The Three R's of Garden Decorating

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle has become the mantra of the twenty-first century. We all do our part, Some people take it to extremes, some do not do it enough, while most of us float the middle ground. When it comes to the garden, I have been known to take the three "R’s" to the extreme. Finding new uses for cast off items has become something of a hobby for me. Let me loose in a flea market and nothing is safe from spending the rest of its useful life in the garden. Even dumpsters, on occasion, have yielded treasures that end up as flower pots or outdoor art.

Rustic Victoriana best describes our back garden theme and it is here that my penchant for reusing found objects is most obvious. The wall of our shed is adorned with old, rusty, even broken, garden tools, homage to our professional lives. A couple of weathered advertising signs, pieces of farm implements, an old wash tub with the bottom rusted completely off, and a six pane window frame propped up against the wall complete the vignette. I have even made windchimes from rusty old plow points.

A wander through the gardens reveals more recycled objects. Two iron pulleys, one small, one not, peak through the foliage of plants. An old enamel cooking pot becomes a container garden every spring, likewise three water coolers from the 1950's. In the herb garden, a hose reel from years past is tucked in amongst the herbs. The fencing around this garden was donated by neighbours who were ready to throw it out until it occurred to them the crazy lady next door would probably take it. Water glasses have been reborn as tealight holders. Old light fixtures have been morphed into candeliers. The settee on our patio and the rattan chair on the front porch were both rescued from dumpsters. Why anyone would through out perfectly good furniture is beyond me when a bit of paint and fabric made them new again.
Even Mother Nature’s cast offs are not safe from our need to re-use and recycle. Branches have been transformed into twig furniture, gates, arbours and trellises. An old tree, sawn into logs is now garden edging.

By now, some of you probably have the picture of a junk yard in your minds. If you are into minimalism, our back garden probably is. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We view our garden as quaint, interesting and for the most part, tastefully accented. The real bonus comes from knowing we have done our part in reducing the amount of things that end would have ended up in the landfill site by reusing them as garden art.