Rusty Iron Junk

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Sep 18, 2005 10:15 am

Linda and others love the look of it and use it to decorate their gardens. What is the appeal? To me it looks old and junky and needing to be sanded and refinished. Clue me in.

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » Sep 18, 2005 12:43 pm

Mainly that's it's aged naturally I would think. I don't use a lot of bright colorful things in the gardens (except maybe the reddish stains on wood structures and very few baubles). I'd rather have natural stones and naturally aged items for the other stuff. I appreciate others whimsy things that are bright in their gardens.

I guess the differences in all our choices is what makes us all appreciate everyone's pretty equally. If they all had brights, pastels, or naturally aged, life would be very boring

whis4ey · Post by **whis4ey** » Sep 18, 2005 1:04 pm

Yip
It is the patina of age that does it for me
Moss on lanterns does the same thing
It all gives the feeling of 'being there for ever' and thus contents the soul and eases the mind

Linda P · Post by **Linda P** » Sep 18, 2005 9:33 pm

Sam, you said it well. In my case, the stuff has been here for ages. Someone who lived here many years ago used to leave old machinery parts and such lying around wherever he dropped them. When I'm making new beds, I always end up digging up rusty metal stuff. I just started collecting it and placing it here and there in my garden. I think of it as unburied treasure. I concede that it's not for everyone. My garden is very informal, and I do live on a working farm. Somehow the old pieces of implements seem to fit, tying the garden of today to the past life of the land.
I'm not crazy about the newly rusted sculptures and things that are appearing all over these days. I'll take a hunk of plow that has been rusting naturally in the ground for decades over the faux rust any day. I like genuine old rusty stuff, and there's no accounting for it. (Might help explain why I'm still married after 40 years to my genuine old farmer...

)
Linda P

newtohosta-no more · Post by **newtohosta-no more** » Sep 19, 2005 6:26 am

In our current "throw-away" society it's nice to see things like this being used and recycled. So much better than filling up the land fills. I , myself, don't have an eye for design and placement of things, but I sure do appreciate what others have done.

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Sep 19, 2005 12:18 pm

I use a few old implements in my garden also, and they are rusty, but I am like Mary Ann, some of them are going to get painted. I don't plant a lot of color in my beds since I have mostly Hosta, so I like the big splashes of color in my garden "art"

Ginger

Doris_J · Post by **Doris_J** » Sep 19, 2005 10:35 pm

No, you're all wrong. The rusty metal junk is there so a cat can get a good face rub! That's why Thelma makes me put them in the garden

putnamgardens · Post by **putnamgardens** » Sep 20, 2005 7:59 am

Dear Clueless: Only the chimina has a purpose....the rest is jus garden goo gahs similar to bowling balls. It's another eye candy thing. Beauty in the eye of the beholder. Later, Love, Lisa

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Sep 21, 2005 2:32 pm

OK, I get it now. A suburban home doesn't have the right characteristics for plows or tractor parts but other rusted art might blend in nicely. I do like weathered wood and shabby chic. My windmill suggests a simpler life but gets a fresh coat of paint each year. New statuary and containers are faux painted to appear well used and loved.

The rusty metal sculpture pictured above will get painted black, like a silhouette. Other crusted pieces get a lite finish of gold . . . .this pleases my eye. I don't have to like rust.

Mary Ann, with lots of patina (wrinkles and gravity).

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Sep 21, 2005 4:36 pm

Mary Ann

G

bobbo · Post by **bobbo** » Sep 21, 2005 5:19 pm

Some of my iron, I have 17 tons of this which is antique cooperage equipment. It was used to make Bourbon barrels and since we live in the heart of the bourbon industry, it dovetails nicely here. Also our yard is as big as we have the energy to make it, up to 48 acres but that will never happen, it gets to be a chore as it is. Still we didn't drop this in on a subdivision lot. It was out in full sun where it had been for a number of years, now it gets some shade and a beautiful lichen is growing over it. Hard to imagine but maybe the whole thing will turn a beautiful green. Even if there isn't a full coverage, it will play good off of the brown rusty part.