Then this past oct we went up to lake Superior (again...we love to go three) and I picked up a bunch of driftwood pieces to take home....:>) plan to create some garden art with them....Bevie

We pick rocks out of fields in the spring, not small stuff..I am talking over 11 pickup loads since 1999. I've taken raked pine needles from other yards and put them here for mulch, same with a few leaves. The neighbors next door divorced and sold us an awesome lawn ornament they had way below cost a few years back.....! We had to hire a skidloader to move the damned thing!
Another thing is big garden centers in late fall. I got several bags of Preen a few years back dirt cheap. I still have 120 lbs. I can put down in March this year to help with the 2010 weeds.
I don't have a greatest find yet....maybe that is to come!
Hey, always looking! ;-))
Like Trudy mentioned, there's plenty of river around here. I might look arounf for some cool driftwood as well!
Rox

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When I'm out riding my mare I occasionally come across an old dump. I found this old pot in one of those places.

Also, pretty rocks like this one are great finds for me. I get my honey to rev up the front loader and bring them back for me. . lol I also collect dry land tarpon shells (uninhabited, of course. . lol)

I had a picture of a wonderful old gear wheel that my mare pulled out of an old creek bed but I cannont find the picture. :( Here is a couple more path pics.

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hh, drift wood surely is a good spot to find slugs. . and bees. . two years ago I got stung in, ahem. . my posterior end from a couple yellow jackets. I'll tell you true. . it don't take me long to inspect a yellow jacket. . lol
I did find (by chance) the benefits of these pavers. I have never laid anything like that and decided to lay them in course sand. The course sand discouraged the slugs under them. However when a slug crosses them the slime trail sparkles and I quickly get bait in that area. That has been a herald of a blessing.

Mctavish, I love your garden. .it fits like an old shoe and that is so wonderful to me. What did you make your oh so cool wall out of?

I do hope this thread is kept going. . .you guys are giving me such great ideas. I remember one post last fall had a small elf door and such at the bottom of a tree.
Looking at those pics I posted made me see how much things have changed in my garden. It's really grown up and filled out since they were taken.. .but then four years makes a huge difference in a hosta garden, eh?

The neat thing about a garden is that it is an expression of a heart. Thanks for sharing y'all. .

He also was able to get for free,these long per formed red brick slabs, they use to make walls around construction sites,they has a skid left over, it cost to much to send them back, so they were going to dump them, they are now the floor on our pergola.

Last year, he was working at a hospital,building a sub station for the hospital,they were re-doing the grounds,that were already beautiful,every day he would watch them just rip out the plants, and throw them into a dumpster,one day they were ripping out grasses,so he asked k=his boss if he could have them, boss man said he would check with the hospital,cause ya can't just take things from a dumpster,(yes,really)hospital said yes, so he brought home 6 huge clumps of grass,and 4 shrubs.The next day, they were ripping out the trees,again he asked boss man, could he have them,he said yes,hospital said yes, landscaper said NO!!!!
He told his worked to make sure he ripped them out,and dumped them in the dumpster,so no one could get to them.
Landscaper went to new job,one of his workers, came over,asked Wayne h if he wanted the tree, he would load it into his truck for him,he did not want to see it dumped,so they loaded it,and it growing in my yard now.
The hospital said he could have any thing he wanted,cause every thing was donated to them,CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!!!!!
After the tree incident,the landscaper made sure every thing was destroyed,which made no sense, it was not hurting him any,some people are just that way i guess.

Also, he brought home 150 landscaping timbers,I will be using these this year for the edging around my new flowers beds, I really don't like stragit lines, but I will make them work some how,ha ha

We are a throw away nation.
We are a recycle family,works out great for us. :0)
cAROL

Sidny, what you have done is truly amazing! I am always on the look out for bricks of any kind,love what you have done with your find,what a lot of hard work,but so worth it in the end.Wish I had them, ha ha
cAROL

Sidney, Your brick paths are wonderful. lucky you to have machinery to lift rocks and heavy things. I am limited to what I can do myself. Moivng rocks has given me frozen shoulder twice because I tend to do more than I should. Anyway, You asked about the wall. It is cement poured in forms made around the old picket fence supports. After removing the forms I hand textured (literally- no gloves they got in the way) the surface and then painted it. Here are a couple pictures of the process. I did a thread on this a couple years ago but it seems to have disappeared.

Mctavish. . .how clever! My goodness what character that wall gives off! How much concrete did it take. What a wonderful creation! I really like it. The only reason I think I haven't crippled myself gardening is that I a had a large string of show horses for a lot of years. It just seems light work in the garden compared to my past life. . lol. . however. . . I now am older than dirt so it takes a bit longer to warm up for spring. . hehehe

cAROL, what prize hauls have come your way. . .it feels like Christmas when those thing fall in your lap, doesn't it? I wanted a potting shed forever before I finally got one. . It's small and plain but I don't have to drag my tools all the way over to the barn any more. . . Hey, . .about those 150 landscaping timbers. . I'd be glad to relieve you of the burden if you want. . lol
Happy Gardening sis!

Kim

Lee