Loves Me Like A Rock

My garden is a kitchy collection of mismatched pots and plants, placed willy-nilly based on inspiration and only occasional logic and never on the rules of gardening.  Not surprising if you know me at all.  There is no fancy statuary but, instead, there are old aggregate pier blocks and bowling balls.  I built a couple trellises from driftwood this year.  This old hand-truck was left behind from the rug-cleaning business that used to operate from our house decades ago.  I've moved it around the garden and finally decided it needed some transformed.  While confident I could do it, Mark was home and prefers to wield the power tools so he created, based on my brainstorm, another support for the tomatoes I hope will thrive there.

Artichokes and zucchini share space in my front garden with hollyhocks and hydrangeas.  Herbs are scattered up the driveway among the roses and glads. Fancy brass plant markers would clearly be out of their element. Years ago, I saw an picture in a magazine of painted rocks created to mark plants and I've been painting rocks ever since to identify the residents of my garden.  

The first step, and often the hardest, is to find the rocks, especially the larger ones.  The smaller ones I've found on the beach.  The larger ones are JUST like the ones you might see along a river...say...similar to the area near the Mad River pump station.  I'm not sure those particular stones would be okay to take since I'm sure they're hauled in but probably a landscape supply place would sell you a nice stone or two to paint.  I will tell you that rocks I once collected at Centerville Beach in Ferndale, eventually broke into pieces proving themselves to be sandstone.  Sadly, they already had my artwork when they disintegrated.  Don't use those. 

Once you've found your canvases, wash well and set in the sun to dry a bit while you ponder their shapes for inspiration.  Will you mark specific plants?  Does it look like a whale? Will you make a memorial to a beloved goldfish interred among the marigolds? What colors will you use? 

 I use simple acrylic paints.  If you don't have a stash, any craft store has them for less than a buck for a 2-ounce bottle. Grab a few colors.  Grab a few more. Except for a small enough brush for lettering (or use rubber stamp letters if you have them) and details, you can do with sponges for most of the base coating. You'll need a can of polyurethane spray; gloss is more impressive than matte but ... it's your garden and your choice.

 This is them in progress. Get fancy or not.  Add glitter or not.  Add dots and swirls and borders -  It's hard to see but the "cukes" rock looked like denim so I added yellow "stitches" around the edges. I even did some Mod-Podge with clock faces I've torn from magazines for just such a project.

 When you're done, let them dry then take them outside to spray with the polyurethane.  I like to do this outside on a sunny day and lay on a BUNCH of thin coats throughout the day.  Let them dry real well until they are no longer tacky...(OK, sticky...mine are ALWAYS tacky!) before placing them in the garden.  They make great gifts for gardening friends, too.