Don't tell maro you're looking for whimsy! :)

I haven't used it myself on a job, but i've researched it pretty extensively because i think it's so cool looking. here's what i know: it's very expensive, unless you have a local source. Be sure to get the tumbled kind, so your client isn't dealing with jagged glass. Heat can be a factor, so make sure the plants you use aren't too tender and can take it. Maintenance will be an issue--you'll have to blow the leaves and debris out regularly. It's very stunning, so use simple plantings (perhaps a monoplanting or one focal plant) that won't compete with it.

here's a link that can help. i did order some larger glass rock from this company for my business signs (copper tubing with a piece of glass rock dangling from the sign, it's pretty funky looking).

Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Rock

As a know-nothing amateur, I used soft blue and green colored tumbled glass between some peach colored flagstones in a path (no landscaping fabric underneath). I also planted some creeping thyme and festuca glauca here and there; at first it looked gorgeous. Five years later, the thin sprinkling of glass was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared into the dirt, thyme, and ornamental grass. I would discourage this haphazard method of application.

This summer I re-positioned many of the flagstones. This effort turned into an archeological dig, excavating large quantities of pretty blue and green tumbled glass. Now I only use it as a top-dressing in pots for succulents, and indoors it fills a variety of clear glass containers arranged with seashells.

Ah. Your client asks you to design something 'whimsy-like.'

I was wondering about such things in my post about unusual, whimsical, subtly humorous, etc. things put in to the design and not just added later.

If you DID do so, what would it be like? That could be a rhetorical question, I suppose.

Maro

I guess I have used recycled glass mulch, in a way. Every once in awhile in the garden I dig up part of an old bottle of Pabst, or maybe Rolling Rock for real whimsy.

For true whimsical effects with glass, this is probably the way to go. After a hail storm, there'll be mulch a-plenty.

So, in effect, any question posed on this forum by someone in the business is open to ridicule. eric is not interested in design so neither should you be. maro is trying to get her head around 'whimsy' and deb asks a civilized question about a design problem. eric with inordinate time on his hands shows us a picture of bottles stuck on a dead tree as an amusing, shall we say whimsical, stab at how silly it all is.

Bottle trees are a well-established form of garden ornamentation, particularly in the American South (Nandina is likely well-acquainted with them).

If there is something about them, or about tangents to or humor within threads which you find objectionable, you may e-mail me, or feel free to ignore them entirely.

The attack mode thing is non-contributory and gets tiresome.

amen, eric. i only discovered the design forum a couple of hours ago and am already tired of incog's 'above everyone else' contributions.

It really seems like a high maintenance item. I can picture it in the southwest, Florida, California. but not in my midwest garden. Unless in small doses, i.e. Whimsey. For instance, I have a stone path with various types if creeping thyme planted in the cracks. I could see some colored glass in these spaces, but not all. Have they used this glass in concrete mix? Just think of using colored glass instead of gravel and brushing the concrete before it set up to expose all the pretty colors. hmmm. Kinda sounds like the sparkly purple sidewalk in front of the strip joint in town. (always wondered how that got thru zoning. Or set in concrete like Gaudi's mosaics.

Eric,
Yes, I am very familiar with bottle trees. And, yes, I have one in my south side whimsy passage garden, bottles stuck on branch stubs on a large cedar tree. Maro, you should know that this isolated garden in my yard was landscaped to be entirely whimsical. Sorry, I prefer not to post pictures of my creations. But, my little 'play' area sold our house the day it was listed. I prefer to call it high class whimsy done with beautiful wood shapes and topiaries. The realtor told me that the couple looking at the property spent about 30 minutes studying all my whimsy and decided that they had to have it all. And so they shall.

To be authentic, only blue bottles should be used for bottle trees. The voodoo/Gullah believe that the color blue keeps away the 'haints'. Bottle trees are displayed in the front yard and house doors, shutters are also painted blue.
It must work because I have not seen any spirits floating about.

Due to the constant heavy pine needle drop we have here I have never used glass mulch. I remember some interesting ideas Mich posted. Open areas with little leaf litter invite playing with glass. After all, you do not need to mulch everything in your yard with it.

I used glass mulch in last year's display garden. It's not cheap. I will add that I sold every bit of it after the show all 600 lbs of it and could have sold even more. Andy Cao does some interesting things with glass. Check out the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Artful glass and more

Gingerblue! She has a blue bottle tree! Search!

This disscussion reminds me of the Preraphaelite quest to get back to "Pure Art" or art that was only "classic" (Serious).

While we all enjoy and appreciate renaisance masters, and conservative or neoclasic art, as well as representational art, like Sargent, or Wyeth, It makes me sad, even upset to think that if Preraphelites had been in charge of the art world, "whimsy" like the works of Marc Chagal might have been relagated to the trash, or perhaps even never made.

I can understand wanting to take your line of work siriously, and give it a dignified spin, but it almost feels like this had dropped into the catagorry of "creativity Policing", where a few not particularly humorous folk get to decide whats worthy by sneering at any one who doesnt agree. I must be mistaken, surely the creative plants people here didnt mean to give this impression, but to one artist and gardener, this is how it looks.

I love the explanation of the Bottle tree, I had never heard that, now I will watch for this with interest. It goes to show that people usually have a purpous or starting point for their artistic process, which may or may not be apparant to their viewers, but is non the less important to them, as is what ever Art/Gardening they do. As one poster pointed out if you dont like or understand it look the other way. (paraprasing here, my appologies to the OP)

Well, I couldn't find GingerBlue's blue bottle tree, but it exists. Never mind, that's not about mulch anyway. But thanks, Nandina for more on whimsy, and Ink is right about my head, but I'll put it in the whimsy post.

Maro