Old, Found, and Recycled in the Garden

Except for plants, pea gravel and sand, and the stepping stones, everything in our new garden is either old stuff, found stuff, or recycled stuff.

Even most of the plants were on sale as RH has an eagle eye for bargains. The Tennessee Crab Orchard flagstones were costly, our major purchase last summer and saved for this project.

I love this found lantern, one of two in our garden, this one is just hung from a metal plant holder. I guess we need battery candles for it but those haven't been found yet.

There were two of these hanging in the little barn when we moved here.

I was so happy when RH got them down and cleaned them up for the garden, one by the cupola weather vane that was recycled from a job at one of the major country music stars' house years ago...

and one lantern hanging in a sweet gum tree in the shady sitting area of the garden.

The white drain thingy was a discard at a job too and found its way home to me because every chain link fence needs jewelry.

But did you notice the rooster that sits back there, ready to crow?

In 1977 my husband drove to Chicago for a van load of cast stone fountains and garden pieces for his and his brother's garden center that they had bought from my father when he and my mother moved to Florida.

And when we moved back to Tennessee from Florida last year, his brother still had some pieces at his house and shared them with us, including the pineapple that sits by our front porch and almost all the clay pots in our garden, Italian pots and left over from the old garden center days. They were much needed as we had left all our pots at the old house in Nashville. 

I looked up the company in Chicago where RH bought our rooster over 40 years ago and found that they're still in business there, the Henri Studio, begun in the early 1960s by Eneri Prosperi who emigrated from Tuscany and became the world's leading name in cast stone fountains.

Here's a link to the business for anyone in the Chicago area.

And here's a picture I got from their website of the very same rooster that they still sell today, Rooster Provence in Trevia Greystone.

I love seeing our rooster sitting back in the garden on his perch topped with a travertine tile that we brought back from Florida.

When we sit there as the sun goes down, we're careful not to disturb him and he promised never to wake us up at dawn. 

Now I have a favor to ask you, well, two favors, please!

1. Can you give us some ideas for another found object that we'd like to use somewhere outside? A friend who has done the metal work for us for years had a beautiful sample 1/2 round copper gutter that he no longer displayed at his business and gave to RH. We'll take free copper anytime!

There's not only this large piece but an extension for the pipe and an elbow piece, all gorgeous heavy copper. What in the world can we do with it?

Any ideas? 

We did make use of the two beautiful copper brackets that came with it, using them not only to decorate the kitchen porch entrance but to give me something firm to hold on to while going up and down the steps.

And that blue will be painted either white or green when the kitchen porch is dressed up with an overhead pergola some day, I hope.

2. Most of you know about our son Zack and daughter-in-law Courtney now owning our old farmhouse and you saw pictures of their wedding there last September. But you may not know that Courtney has started an event venue business right there at the old farm.

And she has an Instagram page all about it!

If you enjoy Instagram, would you please visit her so you can see the charming pictures she takes? You might even spot one of me dancing with a handsome young man at their wedding!

Remember to watch for familiar sights from our days at what we called Valley View but that is now The Farmhouse, and her business Nashville Forest Farm.

Many of the pictures are of events held there and some of their own beautiful wedding, but there are plenty that show what a fabulous job she has done of imprinting her own unique young style in a home and garden that they love as much as we did, Courtney maybe even more than we did because she loves all things garden and farm. I expect that someday there will be a barnyard of animals who call her Mom.

Here's another link to her Instagram page...

And a link to the story that Nashville Bride Guide featured, with an event that was held there...


Thank you so much, dear friends, for your help!

And I finally managed to fix my blog so that your comments are sent to my email, which will make it so much easier to communicate with you. I even think I managed to fix a little problem that a few of you said prevented you from being able to leave comments. I hope so!

Happy gardening, everyone. We're still in the good ole summertime!