Interesting pieces of garden art add to a garden and yard. It’s easy to find chairs that need a little work at sales or along roadsides. These chairs make perfect additions to any garden and great accents for flowers .

They are also very cheap or free. By adding flowers and moss you will have a one of a kind garden decoration that will get many compliments.

Lets get started:

• Find a chair that has a nice solid seat. 

• Wet newspaper strips and let sit while you clean the chair.

• Once the chair is clean cover it with the moist newspaper strips.

Cover the chair in newspaper and put a little spray adhesive down. Then cover the chair with chicken wire. This gives the moss has something to grab on to.  You can cover the chair with moss that you harvest in the woods or make moss using the recipe below. I myself recommend the moss mix. You get a more flowing look and you are not disturbing moss in the woods. Water the chair regularly in order to keep it healthy and growing. You can use a spray bottle or a hose with a spray attachment in order to keep it damp.  

Tips:

• the chair will prefer a partially shady area.

• Add flowers on the chair set to give the piece more color.

• I chose a metal chair that will last longer. Wood can be used but it will fall apart after a few years.

Moss milkshake

• 1 can of beer
• 1/2-teaspoon sugar
• Several clumps garden moss
• Blender
• Paintbrush 

Gather together several clumps of moss (moss can usually be found in moist, shady places) and crumble them into a blender. Then add the beer and sugar and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour the mixture into a plastic container and you are ready to paint and create.

Tags: making moss, moss milkshake, garden chair, make a garden art chair, garden art 

As my gourd crops continue to grow my mind goes to what I can create from my gourd crops, once they dry.

I am hoping for the bushel gourds to grow large enough for gourd end tables and for the canteen and dipper gourds to work for gourd instruments. That is what attracts me to growing gourds; you just never know what will happen and how the gourds will dry.

Below is a gourd video with some wonderful ideas and designs. I Woodburn paint or dye my gourds and add gourd pieces wood or other found objects to gourds, so this video gives me some wonderful ideas.

When working with gourds you are only limited by your imagination

As always I end up with too many plants. This year it’s rescued plants that needed a home and I have run out of gardening space. I will throw a “cheaters garden” together in a few days but until then I spent to day assembling a dresser drawer garden. It’s fast, easy and can be moved if needed. It also has a fun look and will cheer up a yard quickly.

I have a spot in the front yard area that will be landscaped in a few weeks but now it’s rather homely and has a lost look. I also rescued 7 wooden drawers from a built in dresser in a home that was going to be torn down. They are great drawers but with no frame, they need another purpose. So they will make a great temporary garden.

I drilled holes for drainage in the bottoms of each drawer and added a mix of compost and soil. I happened to have fancy wire legs and attached them to the drawers and varied the height.

Note: Anything you have from driftwood pieces to stumps or even sitting them on the ground will work

I had Irises, Black Eyed Susan’s, Chinese Lanterns, and Bee Balm Plants that needed a home. I also had Vinca Vine and a few extra annual flowers so I mixed and matched the plants and watered them well.

The project took me about 1½ hours and I have had many comments on the look. My plants have a home until I decide where to put them and I will probably save the drawers and use them again next year.

Tags: container gardening, frugal gardening, using found objects, garden art, dresser drawer garden