Hi folks,

I've got the hostas. About 150 varieties in a city lot (and I still have a small veggie garden too).

The hostas are beginning to mature, but the gardens have very little of anything else except a few companion plants.

What I'm looking for is ideas for garden art that don't cost an arm and a leg to carry out. What have you done with your gardens? I think the only thing I have is a couple of viola playing frogs.

Ann

Ann, I LOVE your little frogs!! They are so cute!!
My husband found these for me last year at a yard sale. They are random copper bugs with beads on them.
I also have toad houses as you know, frogs love to hide under hostas. I just tuck a house somewhere & they will get in it.

here is a mosquito lol
Some of these have plain 'ol marbles in them.

a big butterfly

here is a toad house with a resident. You really can't see, but it's tucked between 2 hostas & it's somewhat hidden.

Cute.

Kristy is that a real toad in there?

I used to have about 6 ceramic brightly painted mushrooms that I really liked. However I didn't bring them in the house last winter and they were all badly damaged so I pitched them. I bought each of them on sale for $20 or less. I probably won't replace them because they really didn't fit in that well. Now I'm leaning more towards stone and metal for garden art pieces.

I have not put out my other pieces of garden art for the year yet - they include a granite owl, a bronze sundial on a stand and a small copper birdbath on a slender stand. Each of those pieces varied in price from $50-$150.

out of necessity we have had to come up with something to protect some of our more valued hostas. It seems there are a few bunnies in the area that love to knock down flower scapes and eat them. In order to protect these hostas we have devised a method that seems to work quite well and could qualify as garden art. I am talking about bird cages. The ones we use are certainly not art, but there are a lot of fancy bird cages available a person can pick up for little or nothing. One placed over a small hosta would make an amusing conversation piece.

Here is a piece we picked up this past fall. We aren't sure exactly where we are going with it yet.

Oh yeah, I like that arch... Nice.

Yeah the darn thing followed me home from Brucemore last fall. I can't seem to be able to go to Brucemore without something following me home.

Gary

Ooooh, that is what you all were off doing when I was cooling my heels waiting for the elusive LeAnn to show up.... LOL

I thought I'd add my cute little dragon here. He's keeping watch over 'Regal Splendor.' (Can you believe I got that plant a couple weeks ago for $8? It has 16 eyes!)

Very nice!

I like bird baths , they add height, they generally cost less than statuary and are useful too.

That works too.

You guys have such cute ideas!!
I have a bird bath too. One odd thing is that the dogs have figured out that it has water in it and use it as a water dish... weird. Also have a Garden Angel (the wings fell off this winter - I forgot to bring it in)... so I need to cement those back on.
The other thing I have in my garden are metal things - like old tractor wheels and old milk cans and other odd old metal items I found in the woods on the back 40. Oh and I have an old metal gate (antique thing)!!

Gary -- what is the Hosta in your profile? It is beautiful!!!

Christine, that is a seedling we got last year from Bob Axmear in Waukon, IA. He grows some amazing things and we were very lucky to be gifted with a few!
Kit

I'm jealous!