I’ve been adding to my “Items of Interest” in the garden this week. Some might call it a collection of old rubbish, but not me.
It all started a couple of years ago when I impulsively bought some old Irish galvanized red fire buckets at auction and it’s carried on from there. I now have old stoneware jugs, rusty metal containers, brass buckets, aluminium fixings and pipes, metal fan blades, old pressure gauges (brass and rust), canvas bags, glass bottles with taps and more.
All of these delights are sitting around happily with the terracotta pots and hypertufa containers I made last year. Although you might think (and many do) that I have just given you the stock list of an old scrapyard, they all have a purpose. Firstly they mostly have the ability to hold plants in them although I do have to watch the drainage in some of them as they fill up with water, secondly I think most of them stand up on their own as works of art that. To me embellish the look and interest of the garden as much as plants, trees and shrubs. They also require less maintenance and as I am presently laid up with a sore back, that’s a good thing.
Now to my latest acquisition. I came across four beautiful Victorian cast iron window frames complete with most of the glass. Some of it coloured along the edges. They reflect the light beautifully and to me they were a “Must Have” as soon I saw them. They needed to be collected immediately so I managed to get them all into the car in one go and soon got them home and into place in the garden. The problem was that they weigh in at well over 50kg each and because I am not the best delegator or person that asks for help very often I decided to do everything myself. All seemed well until the following day when I was doing my usual routine of picking up the dog poo from the garden. I went over on my hands and knees as my back gave way and was stuck there unable to move.
Lassie Come Home
After a couple of minutes Bo, my faithful dog came up to me and slowly slid underneath my arched body. He licked my face and for a moment I got the feeling I was taking part in a Lassie film. “Good dog” I said. “Now go and tell momma that Timmy has fallen down the well”
My impression was short lived as I released pretty soon that his actions we not to save me but to get an old tennis ball that my arched body was covering. He grabbed it in his mouth and enthusiastically put it down in front of me again and again on the floor for a good half an hour before Julie came home and spotted me “Just contemplating the day” laying on the path.
If anyone asks how I did my back say that Lassie and I were wrestling a bear in the woods. It sounds better than picking up dog poo in the garden.
Although I was stuck in one place for a while, I was thankfully facing the beautiful stained glass windows and in between the dogs slobbery ball being put in my way the time did give me some great ideas on what to do with them.
Two of the frames are arched and gothic looking which makes me think they could all have come either from a church or church hall. These would look lovely back in place in a building but they could also have the glass removed and turned into a mirror. This type of window would really be a great focal point for a smaller garden as the reflection would draw the eyes away from the boundary. They would look just as good inside the house too with the mirror and could be used as a piece of functional art. The rectangular windows are just as impressive but for now I think they can just be lovely features near the garage and wheelie bins. If I do nothing with them apart from appreciate their beauty for the next ten years then they will have served a great purpose.
Just as long as I don’t have to move them for a while.
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