Goodness, I guess I wasn't even online yesterday and almost missed this!! Thanks all of you so much for the comments!! Thanks Trish for the surprise!
Janet in CA...I sanded the pvc just a bit and used Rustoleum.
Jeri in LA... You can sink rebar and add this over it. The hose or electrical cord won't grab it ...it will spin.

Shoe (who noticed Dave put "tip" in his post four times so grabbed the ball and topped him, er, uh, over-tipped again.) (I'm having too much fun here, ain't I?)

Sheila,
A fine tip indeed! In fact, this'll add to getting my own landscaping into tip-top shape in no time. Looking at your polka dots made me think the tip of a Q-tip would be a nice clean way to make them. I love the tips discussions that follow, too. Yep. "A tip a day" will certainly help All Things Plants to grow!

Oh my gosh! How cute! This will definitely be something fun to do over winter like Sashagirl says! Thank you for the great tip Sheila!

What a great tip. Now to find pipe and start painting.
Krylon makes an excellent paint for PVC, in many colors. http://www.krylon.com/products...

I love Krylon...so many bright colors!

This is tres fabby tippy SheilaFW Ditto on a tutorial please

That is really neat Sheila, Congratulations !!!!

Gymgirl.... Yes, it could have been a lot cleaner, but didn't take time to do it! LOL! Next one ....maybe for a tutorial (ok Becky & Dalhia ) I will take a bit more time. I almost didn't submit it because of that!

Frostweed....It was those in your garden that were my inspiration, I just added paint.

Oh my goodness, I just noticed the bluebird of happiness in the pot.

It is a re-purposed pot edge sitter. It is much happier there!

It is in the perfect place Sheila. : )

Love that little bird!

This is perfect for the "cursing step" leading down to my pond. I have the little fancy hose guides throughout the garden, but they're too dangerous to use by that step for fear someone will trip on one. I'm going to try this. Because it rolls the hose around, maybe I won't have to curse that step again!

Bubbles said:This is perfect for the "cursing step" leading down to my pond. I have the little fancy hose guides throughout the garden, but they're too dangerous to use by that step for fear someone will trip on one. I'm going to try this. Because it rolls the hose around, maybe I won't have to curse that step again!

LOL! Love the "cursing step"----I have a few of those myself!

Those little short hose thingies are not much use unless you are on your knees pulling the hose.

I ended up only using them at the corners of the house. The hose is stretched out for so long by that point that it stays in them easily. I was having the worst luck with the beds by the driveway getting mowed down by the hose - no matter which style of the low ones that I bought or the rebar that a neighbor recommended. I ended up with containers

as hose guides for the driveway/sidewalk.

That is Beautiful Junebug. Love it!!!

Putting a solar light in the top of the pipe would be nice for pathway lighting at night.

I have no idea what is left of that wonderful, but overly planted yard; now that the drought and renters have had their way with it for the last 2 years.
Here is a shot showing the hint of an enormous shrub bed on a sloped corner of the yard.
DH just said that we have a better chance of going back to Texas or (gulp) going to Detroit than going back to our house in Missouri We will find out in the next 18 months or so...