Posts Tagged ‘Gardening’

Metal Garden Art For Your Four Season Garden

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

No yard is complete without at minimum one work of marvelous metal yard decor. The most die hard gardening purists have been known to quietly sneak a work or two into their garden. Because of so many artists working in the field and the selection of materials to select from, your choices are limitless. Regardless of your taste, you'll find at least one piece of metal garden art to provide year-round color and character to your garden.

Steel is considered the most popular choice in metal garden decor because itis inexpensive, versatile and easy to use. It's utilized to create garden sculptures, garden stakes, wall art and metal yard decor like lanterns, bird feeders and wind spinners. Steel can be varnished, painted, or left in its natural state to age to a nice rusted finish.. Some artists even fuse rusted metal with treated metal for pieces with a very unique look. For bigger more contemporary pieces, erosion resistant stainless steel is used to produce stunning, architectural pieces.

Some of the most creative and whimsical pieces of metal yard decor I have seen are constructed from recycled metal. Recycled steel oil tanks or drums, discarded cycle or trikes, broken tools and nuts and bolts, these all supply the raw materials for the resourceful eco-artist. A rusted oil drum is incarnated as a happy pig, while a broken rake becomes a bird.

Copper is also popular in metal yard decor since it is beautiful, resilient and adds elegance to any garden. If left to oxidize it will age gracefully into a natural green patina. It can also be protected with a clear finish to preserve its bright, shiny look. Copper statues, garden stakes and wall art add a touch of elegance to any decor.

For a classic look put in a bronze garden sculpture. Bronze statues have been around for millennia and have been erected to honor leaders, fallen heroes as well as saints. Today they include more playful subjects like children and their pets. Bronze sculptures remain popular these days because they're timeless, classic and can last for generations.

Metal yard art adds beauty, style and whimsy to any garden. Whatever your preference classic, contemporary or merely playful, metal garden art will warm your heart even on the coldest wintertime day.

All year round Ann Wallis pores through gardening magazines looking for colorful perennials to fill the holes in her garden and playful, whimsical metal garden art to add life and character to her yard. Ann's favorite metal garden art at http://metal-garden-art.com


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Metal Garden Decor – The Finishing Touch To My Urban Oasis

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

As I move around my urban yard I am transported to another world. It is my urban oasis. Small but luscious. Very green. And spread throughout are my favorite works of metal garden decor.

The homes around my neighborhood are about 80 years old, but at least one of the maples that shade my backyard is older than that. One wonderful maple a couple of houses east, one two houses west, both shading my property and filtering the sun. In addition to these gifts of nature, we have planted many shrubs and cedars ourselves. The result is a wonderful green oasis.

Because we are avid gardeners gardeners we also have many flowering perennials and pots filled with colorful annuals. The greenery is broken up by splashes of red, purple and white and occasionally yellow.

Against this living canopy I also add my favorite metal garden decor. Dancing diva garden stakes are placed around the garden. A bright red moose emerges from the bushes and a recycled metal critter grins at me from my patio

I love metal garden art for several reasons. For one, it is made in numerous materials and finishes. Secondly, it is very durable and will last for many years. Finally, it can be left outside year round to add color and character in every season.

Steel garden art can be painted, varnished or left in its natural state to rust. Many artists take old trike, bike and engine parts, discarded steel oil tanks and drums, nuts and bolts - and transform them into beautiful, enchanting creatures. Stainless steel is used to produce large modern, architectural pieces which reflect light and stand the test of time.

Cooper is attractive to behold and makes gorgeous garden art including bird feeders and bird baths ane metal garden stakes. If not treated it will age to a striking green patina. It brings a touch of elegance to any backyard.

Bronze has been used for garden sculptures for millennia. It is classic and will endure for generations. Whether you're searching for a playful sculpture of kids playing or something more symbolic like a Buddha or a saint, you can find it in bronze.

Metal garden art adds the final touch to your personal outdoor decor. Whether your style runs to fanciful or formal, classic bronze or recycled metal, your choices are endless.

Ann Wallis is a avid gardener and lover of beautiful things for her backyard. All year round she pores through gardening magazines looking for colorful plants to fill the holes in her garden and playful, whimsical metal garden art to add life and character to her yard.


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Recycled Metal Garden Decor – Eco-Art For Your Garden

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Avid gardeners can be very green folk. They enjoy digging in the dirt, composting and recycling, and effortlessly incorporate other people's discards into their outdoor decor. When shopping for attractive pieces to enhance their yards, recycled metal garden art can be a popular choice.

The eco-artists creating recycled metal garden are very creative and talented. What may be trash to you or me is reborn in the hands of these talented artists. One artist, Andrew Chase, makes amazing mechanical sculptures of giraffes, elephants and robots from recycled automobile and plumbing parts. He gets junk transmission and engine parts from his local auto shop, and by combining these with plumbing fixtures and pipes he is able to create fantastic, moving creatures.

Old oil tanks and drums are quite often used to make metal yard decor. Painted oil tanks that once provided fuel to cottagers are reborn into brightly colored critters, including dogs with bones, dancing sheep or moose, lurking alligators and climbing frogs. For something a little different you can even add a diva or a devil!

In Haiti an expanding crafts community is creating delightful metal wall sculptures from flattened drums which had been used to haul oil or other products. After removing the ends these drums are flattened and then carved manually into exotic art pieces. Using only simple tools like hammers and chisels, the artists carve decorative, elaborate designs out of the steel. Haitian drum art is renowned world-wide and increasing in popularity. They look stunning in the garden, or hung on a wall inside.Saving cycles from untimely graves a new breed of eco-artists are using recycled bikes parts to produce their art. Bike art is becoming so trendy it is a genre of its own. Providing nuts and bolts, spokes and wheels, and even gears, a bike is the ideal raw material for recycled metal art.

A large part of the appeal of recycled metal yard decor may be the weathered and sometimes rusted look of some of the pieces. Rather than making a loud statement, rusted metal has a natural, earthy feel to it and blends with the yard.. For this reason a lot of gardeners try to get pre-rusted metal art.

The ingenuity of artists working with recycled metal never ceases to amaze me. For instant charm and character, add some recycled metal art to your yard.

Ann Wallis is a long-time gardener and lover of beautiful things for her garden. All year round she pores through gardening magazines and websites looking for colorful perennials to fill the holes in her garden and fun, whimsical metal garden decor to add life and character to her yard. Ann's favorite metal creations can be found at http://metal-garden-art.com


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