"Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest."
~ Henry Van Dyke

Monday, July 11, 2011

Make do and mend Mondays

A week flies by when you are busy and we have been busy. We stayed at home this weekend instead of going to the cottage as we had another garden project to finish.

Our philosophy is to spend as little as possible and still create a nice garden so recycling items is a big part of that. Last weekend, we went to a monthly flea market held in Friesland. We found a couple of treasures to bring home with us. One was an old iron barn window frame. The man was asking 35 euros for it but Jos was able to get is for only 17,50 euros. Bargaining is a major sport for Jos.

We have been doing a number of projects in the garden and while ripping up one area, we removed a row of round posts. Most of them were rotted but two were still good. We had saved these and now put them to good use. Jos mounted the iron frame (boy is it ever heavy!) to these posts but it was not quite right.

I rummaged through the pieces of oak floorboards that were put outside by the man who laid our floors. These have been sitting outside since October so well weathered which was just right for what I had in mind. We cut up the pieces we had and created what looks like a piece of wall left from an old shed.

This is the results.....a ruin of a folly.....

We hung our old rusted thermometer on the wall, planted a star jasmine at the foot of the window frame and it still needed something. I was sitting on the terrace close to the house and suddenly thought what was needed. There was a dark spot under the trees and it needed something light to grab your eye and make you want to walk to the back of the garden.....

So we moved Jos' statue there. He loves that statue so I call it his. *grins* He had to play around with what to use as a base to make sure she was visible from both terraces. Now Mother Nature has to do her part. Around the ground where we placed both the wall and the statue is bare. Eventually ivy and other ground cover will start to grow up the wall which will make it looks as though a shed had been there many years ago.

This make do project cost us only the 17,50 euros for the frame and hard work. All the wood and poles we already had.

Our garden is finally starting to feel like our own. We have to catch up with 16 years of no work being done. That means rock solid earth and much weeding. It is starting to come together. I am adding things in nooks and crannies to create a secret cottage garden feel to it. I already dubbed it Granny's garden but I will tell you that story in another blog post.

16 comments:

Cass @ That Old House said...

What an enchanting secret corner of your garden! Wonderful and inspiring! My poor garden needs SO much work, but by tackling it one little piece at a time ... maybe it can get done after all.

Wonderful post, great design ideas!
Cass

Nancy said...

Saying Jos likes to bargain is a very gross understatement, hahahahaha.
That looks super. Very clever use of old items and Jos' statue. It is all coming together and you didn't pay a gardener either. Well, you kind of do, Jos gets special meals cooked for him.
Love you, Mom

Elizabethd said...

That is magical, Heidi. You just want to tiptoe down the path and peek through the window!Putting the statue there was a perfect touch.

Tammy said...

I've had this post open on my computer all day, and haven't been able to look at it until now - it was worth the wait! I love different textures in the garden besides plants - you have the metal, wood, concrete, and it all works wonderfully together. How do you ever go back inside the house? :o)

Ginny said...

How I wish I could see your garden for myself. Your ideas are so wonderful, and you have a knack for making each new project look like it's been part of the garden for years.

I meant to email you to say that I wrote a Make Do and Mend post for today, but it slipped my mind. I have another one scheduled for the beginning of August, I believe.

Jantine said...

I really love what you both have done. If only I could think of things like this LOL...

Willy said...

Wat hebben jullie dat mooi bedacht en uitgewerkt. Het is net of het er al jaren staat.
Groetjes

Annie said...

It's really beautiful, Heidi. I admire how you and Joss can change the things !It's very hot here and my english is poorer and poorer. Have a nice week !

Anonymous said...

So beautiful and I love that you are recycling old objects.

Susan in SC said...

Hi Heidi - I have linked to you for Make Do and Mend Mondays. Hope you have a great day!

Susan
http://mycottagelife.blogspot.com

Lynn said...

What a peaceful, serene spot you are making here, Heidi. I think we have the same philosophy -- see what you can do to make something more beautiful or more inviting without spending much money. It's so rewarding when it starts coming together, like your garden here. Nice work :)

Rhonda said...

Hello Heidi
no make and mend for this week. Jeff had knee surgery and that kept me busy.

I bought a big bag of mixed bell peppers, they were all delicious. The red ones had stickers on them that said they were from Mexico.
And would you believe that the yellow and orange peppers were from Holland?
That just makes me so wonder how it is easier to ship peppers from Holland to Oklahoma than to just grow them here.
Anyway, they were great peppers and they made me think of you.
Pity we can't travel as easy as bell peppers.

Melanie said...

Love your garden, Heidi. That iron frame is especially gorgeous. You two did a great job of placing it in the perfect spot and then "adding" to it with the statue, etc.

Unknown said...

Good to hear from you. I posted yesterday and mentioned your scarf. Thanks for the inspiration. Linda

Unknown said...

Thanks for your comment. You are right blogging should be fun and easy. I think I feel I have to appologize when I don't feel like doing it. Your comment did encourage me to write something so thanks. Linda

Vicki said...

I think it's called serendipity but, as I jumped from link to link, "show and tell" and others, I found your blog and it seems you are Dutch. I'm an American with Dutch heritage; my grandfather was born in Friesland. I am enjoying reading your posts so much.