A former professor at Austin Peay State made that entire piece of garden art. It's almost life-size. He started with a very old steel wheel and welded the rest of the bicycle ... then made the pot man for it. Such talent.

I don't know if the pavers would hold up well made into "pots" like that in your climate, critterg. They do fine here as do ceramic tiles although the latter will craze over time.

As far as I know, porcelain tiles are the only ones that will survive winter outside here. And that info was for when they're used as flooring. Pity. I like the paver planter!

porcelain tiles are solid with the back of the tile and the front the same material... I have had good luck outside with the glazed tiles I used for my mothers house.. they have spent 35 years as the tiles on the front poarch.. and glued together to make planters.. without cracking...
these photos are from the Italian bakery a door down from me... although not art for the gardeen... this is art of the garden harvest.. along with mountains of cookies , cakes and ices piled at my front door...
they have these,Marazpan treats.. they look like they were made of sculptyclays..

They're beautiful! Looks like a lot of work.

Oh Gordon - what lovely photo's! If I lived that close to a bakery, I'd be in deep trouble I'd want to stop in everyday

Wow, Gordon, those really are miniature pieces of art!

Me too, Vic, deep trouble.

The scents alone would lure me to the door just to see what was baking.

I worked at a bakery when I was much, much younger. After a while, you feel like you don't want to see or smell another cookie or donut for the rest of your life........but you get over it after no longer working at a bakery for a while!

Thanks for telling us about the porcelain, Gordon! I'll be able to make some planters after all!

And I envy your location!

Chris.. well it's work .. but that's what they do.. yummy...
Vicki... well it's alwasy tempting.. eclairs .. canolie.. in vanilla and chocolate fillings.. as well as a few dozen types of cookies.. my favorite is one they call lace cookies.. pictured here.. real thin and crunchie.. two of them are put together with a lump of chocolate on one side to hold them together... close to burnt sugar.. with a hint of flower in it.. but there's lots of great stores on the block... the pork store.. home made everything... from motrezilla to sausauges.. hot and mild and stuffed chops.. and other pinwheel pork weavings.. ready to cook.. the fish store ...with a shushi section... i go in just at closing .. and they always make a show out of choosing a free pack for me to go with the one I buy.. and there's the health food store cross the street.. .. it's like haveing the biggest well stocked pantery anywhere.... and the 4 dozen resturants that will deliver to me with just a calll of my desires... it's like having a bigger kitchen than Henry the 8th.. and Louis the 16th.. combined... and a new frozen yogert store to open soon next door.. but it has little draw as I'm making my own extra creamey ice cream up stairs.. poo healthy yogert..
Tee...oh.. it's not so bad... one has to develop other interests.. yes they are darling.. such fun...but that's the job of the chef... to make the food art... then to do it again again and again... kind of takes the fun I feel in doing something neat.. by having to repeat it so often... but if you love doing it ... I guess each and every day is a new oppertunity to enjoy it..
Sharon.. yes the smells are great... although not so much out of the store... but they vent their ovens up to the roof... so mornings up in the garden sometimes smells heavenly... on the other side... about noon the wine bar gets their wood burning pizza oven up making lunch... so the bakery smells shift to the smell of a wood fired pizza with sizzling pepperoni and mushrooms...
Critter... yes there's porcelain... and for regular tiles ... there's inside and outside... they can both look like the clay the pots are made from... but one is good outside... a higher fireing and different clays... and the other isn't... your supplier should know...
so for easter .. along with their usual offerings the bakery makes these deserts pictured after my lace cookies...guess it's art.. as everyone is diffferent

I much prefer your lace cookies.

OK Gordon...Its official I hate you LOL Boy do I miss the Italian bakery in Jersey City,NJ
that we would go to..They had your lace cookie & my favorite "Pinole cookies" and oh yea
Italian birthday cakes YUMMMM

One of the Best things about moving back North " Bakeries " I was trying to find a Italian bakery
down here and the two I did find had NO Idea what I was talking about when I asked for the Italian
birthday cake So I guess I will be making a cake for the BF 50 th myself

Oh Gordon *sigh* to live in a city SO FREAKING diverse and all that totally cool "stuff" within walking distance.

Too bad we can't all have two homes totally different. Woods, streams, total quiet and then NYC - WOW!

I tried that once - nearly went broke!
And never enough time in either place, just a lot of time on the highway....

When I moved to Florida, the one thing that I missed the most was the Polish deli's that made their own kielbasa. After living here on the west coast for almost 8 years, I discovered a wonderful Polish Deli that makes not only one type of kielbasa, but at least 5 different types!!! Just got back from there and I have three kielbasas in my fridge including their once per year variety, the Easter Kielbasa!! Can't wait to sink my teeth into that thing!

LOVE Kielbasa! YUM!

Lotsa Polish food in Pittsburgh!

Sure, but Pittsburgh is a LONG way away from Florida! I even offered to pay someone to go to Filipek's in Meriden, CT to buy me some Easter Kielbasa and ship it to me. Unfortunately, no one took me up on the offer. Well poo on them!! I now have a wonderful place within driving distance to go get me my OWN kielbasa any time I want it....so THERE!