Friday, June 05, 2015

Five on Friday ... Thrift Finds & Gardening Finds

I'm joining Amy of Love Made My Home today with "Five on Friday". Thanks for hosting Amy! Be sure to pop by Amy's and see what others have posted for today's Five.

1. Last weekend with all the rain we had (and no gardening possible), I thought I'd swing by the local thrift store and see what they had on their shelves. I had been looking through Pinterest for creative gardening ideas, and in particular have been admiring large galvanized steel pots and also the rain chains meant to hang off your roof gutters and direct the rain to a garden or rain barrel. There are some fun ideas that I had in my mind and thought I'd see if I could find anything at the thrift store that would be useful. I had a handful of possible tin things for either garden pots or rain chains, but when I saw this chair, I put it all back and got the chair instead.


I really nice, solid, non-wobbly folding deck chair! It's made from some sort of heavy wood and is in great shape except for a little water damage on the bottom of the legs, but nothing serious. At only $12 I thought it was a great deal. I've admired these deck chairs forever, and even though it's just one chair, it's great for a quick extra seat on the patio. I think I might make a simple cushion for the seat with ties ... hard wood can be a bit uncomfortable on the bum after a while ;)

2. I've been planning a bit of garden on the outside of my gate to the backyard. It's not a very welcoming entrance, so I've dug a tiny garden there now and popped in a nice fern. The garden here still needs a bit of defining as you can see. My neighbour always cuts this very narrow strip of grass (since his lawn adjoins it), which I guess I should be thankful for. I just don't want to put anything here that he will "accidentally" chop off with either the lawn mower or whipper snipper. 


It only gets afternoon sun, but I think the fern will survive that blast of heat for only a short period if I keep it well watered ... we'll see. I've been thinking of changing things here by painting the gate (a real colour, rather than brown like the fence), and hanging a small wicker basket or something either on the gate of the fence beside it. It's only a small area, so not a lot I can do there. Anyway, while at the thrift store I found a decent sized "Welcome" sign in poly resin. When I washed it off, a bit of the grey colouring came off, so I might just paint it again ... maybe in a bit darker shade of grey. I might paint the letters a different colour, but not sure yet. I think it will look nice above the ferns. 


3. I also found a set of four bamboo placemats for the patio table. Not something I was actually looking for, but they were brand new and still in the plastic wrapper, so I knew they would be in good condition. 


They look nice with the pale beige of my patio chair cushions.


4. My husband and I went up to a gardening centre in the rain too. It was freezing!! We were two of maybe five people at the store, but we do like to browse around. The centre actually had the overhead heaters on it was that cold! I came home with a cute little cactus for my kitchen table. It came with no name tag or instructions, so we'll see what happens. I already had this nice flat dish full of rocks (what else?!), and the cactus looked rather cute tucked into the corner of it. The whole thing looks nice set beside my Christmas cactus, which has been happily blooming since Easter!




5. My husband loves dahlias. He came home with this pretty white dahlia to go with a pink one he bought a couple of weeks ago. I know you can pay a pretty penny for some exotic dahlias, but these flowers are rather simple and not terribly large. 




Once they get established, they'll look nice against the garden shed. We've never saved the flowers through the winter, but I think I might try that this winter.


And that's my Five! 
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Wendy







29 comments:

  1. The wood deck chair is a great find! And I love your pretty fern and the dahlias. The cactus looks cute with the dish of stones. Happy Friday, have a great weekend!

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  2. Great finds! I've curtailed my yard sales this year - I can't resist buying stuff!!!

    xox

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  3. What a lovely 5 on Fri. Wendy! I love the flowers and the rocks with the pretty plant. Have a nice day and weekend.

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  4. Ooooh, I love that gardening shed. You had a very nice 5 today. Glad I found you on Amy's site.

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  5. What a great find the chair is beautiful and so useful. I love how you have put the cactus into a dish of rocks it looks amazing. Have a great weekend.

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  6. Nice plans and nice garden, so vibrant. We have dahlias here toi, a common flower... have a lovely weekend !

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  7. Your chair is a good find, lovely fives x

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  8. Great finds. I love a rummage in charity shops and car boot sales. There are some amazing bargains.

