Plant yourself here

Plant yourself here
Originally uploaded by The Gypsy Wagon.

Bulk pick-up was a treasure trove last month. We cruised the neighborhood streets along with other treasure seekers, stopping only at the houses whose garbage was interesting. If the bulk of the sidewalk offerings were toddler toys that were outgrown, or sad and tired lawn furniture, we passed them by. The same held for broken-down or rusty grills or corroding boxes full of unrecognizable tools. However, two blocks away from the downtown shopping area, on a lovely historical cobblestoned street, we found four of these chairs! Two were in great condition - caned seat and all, while two had only gaping holes where the seats once were. We loaded all four into the truck before anyone else could grab them, and headed home with different plans for each of them. This is the first one to escape the garage and it now resides on our front porch. I had hardware cloth stapled around the rim of the seat, then lined it with a coir mat intended for wire hanging baskets. Then I added potting soil, sedum, asparagus fern and coleus. I love it, but have had mixed reviews from my family. My daughter thinks it looks awkward, and my sons are unsure. My husband, though, thinks it's great - probably partly because he shed blood while stapling the hardware cloth!