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triciae_gw

Fun Garden Project

triciae
12 years ago

Last summer we were trying to decide what to do with a cheap, plastic garden table hating to take it to the transfer station. I came up with the idea to turn it into a garden based on seeing those wreaths wrapped in moss.

The top of the table is embossed with a floral design & had cut-outs. I soaked moss for about an hour & started smooshing it into the table cut-outs. Then, I topped with about 3" of our compost. Done.

The table sat under the spruce tree all winter & I waited to see what Mother Nature would plant for me.

So far, there's Labrador violets, a rose, rudbeckia, lots of moss, maple trees, a white birch, clover, & a few unknowns. I added the pottery & seashell. I picked up the pottery at auction years ago. I call them my "Inca Ruins". The jar of shells & sand under the table is to keep my little table from blowing away! DH hung my pitcher plant from the spruce tree over the table for the summer. The pitcher plant makes a perfect umbrella so heavy rains don't smash the fragile table plants. The moss medium stays evenly moist without suffering torrential downpours.

Close-up...

This one shows the jar of shells...

DH went to the marine salvage store here in town & scored about 30' of coconut fiber that he used to make a hanger for my pitcher plant...(Excuse the grass, we had the house resided last October & they ruined the turfgrass. We'll reseed this fall.)

There's a "secret" path that we had professionally pruned out of the spruce in an "S" shape to enter the rear gardens. This pillar & begonia mark the entrance from the other side of the garden. My little table is right on the other side of the tree. The sad looking maturing bulb foliage are English bluebells that bloomed back in early May.

Picture to give a bit of context to the table... I've been nuturing moss in this area for 7 years. I just cleared the area of spruce needles. It was already compacted & waited. It's slow going but working. The clumpy stuff is cushion moss. I'm letting a few Labrador violets grow around to help stop the robins from tearing it up. :)

If I would have known last summer how cool it would be I would have painted the table purple, or something, before filling it with moss. :( Anyway, fun things to do from a walker.

/tricia

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