Garden Art – Working with Found Objects

Gardens are like a palette to me. Color, texture, variety and surprise are just a few key elements I like to use. There is no greater pleasure than walking out the door and being hit by fragrance and color.

In the morning my back yard often has fog lifting off the creek that adds mystery and an artistic touch as the stray rays of sun illuminate choice flowers in the gardens.

I think my garden settings make me think more of my gardens as art and leads to experimentation.

Today I found several pieces that will make great garden art. The first was a window with 12 panes. It was 4 foot by 3 foot and very old. In one place it had old latches.

The window has several layers of paint and was faded and worn. The bubbled glass was broken out of several of the panes. I took it home and went to work. I started by removing all the glass. (I saved this for a future project.) I smoothed the flaking paint but left the different layers of color. I did apply a light varnish to help weatherproof the frame.

I had wood pieces that would work for the bottom panes and filled them in with the wood. The two top rows I placed screen behind. At the top I put in metal hooks for hanging the window up and ran heavy wire on the back of the window. I have an old board in the barn that I will cut and attach to the bottom sash of the widow tomorrow. By lightly applying a thinned paint I can match the look of the rest of the pane. I may drag a tool across the board to give it a more aged look.

This will give me a great window plant holder for the outdoor patio. I may paint the wood in the lower panes or even put mirror there one day for a change.

I have added hooks to the top of these windows before to hang small tools. Pane windows are one of my favorite garden art projects.

The Dressing Table Chair

This will be my project in the next few days. The metal dressing table chair is about 2-½ foot tall with a 1 foot back. I plan on wrapping screen around the metal on the back and legs of the chair and adding a cement layer to give the chair a cement sculptured look. This process usually takes a couple of days. I will add a wood waterproof cover to the seat.

This small chair will make a great garden accent in my herbal garden. It can sit by itself or hold a plant.

Found objects just make a garden an adventure!