It will eventually be planted with something. It is now sitting in the courtyard between our outbuildings and our back porch looks out over the courtyard. I am in the planning stages for that area, and think it might fit in very nicely right there. I will plant it with something vining/cascading, and white sudsy looking plants sounds fun. Thanks for that idea luvstocraft! I'll need to find something nice that will grow well in our area - at 7000 plus foot altitude. I'll be shopping around!

Candy, about the gate... I found that gate at a flower shop that also sold finds of old "stuff". That was years ago in Toronto. It was painted bright turquoise at the time. I NEEDED it. So then began my search for posts to support it and make it functional. There was a huge warehouse near the Humane Society and I went there and searched, resisting many other 'finds'. I found the two posts at last and managed to unify things by painting them the dark dark green. Then I asked my Italian brick layer friend (the guy who rebuilt our chimney and cement walkway and front porch pillars and more...) to install the gate in our small backyard. He sank the posts in concrete, installed a rose arch above it and lay a flagstone path to that area. About 15 years later we moved to the country and sold the house. DH said I could either keep the gate or the old Quebec pine fireplace mantle, but one of them had to stay with the house to give it character for selling the place. Not yet knowing what our new home would be like, I risked taking the gate. So Benny returned to remove the posts from the concrete! One of the bases broke in the process. Once we actually moved here, the contractor who removed wallpaper and sanded floors here found me a man who could repair the post and then he installed the gate in its present location. Given my age, it will either remain here forever or else make one more trip to wherever we go if this place becomes way too much for us to handle. And so it is well loved, even though I would never have thought to mix it in with a farm atmosphere.

This is a really fun thread. I like to see what everyone has in their garden and how thoughtful about art and creative you all are. I often think I'm going to "make" some garden art but then never get around to it. I don't decorate the garden with a whole lot of art. I have a few decorative stakes and then a few glazed birdbaths and some copper sprinklers that I use more for decoration than watering. My mom has a very cute piece of garden art. The story behind it is that we were at Hever Castle in England and they were selling all kinds of cement statues. We fell in love with so many of them. My mom couldn't part with this guy. Hever Castle was down a hill so we had to hike back up the hill, carry him on the rest of our tour and then carry him home on the plane. He weighed between 30-35 pounds so it was like carrying a little person around. He was well worth it though!

It is usually the last weekend in April. It also corresponds with the opening of the Shelbyville Farmer's Market. We had a lovely crowd at market despite the steady drizzle. It wasn't enough to keep true gardeners inside! There were tons of annuals and perennials there plus I saw someone carting hypertufa pots around. I'm going to make me some one of these days! I love the way they look. A few artists were set up plus lots of lawn and garden folks. The plants from Master Gardener's gardens were quite popular too. The Farmer's Market has several plant vendors with annuals, daylilies, herbs and handmade lawn furniture at VERY reasonable prices. This is the first year I was actually able to participate. As per usual, the 4-H Cow Camp was this weekend and I usually had to forgo the Garden Fair to haul kiddies to Cow Camp but this year I was able to send my second daughter with the rest of the kids. Apparently she did a good job cause my youngest daughter came in 4th in the junior division and my son came in first in reasons and third overall. If he can hold that record for the state contest in June he'll be on his way to Mid-South fair in Memphis and the NAILE in Louisville. Janet