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! 

Faded Beauties...

 

Every January my local Publix grocery store has about a week and a half 

when the store is filled with 

"Buy One, Get One Free" bouquets of roses. 

Two dozen roses for a little over $10.00!!

I've written about this before.

I posted pictures of the fresh, beautiful roses on my Instagram account.

They had every color of rose imaginable.

I put them everywhere.

Eventually they begin to fade. 

I keep them for as long as I possibly can. 

I refresh the water and trim the stems to prolong the beauty.

 Roses are worth it. 

And then the roses begin to dry and the petals become papery. 

I leave them in the vase on the counter until there isn't any moisture left in the bloom. 

There are a lot of different ways to dry roses but this works for me. 

Not every bloom dries perfectly but I usually have over half of them dry beautifully.

I snip them from the stem and arrange them in a bowl 

or on a little blue and white chinoiserie plate. 

They don't have much scent but you can take a cotton ball and put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and tuck it under the blooms.

They don't last forever - when they get too fragile or the color fades you can just toss them 

and treat yourself to another bouquet of roses and dry those!