Repurposing

Martin had been due to spend two days last week making a start on preparing the patio for repaving, but the gales made that impossible. He now plans to come for three days, starting tomorrow. Had he been due to arrive today the heavy rain and slightly less severe winds would have been no more conducive.

Raindrops created their now familiar circlets on paving pools.

I donned Jackie’s hooded raincoat and ventured out to test the waterproof quality of my Canon camera.

Before my Chauffeuse had suggested yesterday’s forest drive I had planned to photograph the various artefacts in our garden that have been subjected to the meteorological ravages, and the uses to which they have been adapted. This morning I considered that it wouldn’t matter that they were now being subjected to more of such harsh treatment.

We have found that metal garden furniture, like this rocking chair purchased from Molly’s Den, soon, despite additional coats of paint, rusts away, but still looks elegant provided it is not overtaxed. It has a few more years left in it for this extension of life as a plant pot stand.

Regular readers will know that we seldom leave the Council’s Efford Recycling Centre without having made a purchase from their Reuse Shop.

This wicker chair was one such, which served its original function for a year or two before also being relegated to a support for plant pots.

The duck perched on the chair-back was a solar light which no longer works and is now simply a water bird suitably adapted to the conditions.

Several garden lanterns also came from Efford and have been converted to containers for various items around the garden. This one really is at the end of its life.

This two seater bench from Redcliffe Garden Centre really didn’t last long until the Head Gardener reinforced its seat with bamboo stems. Despite its looks, it is now very comfortable.

We were very pleased with the bench that came from the Ace Reclaim salvage centre until that rusted away making it unserviceable for its original role, however, with the substitution for the seat of an old shelf found in the shed when we moved into this house, and with the additional support of a stack of bricks found buried in what is now the Rose Garden, it will hold a row of potted plants.

Speaking of the Rose Garden, its entrance arch lurches a bit, but is buttressed by wooden splints and supported by the stout climbing roses on its right hand side.

Even the stumperies are constructed from long dead tree stumps we uprooted a few years ago.

For our garden furniture we now confine ourselves to seasoned wood and strengthened aluminium.

This evening we dined on succulent fillet steaks; crisp oven chips and onion rings; peas and sweetcorn; baked tomatoes; and a mélange of stir fried vegetables. Jackie and Flo also enjoyed piquant cauliflower cheese, but I had no room on my plate. We repeated yesterday’s beverages – in my case that meant opening another bottle of the Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

73 comments

  1. I love these photos, there is something very attractive about things slowly rusting away. Martin has his work cut out for him, Derrick!

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  3. What a grand listing of both practical and clever repurposing of what others would just pitch. A most impressive catalog, especially the no longer solar powered duck. The close up of his wet and webbed feet was most appreciated. Thanks for sharing, Derrick.

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  4. Such beautiful treasures make their home in your garden! Each with it’s own personality, character, textures, beauty, life-lived, memories-held, and still-usefulness! Love the bench, chairs, the duck, and, of course, the owls! 🙂
    Thank you for breathing new life into well-seasoned pieces! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂 ❤️
    PS…”Reclaim! Repurpose! Reuse! A way of life!” 🙂

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  5. Those little circles in the rainwater are so beautiful. They are so like the so-called “cup-marks” that are commonly found on the horizontal surfaces of megalithic stones such as you get in Wiltshire or the southwest.

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  11. I do like the comment “ a lust for rust” ❣️ Appreciating what others dismiss and repurposing that brings harmony and interest around us is so worthwhile. May we all look at things with fresh rather than jaded eyes. 🥰

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  15. We too have items gently aging to the point of no longer being used for what they were originally purchased for. This interesting post makes me want to go out and look at them with fresh eyes. This has been a fun post to wake up to 🙂

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  16. Ahhh, the circle of life. Do the pot plants come first, and need a place to rest? Or does the resting place come first, and finds its purpose in housing the pot plants? Hmmm, one of the mysteries in a home which boasts “a lust for rust” (love that line).

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  17. Primo Levi wrote about how after WWII and his liberation from a Nazi concentration camp, he returned to life as a chemist at a paint factory. Their specialty was rust-proofing paint, but the needed ingredient in post-war Italy was unavailable. He had to come up with something, so substituted an ingredient that was abundantly available at the factory that actually promoted rust! I imagine metal furniture in a wet climate would have little chance of not rusting.

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  23. The Elements take their toll, don’t they? Whenever I have time, I go scrap-yarding, and there is a great little re-use store in our neighborhood. There is always something interesting I can’t resist dragging home. I would argue that these scrapper habits make a garden more personal and fun. Especially when they are later reused yet again!

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  26. HI Derrick, you have some interesting items in your garden. My mom is inventive like you are. She has plants in all sorts of containers including a wheelbarrow and an old planter.

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