Rusty Treasures...

Last year, on our trip to France, I was inspired by a very simple structure in a cool shaded maze at Chateau Vendeuvre.

We had been sat on the coach for over two hours by the time we arrived and I was hot and a little irritable.

The rest of our group all headed excitedly towards the shiny shiny Chateau but I wanted to be outside so I went in the opposite direction.

We started wondering down a gravel path heading away from the main garden and there we found the entrance to a maze.

As soon as I started walking through it I felt calm, relaxed and happy. It was cool, green, and felt as though we were wondering through an ancient long forgotten corner of the Far East.

Then we hit a dead end. As we turned to go back I saw this...

I'm not sure why I liked it so much, I suppose it was the simplicity.

In the Autumn of last year The OH decided to chop down a Yukka in the garden.

I was a little upset about it, but I couldn't get him to change his mind. He thought it ugly, and annoying that it blocked our view across the garden and he was determined that it should go.

In the end I agreed as long as we could just chop the top off, so I could keep the trunk to grow a climbing plant up and around it.

Plus I had buried one of our goldfish underneath the Yukka. As well as a dead fox cub I had grimly discovered while weeding one of the beds (seemed wrong throwing the little fella in the bin) and a huge slow worm one of the neighbourhood cats had decided to tear to shreds...so the ground around the Yukka had become a sort of pet/garden critter cemetery.

This is the only photo I have of the Yukka before it had a haircut...

The Yukka has been a bare trunk since October. I have not decided what to plant up it yet. It has just remained there for ages, looking sad and pointless. It's only purpose being a tall thing the local cats like to climb up and perch at the top on, all Lion King like.

The OH gets very frustrated with what he likes to call my 'rusty treasure' collection of pointless things.

Such as this...

I saw this poking up through a pile of hardcore in a skip one day as we were walking home. I had to rescue it, and listened to The OH say "Seriously - what are you going to do with that?" the whole way home.

I think it used to be some sort of hanging basket or something.

We went to a boot fair last year where I picked this up...

 

For what I thought was a bargain - one whole pound. Of course, The OH said " £1 for a bit of rotting wood and rusty metal...really? " which I chose to ignore.

So I finally had an idea involving the two of these rusty treasures...

 

 I got the wire out and started twisting and tying for about ten minutes...

And ended up with this...

 

 

 I just tied the cage to the top of the other thing, and then slipped it over the top of the trunk.

It's a little wonky, and I don't think it will stand up to a gale force wind, but I quite like it.

I think a white rose would look nice winding it's way up to the top.

It reminds me of that lovely moment in the maze in France.

I'm happy to have an opportunity to grow a nice plant up the trunk.

I just wish The OH wouldn't complain about my rusty treasures...they'll all find a purpose and place in the garden.

Eventually.

Goodnight.