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Sprucing up the Garden Decor

© Carol Wallace

One of the advantages to having spring take an interminable time coming (there HAS to be an advantage or the anxious gardener would go nuts!) is that without all the greenery we can see exactly what needs painting and repair. The roses have been pruned back and it's clear that the arbor needs a new coat of paint, and the little stone benches tucked around the property have begun to peel. And after five years the gargoyle lamppost is starting to chip. And I've GOT to do something about all the odds and ends of mismatched pots scattered around the house and yard.

The soil may be too wet for gardening, but as long as it's not raining I can at least do something about these non-living elements in the garden. It's time to get out the sponges and go.

Yes - I said sponges. Not those flimsy little sponge brushes that they sell in the home improvement stores, but good, natural sea sponges. When I worked in theater I did most of my paint work with sponges and could achieve a fair imitation of anything from marble to fieldstone to stucco. Now I let them do the same kind of magic in my yard. Oh - I use a brush for a few things, and I'll need a few cans of spray paint - but sponge work is faster and a lot more fun.

Concrete lawn ornaments and benches
Take those "stone" benches scattered around the yard. They're cast concrete, of course - all that the budget will allow. But with a bit of spray paint and a sponge they can be transformed into a creditable imitation of the real thing.

I begin with a couple cans of metallic spray paint - whatever is on hand, which may be bronze or silver. I spray a few patches of each color randomly over the surface of the bench, letting it cover in some places and merely misting others.

Then, because our native stone is sort of buff and gray, I sponge on a grey colored latex paint (outdoor grade). I don't need to cover everything, and I do want to go a bit thin over the metallic paint so that the glint will shine through.

Finally I take a buff brown paint, thinned with one part water to 4 parts paint, and wipe it over the whole thing. I wipe thinly in spots to allow the grey and metallic paints to glimmer through. If there is any carving on the piece I use a brush to cover it and then wipe off the highlights, leaving darker paint to collect in the recesses - and then lightly sponge that color back over the highlights. If it looks too heavy I wipe with a rag. When it dries I can always sponge on a bit more thinned buff or gray, if I think it needs it - but essentially, I'm done and the bench looks like it was carved from native stone.