flaflwrgrl said:

sooooooooooo cute!!!!

well it has been an uneventful boring rainy cold weekend . so i have been going through some folders on my laptop . most of which are gardening or art ideas . anytime i save a pic to use as an idea i never do it identical or for the same purpose . i get ideas in strange places . sadly i can not give credit for the original artist or crafter because a lot of times i get things that have been posted so many times its original origin has gotten lost along the way . anyway looking through my ideas folders has perked me up a bit . your forums have been a blessing to me when i can't sleep at night . so since i am wide awake her are a few goodies i wanted to share . hopefully they will inspire yall the way they did me .



. i fell in love with this water feature but it could also be done simply as a garden sculpture and colorful stones could be added here and there for added beauty .




this would be amazing indoors or out . some craft stores carry pretty colors in rope that would work nice as well or you could dye the rope .




such a simple but lovely way to add patterns to your garden . i could go crazy with this replicating fabric patterns onto rocks .




i am thinking maybe these wiffle balls could be stuffed with potting soil and sowed with seeds to make live hanging planters . several grouped together hung from the limbs of a tree would be adorable .




this is an earring holder made from a plastic soda bottle . but i think it would be good done with a 3 liter bottle for a wind spinner in a garden . so many different variations could be done with this .




i am thinking any type of raised bed or wooden planter would be beautiful with dyed wood to add color .




this one is from martha stewart ( not a fan of her personality but she does have good ideas )
would be great on a porch or garden room .


last but not least




i have tons of interesting jars and containers to use this idea . even a glass fishbowl would work . this is not limited to butterflies , could use other insects or fairies inside . then tuck them here and there in your flower beds anywhere they would add interest .

i hope i have planted some great ideas in your minds . seeds of imagination are the best to sow !

Love the water feature! It has a kind of zen quality to it.

These are all cool ideas.

for some reason it reminds me of the sorcerers apprentice disney movie .

Great pictures, now to get my mind off of new projects that you just inspired. It's gonna be 2015 before I can get to these. I thought the same thing with you about the wiffle ball, succulents. The bottle as a spinner. I have 2 chairs that I'm putting together for a bench and I was thinking an azure blue for it. Love the colors in the yard.

you sound like me Robin . so many projects to get done that the idea of taking on more is insane but i just can't resist a pretty idea . i drive my husband nuts with the things i do . i am so bad to start 20 things at once . right now i am stuck indoors remodeling the house we bought in october . but anytime the weather is nice out i put that all on hold to get out and work on my garden projects . sadly we have only had 3 nice days . the wind was wicked out yesterday and had snow and rain mixed so i decided to put everything on the back burner and be lazy . i am afraid i won't get my greenhouse put together in time to get my seeds going at this rate . lol the greenhouse panels would be like holding onto a kite in this crazy wind and i might end up in another state . love the idea of azure blue for your bench , it sounds very pretty . i am trying to find a wrought iron bistro set at a decent price to paint a pretty purple . my house is an ugly dark brown like a cabin so not many colors will look good in our yard . i thought about going with a different color on the house but it just would not look right if it was anything but brown . i am posting 3 pics of my house below . i am starting with a blank canvas so if you think of anything that would go good with the ugly brown let me know . i love opinions from others on what looks good .



sorry my car is stuck out front in the close up . i posted it anyway so you can see the siding and how it would more than likely look bad if i paint the house another color .

as you can see i have a lot of work to do . i cut down 4 of the evergreen shrubs around the front porch and plan on cutting down the last 2 . they have seen better days . the entire back side of them is dead and has some sort of pine beetles feasting on them . does anybody have a suggestion on what might bepretty to replace those ? i thought about Variegated Weigela or my pink butterfly bushes . just not sure . i don't want to hide the house with something to big .

Crystal, I love the painted rocks the most but the wiffle ball is a wonderful idea! Fun ideas!!

As for your brown house, you are right, it needs to stay brown. I love the cabin feel to it.

Your car color is a great direction to go! Blue! I know you did not mean that but I love blue with green plantings.

I would not think of your house as a color but as a neutral backdrop like dirt. Adding green plantings (earth), blue (sky and water) and yellow (sun) would be lovely. You could also someday stain the house a darker richer brown if you have nothing else to do.

i think you are right boo about the natural tones . 95% of the seeds and bulbs i have bought to plant here are purples , pinks and blues . it will take a few years to get everything the way i want it so i doubt i will ever be staining the house . lol by the time i get done painting the inside i will be allergic to any form of paint . i have 12 gallons of paint waiting to be smeared on my walls . i have already put 3 gallons on the living room walls and a great dread has built up inside me making me wish i could afford to hire a painter . i used to love painting , but that was when i was young and didn't know any better . one thing i am worried about as far as my yard and gardens is to much shade . i love my trees but a couple may have to go if i don't get enough sun this summer . all of my favorite flowers are sun lovers .

When I got a very small orchid, I painted a whiffle ball terra cotta colored and put my orchid roots in one hole. It is growing to fill the ball with roots and hopefully to stick some out of the holes. I water it by dunking.

I envy you . i love orchids but i am afraid to try growing them.

Easier than you think!

Neat idea with the orchids.

Crystal, I have the same problem, my house is the log cabin siding with a red metal roof. I have a large front porch with good afternoon sum. Most of my yard in front is shade with some small areas getting full sun at some time in the day. We've had about 15 trees cut down and need about 10 more cut. A friend of my neighbor cut them down for wood to heat his house. Instead of hiring find someone who needs the wood.

I put in a large triangle garden on one side of the porch and the other side has clematis. On yours a pretty Autumn Clematis would be great. My triangle garden has red, white, and blue clematis as the background for hardy hibiscus and lilies and so forth, lots of different colors. Farther down in the yard I have a large garden in progress with roses and mums and dogwood, in the middle I have a tire pyramid and they are painted all different colors. The bottom tier has perennials and the upper tiers have annuals. I hope this will give you ideas.

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i love your tire pyramid . it is so cheerful . i bought 4 clematis , 2 pink and 2 purple to go in my yard near the house . the problem with having someone cut the trees for fire wood is the ones i need cut are to close to the house so it takes a skilled tree trimmer to get them down without destroying my roof . i miss my late husband he was a tree trimmer and climbed and roped tree limbs over people houses to keep from damaging them .

I was going to mention ..that in the pictures of the house it looked a bit shady there.. and the trees wern't leafed out yet... removing some will do alot for growing there...
yes.. be careful... u-tube has a large group of clips with trees being dropped on something or other..
Rhododendrons make lovely shady purples for early spring

I didn't realize they were so close to the house, yes be careful. Luckily for me the guy that cuts down ours is pretty skilled at doing it. He dropped a tree down between 4 others that were close and surrounding it. That tree was dead so it had to come down he said where he was going to have it fall and he did it. Amazing to watch when they do it.

Yes, I agree Gordon, Rhodies would look great.