I've been making a list of features and details I've seen in other mini gardens that I think I could duplicate without buying ready-made, and working my way through making them. Would love to hear about and see details that you like and have made, whether installed in a garden or not. I don't mind having a few ready-made things, and would probably buy a bunch more if I wanted to spend more on this, stuff I could never make myself, but would like to discuss here things people can do/re-purpose without just buying (except for materials like paint, glue, sticks or other construction materials.)
Let's see your stuff! Hear your ideas!
Hollowed, painted corks, whirlygig saved from a birthday cake
Clay (Crayola air dry) bird bath parts and bricks drying:
Shed made out of old mini blind slats and little sticks smaller than popsicle sticks. I don't remember why many years ago I bought the little sheets of shiny squares on mesh backing, but as DH suggested, they make great windows...:
Wind chime of florist wire, beads, rocks meant for necklace-stringing:
Other wind chime:
DH made the table, I made the chair, bought plate and watering can:
Cyclone beach fence made of "not popsicle sticks" and florist wire:
Showed DH the little wooden bird house I already had, asking for more, and he showed up the next day with this, used a pencil for the stake, nail with head cut off for perch. Needs another coat of paint.
This pool was the lid of a fast-food container. I cut off the rim, painted a few coats of blue, aquarium rocks. The chair isn't meant to be in the pool, but fits there to share the pic. The chair is florist wire, hot glue, fabric scrap glued on a piece of plastic tub lid that's waterproof and easy to cut to shape.
This was bought years ago for my daughter's Barbies. Painted it and decided the back was a good place to glue a gaggle of the friendly plastic doo-dads I made (...in the 90's?) Going to use that "tacky" stuff to place items inside, so I can rearrange if I want.
My real outdoor gardens are very sedate as far as having hardly any gizmos or gadgets, so it's fun to let that restrained part of me really go with this mini thing.
In case somebody wants to copy/paste this, it has the stuff above included, kind of a list, kind of notes:
alum. cans as sheet metal
basket: line with fabric for utensils
bird bath
bird feeder
bird house
boots (Barbie)
bridge
burgers, dogs, shish-ka-bobs for grill
butcher block table
cake columns: gazebo or Roman row
cake decoration: whirlygig
coil of wire for hose
corks as tiny planters
doughnuts (clay)
fences, various types
grill
hammock
hanging baskets (plastic bottle lid, wire)
magazine or book
marble as gazing ball
mushrooms
napkin holder
picnic table
pool & lounge chairs
sconces
shed
sign
statues
stream/waterfall
stump
swing set
table, chairs, bench
tiny pots
various paths
wind chimes
wire arbor/trellis
wishing well
wooden play/slide thing
wreath
