Who But a Gardener

Who but a gardener would have the interest to see the garden ornaments I have or tchotchkes, as the man about the house calls them.  He took great glee in laughing at me as I carefully set up the shots.  So, I ask you, where else can I share all of this with any hope of interest? And I love each one and take great joy in sharing.  No visitor to my garden ever seems to notice, except the very few, who are interested in only one. Thank goodness for the blotanists and any interlopers. Just note that you can read my comments or simply enjoy the pictures, as you would at a gallery showing.

One of my favorites, the garden gargoyle. Is he thinking,drowsing? I believe he sees all behind his closed eyes. He's my greatest protector from bad spirits, as on the Gothic churches.

The next two are griffins, also from Gothic churches, with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. They are reputed guards of treasure, which is my garden, of course.They both have such character. The one clinging to the shelf is an eccentric characteur--I love it! And I place them carefully in the garden to take full advantage of their powers.

 

A few odds and ends to give you an idea of the variety of my non-plant additions.

 

 
  

 

 

 This representation of the Italian winds was a gift that has happily found a place in the large square garden, my first effort at gardening when I moved here.

 

My only conventional garden statue, St. Francis, near the bird feeders, since he talks to the birds. The Mayan calendar, below, is a little worse for wear since the squirrels decided to teeth on one side.

 

A sundial, above, that doesn't tell the correct time, alas. And my Genesa crystal, that is specially made from an old design to pull the air in and out rarefying it. There is a clear quartz in the center to bring more harmony into the garden. I do find my garden more peaceful since its arrival. They come in copper, too, but that's a good deal more expensive.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my little treasures. Hope I haven't overwhelmed you.
Perhaps you were inspired by some of them. 

They do that to me daily, which is why I have them.

I've looked back over this post and found it a bit long, but what can I leave out. I've just gone a little nuts over this blogging. The Man doesn't seem to mind that I've something I can obsess over. And I am just pouring my heart out.  Finally, a place where I can share about my crazy obsession with gardening and find companions to this lovely insanity.

Caladiums are Cool

    

As the heat wreaks havoc on my blossoms in the August heat, I opted for more caladiums this year for color.  Here they are in reddish color next to my garden griffin statue.  He also protects the garden from bad spirits.  I usually use colors in the red and pink range in this long bed right off my patio.

This one is a cooler color with chartreuse leaf and accents in burgundy.

This one is a pinker shade next to my Tiki statue, bringing good luck from the Pacific islands. 

A little less pink and the cooler of shades of green.  They're related to elephant ears, which always fow so large.  Usually they grow much larger than mine.  But in the dry heat, they stay small, like a miniature caladium.  They love humididy.  When we were groing up in north Texas, my mother always had green and white ones on our front porch to match the color of the house's trim.  Very sheik. And she said they made the porch look cooler.  She's always been an inspirer to my gardens, but I'm much more eclectic and mismatched in my garden style.  At any rate I still think of cool Southern porches when I see caladiums.