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  9. Five really great finds, especially that chair!!! It will be a nice way to bring out extra seating when you want it and yes, a cushion would be needed by me!! I like the cactus in that very pretty dish with the rocks! I love how you love rocks!! Thank you so much as always for joining in. I hope that you have a really great weekend and enjoy playing around with your new gate area!! xx

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  10. What fun finds you have for this friday

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  11. You found some great things. Love the blue of that dish and the rocks and the sweet little cactus. I love ferns but they don't do well here. I've tried to have them inside but they eventually just dry up. Boo! Have a good day. Tammy

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  12. Lovely finds Wendy, I have 3 chairs similar to that one I did have 4 but my son sat on it and broke it and just laughed! he really needs to loose weight! Cushions are a must because they are hard on your bum, I like the idea of you new little garden space the fern looks lovely and the welcome sign will look really nice above the ferns or hung on your gate. I love dahlia's and usually but a different one each year, they don't always survive the winter but I'm pleased to see some shoots coming through again this year. Have a great weekend. :) xx

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  13. You found some great treasures! I really like that chair and I love your shed! We have a shared space on the side with one neighbour, it's a young couple and they are just great. At some point I want to dig up out space and plant it, hopefully they will go for it!! They think we are kooky I'm sure but a good kooky!! Boy, your weather sure has been yucky, we have a heat advisory for the weekend. Either extreme is just not fun. Have a great weekend!

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  14. I love all of your new treasures Wendy!! That welcome sing is so cool and I just happen to love hummingbirds as a favorite, so I really love that!! Your bamboo mats look perfect there...and that little cactus is adorable and looks great in that dish. And I just LOVE dahlias too. Soooo pretty!!

    Thanks for sharing and happy weekend! xo

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  15. That's a great chair! All you need is a comfy cushion to put on it and it will be the perfect place to sip a drink in the sunshine! I hope this weekend's weather is better than last! we are off to Canada's Wonderland and we don't want any rain!! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  16. Love the hummingbird garden sign and the chair! Also, your flowers are lovely, and that garden shed is so cute! Great post! I enjoyed my visit. I am new to Five for Friday! Hope to see you again. Have a great week!

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  17. My husband loves dahlias too. I anted five this year and the slugs and snails have eaten them all!! Love the chair from the thift shop. Good idea to make a seat cushion though.

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  18. The chair looks like a great find! I love dahlias too, we have a little gold one in a pot at the moment. Your cactus is really pretty too. Have a great weekend x

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  19. You found a good way to spend a rainy day. The deck chair was a great find. I'm looking for a chair with spindles in for some garden crafting. It just started to rain here so I'm getting to spend a bit of extra time visiting on the computer. Have a good weekend.

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  20. Great thrift finds Wendy, it's always nice to come home with creative possibilities. While on an errand yesterday in the rain it occurred to me to check the Zehrs garden centre and I'm glad I did. I got wet but came out with a new hosta.

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  21. Five super finds, especially the chair and I love your garden shed:)

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  22. You have great ideas, Wendy, and an eye for decorating. I really like the welcome sign. Show it to us again when you have it painted!

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  23. So many nice things going on at your place! I love the little cactus and stones in the ceramic. And the door of your shed! Nice.On the ferns: I have ferns growing in the shade and in areas that get sun for part of the day, so hopefully yours will thrive :)
    Thanks very much for your note about the strawbale gardening - I'm already doing something similar but with "slightly used" hay. Lots more seeds in it than in straw, but I already have a plentiful supply on hand, courtesy of the goats. And they make sure it is pre-fertilized, too ;)
    Have a brilliant weekend!

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  24. What an adorable garden shed! We don't have a shed as of yet but it is on my gardening list of dreams! Those dahlias are both lovely although I do have a strong attraction to white flowers. The deck chair you scored is most likely, and looks like, teak. Fabulous purchase!
    Hugs for now,
    Beth P

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  25. I like the cactus-rock display, very pretty.
    Amalia
    xo

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  26. What a lovely chair, all the better for being a bargain. x

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  27. Wendy, I am addicted to Pinterest and I love your new chair! I've been searching "garden whimsy" and have been finding greet ideas. I'll post about them sooner or later. Lol. I've even been going things garage sales looking for stuff!

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  28. Wendy,
    I have garden shed envy now and dahlia too! These are not one, but two of my most favorite things in the garden sphere! I grew some amazing dahlias one year-I bought the tubers from a garden center and they grew fast and amazing and then the Texas heat hit and they crumbled up and died-so sad, so on our new home, I am going to have an East exposure with a dedicated flower bed for these persnickety plants!
    Hope you are enjoying your Sunday evening!
    xoxo
    Jemma

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  29. Wendy, I am really looking forward to seeing what you do with that chair. We have a set of wooden garden chairs which I would love to paint sea green but the Best Beloved insists that they have to be stained brown. I am working on him... x

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