" places! 

Saucer Magnolias

The Saucer Magnolia is one of the earliest signs of Spring here in the South. The trees literally burst into bloom overnight and are covered by the huge blooms. The leaves don't appear until the blooms drop off.

We have two Saucer Magnolia shrubs in our yard. On one the blooms start out a very soft, ballerina pink and deeper pink coloring appears as the bloom ages. The other Saucer Magnolia bursts into bright, hot pink blooms that glow in the sunlight. People walk up into our yard to take pictures of it!

They don't make long lasting cut flowers but I still like to cut a few to bring inside (especially if we are having a cold snap and aren't outside to enjoy the blooms.)

The facts via the Arbor Day Foundation:

A hybrid cousin of America's magnificent Southern Magnolia, the Saucer Magnolia is actually a large spreading shrub that take its name from its wide, saucer-like flowers. It was first cultivated in 1826. The fragrant, early-spring blossoms are white shaded with light to deep pink or purplish-pink. Big, broad leaves are dark green, and the smooth bark is silvery-gray. Medium- to fast-growing, good pollution tolerance. Likes moist, deep, acid soil and full sun. Grows to 20'–30'tall , 25' spread. (zones 4-9) 

The Saucer Magnolia just has one big show of blooms in the early Spring. The leaves are an attractive lighter green than the glossy, dark green leaves of the more familiar Southern Magnolia so it's still a nice addition to the garden even when it isn't blooming. It's a low maintenance, pest free shrub in our area so I highly recommend it. Plus that one week of amazing blooms each Spring will win you over!