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Wooden It Be Nice?

© Emily Levitt

Natural materials, such as vines and wooden structures, are obvious compliments to every garden.

This old chair was falling apart--literally--when I found it in a yard sale. The owners were glad to see me tote it away for nothing---which was about what it was worth.

It has been tacked together with carpet nails, and strung loosely with nylon cord in the "seat" to support a plastic bowl of pansies. Real terra cotta would get too heavy for use here.

It's been treated with Water Seal and Spectracide insect spray, to keep it in reasonably decent shape as it sits out in the weather. I have it sitting on flat rocks, so that the old feet don't come into contact with the soil.

Deadheading and removing spent material during the season before decay begins to set also in helps to keep the wood from attracting rot. I treat my wooden trellises and containers with these two products after a good cleaning every spring. They have lived much longer as a result.

Cement containers benefit from cleaning as well.
If you love mossy patina on the outside of cement vessels by all means leave it; but clean the inside to keep bacteria from eating at both your plants and the container.

The nicest thing about this wooden "container" has been its' mobility. It sat by the front door for a while, with forced bulbs and ivy in it; now I have it in full view of my kitchen's bay window. Muscari (grape hyacinth) and scilla (Spanish squill) are popping up through daylily folige beneath the chairs' seat.

Pansies are repeated throughout the garden in other containers and in the ground, and when they become compost candidates, I'll replace them with in other seasonal selections.

By the way,the loose green limbs behind the chair in this photo are graceful limbs of 'Pink-a-Boo' deutzia gracilis, currently covered with buds. As the name indicates, the flowers are a clear pink. When they bloom in a few weeks they'll make a nice background for the composition in the chair.

I don't own the wooden fence you see behind the chair, but it provides me with a frame for the border in front of it on my property. The soon-to-be-famous wooden chair accents the fence by repeating its' material.

This goes to show you that almost anything you like can be used as a form of self expression in your garden. All it takes is the urge to try!

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