Antiques and old garden accessories such as wrought iron windows, gates and fences, old stone troughs, antique pottery, oil jars and old wagons, add richness and personality to the garden. Objects that were once common and inexpensive are now becoming more and more difficult to find, but Eye of the Day has been continually adding old and antique items to the inventory. A few well chosen antique pieces can set the tone for a garden. The patina of a weathered wrought iron gate looks perfect surrounded by period architecture, but the contrast of something old in a very modern setting is equally compelling.
Throughout our travels we often come across objects that just jump out at us. On one trip to a remote part of China, Brent was visiting an ancient pottery factory, and while walking through the weeds he tripped over a large piece of rock. It turned out to be a granite millstone, used to crush stone and earth to make clay for the pots. It had been abandoned where it fell about ninety years before. The old cupped and worn millstones make wonderful garden sculptures and fountains. Funny enough, Brent found more old stones in Greece last year and we are in the process of making one into a garden table.
Sometimes it just takes looking at your own garden with new eyes; if you trip over or fall in love with an old or antique item, there is probably a place in your garden landscape that will be enhanced by introducing an old piece into a new setting.
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