Let's Meet Some of the Garden Residents...

I love statues and think they really add character to a garden but can't afford the really large figures. They would look a bit over the top in my small garden anyway. I mostly buy small ones or put busts on plinths. I'm trying to keep to a classical theme with a little bit of quirk thrown in. But nothing too cutesy or tacky!

Meet Mr Brooding -

 

 

The pretty Lady with her Urn -

 

 

 

 

Another pretty lady -

 

 



 

 

 

Another lady with an urn (who has since been moved from that location) -

 



 

 

 

My bronze look Hare (inspired by this one at Levens Hall) -



 

 

 

My little slumbering lion -

 



 

 

 

A lady wall plaque -

 



 

Lady bust (who has since changed location) -

 

 

 

I have a couple more little statues and wall plaques, but these are all the photos I can find at the moment. :)

 

 



 

 

 

Something New and Something Old...

I bought a lovely brass sundial plate and popped it on top of an old plinth.

Voila! New sundial at not much expense!

 

And this is where I put my armillary sundial. The plinth was actually the base of a large resin water feature that I got at a really cheap price because the water pump didn't work.

 

 

 

 

I do like a good bargain! 



Indulging My Inner Child!

When we had new fencing put in, because there was a drain cover right on the boundary, the fencing guys had to erect a smaller piece of fencing to make it assessable (or something like that...I forget the particulars!).

It ended up looking door sized, which I loved. The Secret Garden has always been one of my favourite books! So I added a pretend lock with a mirror beneath it (to make it look see-thru), and some stepping stones leading up to it.

In the spring I'm also going to paint the section of fence a slightly different colour so that it looks even more door like.

Ah, it's fun to indulge the child inside!

 

 

Link to a larger sized pic.

 



Winter Delights...

Spring isn't quite here yet but things are flowering!

Here are some photos I took in my garden today -

Camellia (I can never photograph red flowers very well. The colour always goes a bit weird!) -

Snowdrop -

 

Primrose -

Winter Iris -

 

 

This is a winter flowering shrub. Viburnum I think -

Rhododendrons, Azaleas...and now Camellias...

I am a huge fan of rhododendrons and azaleas. They flower so profusely in the spring that they look quite magical. I planted several in the garden when we first moved here though I had no idea if we had the right soil. But they are growing and flowering, slowly but surely, so I guess they are compatible. I've since added several more colours.

Photos I took last spring -

I have only recently discovered camellias as well! Just as beautiful, evergreen, and they also flower profusely in spring. I've dotted several different varieties around the garden that I hope will grow and flourish, and today I noticed that one has flowered! A big ole red flower, though I forget what the name of it is. I hope to take a photo tomorrow though here is an old Victorian painting of one very similar -

A Love of Sundials

I love sundials. I always have. There's something about that theme of time that stirs the soul in both pleasant and mournful ways. Add a garden to the equation, the passing of the seasons, and the impact is even greater.

I have a cheap (though it doesn't look too tacky) sundial in the small area of garden I call The Sundial Garden -

 

I also made the following sundial from a sundial plaque and a birdbath but it has since been dismantled and turned back into a birdbath again, and the sundial plaque put on my patio table -

Although looking at it in that photo, I might, perhaps, put it back together as a sundial.

But the point of this entry is that I bought myself an Armillary -

 

 

It was only £19.99 (free delivery).

 

I'm just dithering about what to do with it now. Where to put it. I think that I'll do some re-arranging once the new trellis has been erected. And pinch one of my statue plinths to put it on.

 

Eventually, I'd like to treat myself to a good quality stone sundial. But for now, a restricted budget means I have to make do with cheap(er) versions.

 

But one can dream...

 

 

 



One Can Dream...

Pan bust by Haddonstone

Far too heavy (85kg!!) and large for my small garden, and a bit out of my price range. One day I hope to find something similar but smaller and cheaper.

Trellis and Bacchus

It is so hard to get motivated, gardening-wise, in winter. So cold. Everything has frozen. Pond. Water features. Bird bath.

On the 10th I'm having a 6ft x 6ft piece of nice quality trellis delivered though. I wanted to use it, combined with a couple of conifers, to divide the fern corner from the mini orchard. It sounds grand, but isn't. These are very small areas. But since we had the new fencing erected, there has been a bit more space created, and I'd like to make two mini gardens. Once the trellis is up I can think about what climbers/shrubs to plant along it. Or whether I want a bench against it. I'm also considering a stone bust of Bacchus, God of Wine, to put on the orchard side. It is from Chilstone.

 

 

I've got several pretty female statues and this will be a good contrast. 

Anyhoo, will add photos when the trellis has been put up.