Creating Treasures for your Garden

Perhaps you've completed all your summer planting or maybe you've just run out of ideas when it comes to things to do with your outside spaces.  I always find myself looking for new ideas to express myself creatively, especially in the outdoors, especially during the summer months.  

Now that June is quickly turning into July, I've gathered some of those intended projects to share.

Revamp those terra cotta pots.  I love planting my herbs in terra cotta, but longed for a deeper, richer color. The generic clay pots just aren't doing it for me any longer.  Wipe your existing pots clean, apply two coats of a brown acrylic plaint to both the interior and exterior colors.  Let the paint dry completely between coats. 

Turn a yard sale find into a work of art.  Pick up an old bench for a couple of dollars, add a little paint and a lot of inspiration, and your favorite spot will become your new favorite seat in the garden.

Garden Signs.  Identify your garden as your own.  Paint your name or a favorite garden saying on a piece of painted wood or a large rock.  Use unique materials to spell out a word.  Hang it on a tree, your gate or a wall, or stake it in the ground. The possibilities are endless.

Garden Plant Markers.  Identify your plants with stones.  Gather some nice sized, smooth stones and paint the names of your plant species on them.  Cute and fun!

Make a simple and inexpensive bird bath.  Use a terra cotta and invert the typical position.  Use Liquid Nail to secure the top of the birdbath.  If you'd like, you can paint it as we described in our first craft.

Give your garden height with an old painted ladder.  If you're lucky enough to find an old ladder, paint it!  Pick a favorite color that compliments your home and landscape, or white wash it for an antique effect, then add part of a ladder or the entire ladder to a spot in your garden that needs height.  Place potted plants on the ladder steps and you've got a one of a kind plant stand.

Get inspired.  Let out your inner artist.  Visit a yard sale and hunt for hidden treasures in everyday items.  Have fun. And let us know what you've come up with.