How I Plant in Vintage Wash Tubs

I have a little trick that I will share with you about planting in vintage containers.

The truth is this old vintage wash tub is on a very rickety pedestal stand and I don't know how long the base will support the wash tub full of plants. I also like to be able to change out the plants in the tubs as the season progresses. I'm trying a few new plants this year, and don't know how well they will get along with our Texas summers. The trick is finding containers that will fit inside the tub!

Plastic growers pots are flexible enough to work in between larger, more sturdy pots. I bought the pink flowers last year, and can't remember their name. The pot sat underneath a tree since last summer and started blooming this spring. You can place liners underneath the pots to protect your container.

Plant an assortment of flowers in the container and then ADD MULCH! Mulch gives the finishing touches and hides the pots. If one plants dies, pull out the pot and replace with something different.  

So now you know one of my tricks to planting flowers in rusty, junky containers. We use this technique at the flower shop when we create European Dish Gardens, except we use Spanish Moss to conceal our mechanics.

The same technique was used in this wash tub as well.

Click here to see more from my Junk Yard makeover project.

Customized Chair Cushions

Finding cushions for the chairs in the gazebo was the most trouble and costliest part of the entire makeover process. I finally settled on these green and tan chair cushions that were $16.00 each.

The dogs and cats think these chairs belong to them. As I was doing my Junk Yard photo shoot, I realized Annie had snuck in the chair. I'll admit she was pretty cute sleeping there, but the cushions from last year did not hold up well with the dogs using the chairs for beds. As soon as I put the cushions on the chairs, our dog Bo, took a seat, so I knew I had to come up with a plan to protect our seats.

I had also wanted the chairs to have a vintage, rustic feel about them and that was something the big chain stores do not offer.

So I decided to cut a strip of burlap and tie around each chair. The first night I had the cushions, Farmall Man tied an orange hay string around the cushion to hold the seat up and prevent animals from sleeping in the chairs.

The burlap was tied with just enough slack that the chair seat can be tucked in the burlap. I like the look of the burlap wrap, the animal problem is solved and no more hay string!

Of course now the dogs are mad at me now, but I think my cushions will last us several seasons.

To see more of my Junk Yard Pictures, click here!

Bluebonnet Trails

I had the day off today, so we took out on a road trip to see the Bluebonnets. The Ennis Bluebonnet Trails are one of favorite places to go to see the state flower of Texas. It's also a place we can travel to in a couple of hours and make it back home by night fall. The Bluebonnets are trending earlier this year, so we wanted to take advantage of the day to see the wildflowers.

I spied a few albino Bluebonnets along the way as well! I took lots of pictures and will be sharing them soon. As I type this, I'm on my iPod and we are headed east towards home.

If you follow me on twitter, you will have seen a few more pictures that I shared from our journey today. Trixie came with us and she has enjoyed the trip. Of course stopping at the DQ for ice cream and rolling the window down to let her get some fresh air makes her a happy dog!

A Bicycle and a Bundt Pan

This bicycle has been a fixture in my yard for several years now. Last year I moved it by the gazebo and like to plant flowers on it.

The gym locker basket is wired to the handle bars and holds my parsley plant.

 In the past, I've used one of the coconut lined hanging baskets, minus the hanger, to put over the seat post, but this year I went with something different.

I know I said I wasn't going to buy any new flower pots from the store this year,  but I think this will  pass! I was at a garage sale earlier this month and saw this old Bundt pan for 25 cents. I wasn't even sure where I was going to use it when I planted the marigolds in the pan. I had planted the flowers and was walking around the yard when I saw the bicycle. The hole in the Bundt pan was perfect for the post on the bicycle! (I did drill a few drain holes in the pan for drainage.)

 No wiring or rigging a flower pot to stay on the bicycle! I then decided to add a few sprigs of creeping jenny to the cake pan, so that over the summer, there will be a cascade of greenery flowing out of the pan. Several years ago I bought a couple of creeping jenny plants and now I can take a few divisions from other locations to fill in as needed.

 I already had the parsley plant from last year and I used less than 5 small marigolds for the bicycle. I think the 6-pack of marigolds was around a $1.89. So the total cost of flowers on the bicycle came in around $2.00!

To see more pictures from my "Junk Yard", please click here. I'll continue to share tips and tricks for how I pulled off my frugal, rustic, vintage spring gazebo in the coming days.

Welcome to the Junk Yard!

Ever since we completed our gazebo makeover last summer, I have been waiting to decorate it with spring flowers. When we painted and put the reclaimed tin on the roof, we were in the middle of excruciating heat and drought and most of my flowers had faded by that point.

Pull yourself up a chair and grab a glass of tea and sit for a while, like Annie the cat did. I've been trying to keep the dogs and cats out of the chairs, but Annie slipped passed me! (I'll share my trick for keeping them out of the chairs later.)

