Jun 11, 2013

Garden Signs






I love garden junk art, and I have it all around my yard. 

Well, usually I have it all around my yard. Right now most of it is packed away in the shed while the new sprinkler system is being installed. Are you as surprised as I am that the sprinklers aren't finished yet?    


First, it rained, and then the contractor got sick. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better soon and have the new sod in before the temperatures climb much higher. I'm afraid it's too late now for a vegetable garden this year, and the summer heat will have us waiting until next fall to plant new bushes and perennials. 

There must be a silver lining around here somewhere... oh, there it is: with no yard to fiddle with I'll have lots more time to work on indoor projects this summer. 

My dear friend, Sharon, is hosting her June Garden Party at Elizabeth & Co. and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'd never show up to a party empty handed, though, so today I'm sharing an easy garden art project I made last year and first showed you on my urban garden post here.



 Last summer I made these directional garden signs as a little garden humor because my yard is so small that you sure don't need a sign to find anything!


 I chose a spot for them at the corner of the house between the side yard where the vegetable garden beds are, and the back yard where the deck and shed are. You can see it all if you simply turn around, but I think the signs add some charm and whimsy to an otherwise empty expanse of fence. They make me smile!


 You might remember this old milk can, now sitting beneath the signs, that I faux rust-painted back in this post. I'm thinking it would make a good perch for a potted flowering vine to twine around the gate. What do you think?



 My husband built the gate that I shared in this post. He built it to keep a couple of sneaky tomato bandits out of the vegetable garden. 


Sneaky tomato bandits.



 The signs were super easy to make. I cut some 1" x 2" lumber into 12" lengths and trimmed the ends to a point. I dry brushed a couple of swipes of acrylic craft paint on each piece and painted the place-name over that. To seal and protect, I went over it all with some Minwax wood stain. 



No one will be getting lost in my yard thanks to my cute little garden signs! 
 

Thanks so much for stopping by my garden today. 

I hope you have a great week! 

Please come join the fun parties at 


13 comments:

  1. Those signs are adorable and it will make the garden area so cozy! Those dogs are adorable!!! Look at those eyes! Your husband is a good carpenter to have made that awesome gate.

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  2. Love the signs, love the gate and love the tomato bandits! Miss Gracie's Sale is June 21-22...will you be coming this year?

    ~Trisha

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  3. Laurel,
    Those signs are great and give some great character to your backyard. Love the pictures of the tomato bandits!!!! How adorable are they.
    Kris

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  4. Humorous signs and creative too. The tomato bandits appear to be innocent of all charges. Hope you get your yard back so you can garden.

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  5. What a cute idea! We made a directional sign for my daughter's wedding. I could repaint it and put it in the garden! And I love gates. They just have that vintage garden feel. Too bad about the tomato bandits. But seriously, who could resist those cute faces? ... So happy to have you at the party, especially since you inspired it! ... And you know I'm going to be so jealous of your new irrigation system!

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  6. Those tomato bandits should be forgiven because they're awfully cute, and the signs are adorable!
    Liz

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  7. Hmmm ~ would it be appropriate to have a sign that points to my "Secret Garden"???

    Or I could do a sign to all the places around the world I've lived...

    I'm glad you have the gate to keep the "Bandits" out, as tomato plants are so poisonous for canines...

    Enjoy the great temps we'll be having the next couple of days!!!

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  8. Love your garden signs, but I think I love more your sneaky tomato bandits. So very cute! :)

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  9. I just love what you did with this! I so want your milk can! So pretty! I am new from southern charm. I would love for you to check out my blog and hopefully follow me back. Nicole

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  10. love the garden signs Laurel! sorry about the delays.... that's too bad. It's hot here too. heat index today was 102. miserable!

    gail

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  11. Oh, no I can't believe the sprinklers are not done yet!!! Your signs are so cute, we must have about the same size yard, you don't need signs in mine either!!!

    Carol

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  12. Too bad about your yard, hopefully it will be ready soon and even if you can't garden, you can just enjoy being outside. I love the garden signs - but most especially love those sneaky tomato bandits!

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  13. Laurel. Congrats! You'll be featured this week at Simple & Sweet Fridays! Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks so much for sharing, love hearing from you. You inspire us all!

    Hugs,
    Jody

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