Whimsical Garden

Today was a very rainy day here in the North Carolina Piedmont. There was not a whole lot that I could do outside, so I spent much of the day cleaning the house and getting ready for a yard sale that we are going to have in a couple of weeks. I decided that it was time to get rid of some of the clutter that was taking over in our household.

Yesterday, I promised some pictures of my garden tour in Cheraw, South Carolina. Before I share those, I had to give a veggie update. During my late evening walk around the yard yesterday, I stopped to look at the vegetable beds. For those of you who have been keeping up with the progress, you know that for a couple of weeks we have been enjoying the romaine and butter crunch lettuces that we have planted. You also know that we have been worried about our broccoli being so big and leafy but not producing florets. Well, no more worries. I noticed broccoli growing in the center of the plants. I just had to call my dad to share the good news. I knew that he would appreciate it. I also had to take John outside in the dark with a flashlight to show him. I was so excited that he asked me if I had been drinking!!! I just love watching things grow. Don't you?

Oh well, on to what I promised.... a few pictures of the garden tour. We decided to work our way through the tour backwards as to avoid the crowd. I think it worked. The first garden we toured was a beautiful whimsical garden decorated with many found or discarded objects. The lady who gardens here believes in using everything in some way. It was very cute and comfortable, the kind of place one would love to stop and sit a spell. I hope my pictures will do it justice.

The garden club had each stop marked with these cute little signs. Don't you just love it?




I love how the owner used an old set of painted steps to hold potted plants. Notice the broken pot on the right, she never throws out anything. She even used broken dishes and an old kitchen mixer for a planter.



I love the bottle tree. I am thinking of adding one of those to my own garden.



What a great idea for some old rakes. I am sure everyone has a few of those lying around.



She even used old light fixtures for hanging bird baths. And speaking of baths, do you see the old bath tub? I'm sure my husband would die if I put one of those in our yard. I loved it. I especially loved the knock out rose bush and the pink peony. Don't you?



There were too many details to include without going overboard with this post. These were just a few examples of her creative ideas. I felt as though this garden belonged to Alice in Wonderland.... I wish I were brave enough to garden this way. Are you?