 Our gazebo was pulled from a trash ditch a few years ago. It was in good shape, but the former owners had rolled it down the hill into a ditch and has now become the focal point of our yard. There were actually two gazebos and our friend stopped and ask about them, so we each were able to get one! Last summer, we painted the gazebo white and my husband and brother came up with the idea for the metal roof. It was a complete surprise to me, because I was at work while they transformed the gazebo roof. You can find that reveal and more of the story here. 

Our yard seems to have become a "Junk Yard", as everything is reclaimed and recycled. Lots of vintage, rusty containers are now holding flowers. This old door sits in the gazebo and works as a back drop when I take pictures for my etsy items and I decided the door needed a wreath on it. So I made a junk wreath. A wooden window frame serves as the base, with a galvanized bucket holding a begonia. I made a burlap banner and painted J-U-N-K on each pennant. Bed springs add to the junky spring wreath.

 This is my view of the gazebo when I step out my front door! It makes me want to stay out there all day and night. I lit my candles tonight and love the glowy look as the sun went down.

Here is the Bottomless Rusty Bucket that has been a pinterest star! It is still in the same place. My earlier pictures didn't show the two springs holding the bucket very well.

 A bottomless chicken feeder sits on the table.

 I rescued this Igloo water jug from a trash dish this winter. It still had clean water in it. I'm not sure why anyone would throw this thing away. Since the weather has warmed up, I moved my nepthytis plant outside and it found its summer home in the Igloo jug.

More rusty buckets and wash tubs are filled with flowers. My goal is to not see any plastic flower pots in my yard and I only have a couple more left to hide!

I found this old Gulf can with a hole in its side. I set the springeri fern in the rusty can. I planted a few sprigs of spider plant in an old water jug. I had several plants to sit under this tree all winter with little care or attention. None of the plants looked great by themselves, but combined in unique pots with other flowers, they look much better.

I love the glow of my insulator chandelier.

I stole this washing machine tub from my husbands junk! Shhh, don't tell him!

A gym locker basket and Bundt pan serve as containers on this old bicycle.

A chicken feeder hangs from a tree with celosia, petunias, and creeping jenny.

Trixie says Thanks for sticking with us through all the pictures! I'll share more pictures and tricks I used to pull off my Junk Yard this week, so stay tuned!

Today was an absolutely perfect day...if the weather was always this pretty, I would be forever happy! Getting to spend the day outside, being creative, working in my yard, soaking up some sunshine, along with my favorite critters, makes me happy. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

Photo Challenge - A Little Bit of My World

The theme for this week's Brenda Photo Challenge is A Little Bit of My World.

This pond is a peaceful place on the farm for me to escape to.

I've been planting flowers around my gazebo in the front yard recently.

The path to the pond...

Its a beautiful weekend here and I'm headed outside now! I promise to share lots of pictures in the coming week. Have a wonderful weekend!

New Wedding Bouquets

I have been adding new items to my etsy store this week. I have added two burlap and lace bride's bouquets, perfect for a rustic, vintage insprired, shabby chic wedding.

This is a set of 7 burlap and lace hair clips for the bridesmaids to wear in their hair. Each flower is attached to an alligator clip. There are 6 regualar size flowers and 1 smaller flower with a flower girl or junior bridesmaid in mind.

 I also added this white calla bouquet to my store. The bouquet consist of 12 white calla lilies and is stem wrapped with burlap material. The bouquet is very elegant looking.

 I have three bridesmaid bouquets like this available. Each bouquet consist of 3 callas each and wrapped with burlap material.

 This calla groom's boutonniere is included with the purchase of the bride's bouquet.

If you are interested in any of these bouquets, please head over to my etsy store, GypsyFarmGirl, to see more pictures and details about all these bouquets. As always, custom bouquets and quantities came be designed.

Super Chief

I caught a glimpse of this SuperChief Bicycle on Farmall Man's phone and ask him, "Where is this?"

He let me know that this rusty gem was out back on our property, so I at first opportunity, I got my camera and took a few shots of it as the spring grass grows up around it.

Happy First Day of Spring Y'all!!! I didn't think this day would ever get here.

Happy Monday

Happy Monday Y'all!

I continued planting in my rusty containers this weekend. I planted a few more bottomless buckets and watering cans, and even a Bundt cake pan! I was outside to dark last night and we are suppose to get storms today and tomorrow, so I'll take pictures after the rain passes.

Speaking of Rusty Bottomless Flower Buckets, the bucket I shared last week has gone crazy on Pinterest this weekend and got featured on Funky Junk Interiors!

Hope you all have a great week! Spring starts tomorrow!!! WooHoooooo!