Old Garden Statue

Another item that the vendor left is this old garden statue. An Aboriginal – an Australian Indigenous Man statue that I name Mr. Bushman. Obviously it is old as the paint was badly faded and the face was barely recognizable. It was a pity to throw away, so I repainted the statue.

Oh my… this statue is so heavy. It must weigh around 30 kg, I barely could lift it all by myself. I had to use our small cart to move it. A few coats of paint really make it different. I am glad with the result

Garden Gnomes Make Over

After many years, the garden gnomes can lose their bright colours. They look faded and tired. It is the time to repaint them. If there are few of them, it can be fun for the whole family to get involved, but in my case I did it all by myself.

We have quite a few of gnomes over the years, and many of them were given to me as gifts. If you like gardening, family and friend will give you things for the garden 🙂 I used acrylic paints from a discount shop.

Taman Lumut Dalam Gelas

Setelah banyak lihat artikel tentang menanam lumut di internet, akhirnya sisa lumut yang tadinya saya tanam didalam wadah plastik dijadikan terrarium. Terrarium adalah seni menanam didalam gelas.

Membuat taman lumut dalam gelas cocok untuk dilakukan oleh siapapun, mulai dari anak-anak sampai orang tua. Kegiatan ringan yang menghasilkan sesuatu yang unik dan cantik dengan meniru pemandangan lembah hijau. Ongkosnya juga murah, lumut tak usah dibeli, tapi bisa dicari di kebun atau daerah didekat sungai. Kerikil dan batupun bisa dicari disekitar halaman rumah. Membuatnya sederhana sekali tak usah memakai tanah karena lumut bisa tumbuh ditempat yang tak ada tanahnya misalnya di bebatuan. Syarat utama buat lumut agar hidup adalah harus senantiasa basah dan lembab. Jadi sering-sering disemprot air.

Tempat Mandi Burung

Pepohonan rindang dan burung-burung berdendang, alangkah nikmatnya untuk beristirahat dikebun semacam itu. Yang pasti untuk menarik perhatian burung supaya betah tinggal dikebun anda adalah adanya pepohonan rindang dan semak-semak hijau. Banyak pohon yang buahnya disukai burung misalnya pohon jambu, pohon talok/kersen, pohon tanjung, pohon sawo dsb. Selain buahnya, pohon-pohon juga menjadi tempat berlindung bagi burung dan membuat sarang. Burung juga membantu mengendalikan hama seperti misalnya ulat, semut dan serangga. Bunga-bunga yang cantik juga banyak yang disukai burung untuk menghisap madunya.

Banyak pemilik kebun memberikan makanan pada burung, walau harus hati-hati jangan terlalu banyak karena kalau tak habis malam harinya bisa mengundang tikus datang. Namun tahukah anda bahwa banyak jenis burung yang suka mandi? Disini di Australia banyak orang yang membeli ‘bird bath’ yaitu hiasan taman yang diisi air untuk minum dan mandi burung. Bentuknya macam-macam, ada yang kecil atau besar. Ada yang dibentuk sebagai patung-patung indah.

Untuk tempat mandi burung, air harus dangkal kira-kira 6 cm dan tidak lebih dari 10 cm dalamnya. Kalau burung mandi akan betul-betul ‘nyemplung’ keair sambil mengepak-ngepakkan sayap dan paruhnya sibuk membersihkan bulu. Jadi penting sekali supaya air tidak terlalu dalam. Juga kalau airnya mulai keruh harus diganti dengan yang bersih.

Disekitar rumah kami, burung tekukur, burung gereja dan ‘black bird’/Turdus merula suka minum dan mandi di ketiga ‘bird bath’ yang kami punya. Mau supaya burung banyak berkicau disekitar rumah anda? Selain menanam pepohonan, tempat mandi burung juga banyak bermanfaat dan sekaligus menjadi hiasan cantik dikebun anda.

Japanese Lady Bird Bath

Cherub Bird Bath

Small Frogs Bird Bath

Small Frogs Bird Bath underneath Gardenia Bush

Terrarium

We always have a terrarium. It had only Peperomia caperata and it was getting too full. Yesterday I decided to redo it and I put completely different plants: African Violet, Peperomia columella, Drimiopsis sp, tiny little fern and some moss. I transplanted the Peperomia caperata in an old shoe planter that my friend V gave me a while ago.

To grow small and pretty indoor tropical plants that need high humidity is very hard to achieve in colder areas like here in Melbourne. To solve the problem, it is a good idea to  grow them inside a glass container, or just simply cover the whole pot/plant with a clear glass bowl. If you have an unused fish tank,  it will be big enough to grow larger plants to suit the size of the tank.

Terrarium can be completely covered (sometimes with a little opening for ventilation) or an open one. Personally I like the fully covered one as I grow tropical plants in it. For growing little cacti or succulents, it has to be the open one to have dry air and to prevent condensation.

Hangy Thingy…. Cute and Funny

I did not buy them….. They were given to me by a friend. You can hang them on the side of garden pots or planters.  They are little cheeky gnomes, froggies or snails.

It is just amazing to have so many things that you can buy these days. Things that are not necessary in life and some call them junks….. yet they can bring little fun and joy to those who love them.

Garden Ornaments – Quirky or Pretty?

Some people love them and some hate them. They are garden knick knacks or decorations like gnomes, fairies, or any other statues or figurines. They can be a fun addition to any garden or courtyard. I love garden gnomes and we have quite a few of them around our garden. Some are small and some are rather big. Our three giant gnomes sit near the back door and they are our night watch. They keep nasty goblins away. Ha, ha….

Gnomes are dwarf little creatures similar to human with long beard and pointy cap. They suppose to roam forest bushes and gardens and taking care of the plants and the wildlife. I like to imagine that they always sleep on the daytime and awake at night. They are not only hard workers but they are also fun loving. This is why garden gnomes are made in all sort of fun position and some really quite mischievous.

Garden Cherubs are also nice for the garden. The small angel statues are there to bless all the plants in the garden. It is believed that a pair of cherubs guarded the Garden of Eden. Cherubs are supposed to be baby or child angels with wings. We have two garden cherubs, one is a baby one and the other that is much larger one is a boy.

Lately in some garden nurseries, I saw life-size statues of African wildlife animals like elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions. Some are things you will see in Asia like for example a water buffalo pulling a plough or an Asian lady with a pointy bamboo hat. Native Australian animals are also popular.

I think we have to be careful to decorate our garden with statues that clearly represent a certain place. Like for example animals. We have a little rabbit and an old turtle. With these two animals, I suppose I can put them anywhere in my garden. These two animals are commonly found everywhere all around the world. However, if for example you only have Australian native plants, it will be better if you also choose Australian native animals. It will be a bit odd to have a great big elephant or a giraffe. It is the same thing with an English cottage garden for example, it will be silly to decorate it with a ploughing buffalo and it is more suitable to have gnomes, an angel, a fairy or a cherub.

It is very true that garden ornaments can add charms and curiosity but it will look absolutely quirky, silly or out of place by over doing it. Also pay attention where you place the decorations. Don’t place a small and low statue in the middle of the lawn, as it can be dangerous that someone will trip over it when it is dark at night. The garden bed is always the best place to put your garden decorations.