Monday, July 7, 2008

The Continuing Saga of the "Rhubarb Birdbath"

I couldn't wait another day!
I made three birdbaths Friday. Today is Monday. They've been pretty wet (a good thing, I'm told) in that they've been covered both by plastic and old beach towels... and rained on a lot!

Here are photos from just a few minutes ago. I uncovered them and peeled off the rhubarb leaves. The concrete seemed just a bit "uncured" yet, so I re-covered them with the wet towels and put them in the garage. I'll uncover them again sometime tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps I can scrub them a bit, then. FYI: This is the first post I made on this subject, with a link to a self-help video. Please "check it out!" :-)






One is for my dad, as his birthday is July 16. One is for a friend who is moving to a new home before long, and one is an extra. :-)

If you try this, you will like it! (Not a shady proposition!) ;-)

16 comments:

Andrea Dellit said...

you should come to our house and construct wonderfully shady things!

Shady Gardener said...

Hmmm! Wouldn't that be fun??? :-)
Did you tell me when you're coming back to Iowa? Christmas??

Cindy said...

Those are looking so nice. I may have to try and make one. I'm planning on buying some concrete to make some mosaic stepping stones so I can just buy a little extra!

Shady Gardener said...

Cindy, Yea! I'll be watching. :-)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work Shady!

I'm sure my mom has instructions for these (hiding in her file box somewhere). I'd love to try making one - they'd be a wonderful natural feature in any garden.

I think this could be classified as whimsical. You should submit it to Gardening Gone Wild for this month's design workshop.

Cathy

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey Shady,
These are looking fantastic, and we can't wait to do a couple with the Castor 'Zanzibariensis' leaves later this summer! Too bad our QuikCrete was in the basement when it flooded, so we'll have to get a fresh bag of that first ...

Do you put them on 'real' stands or just place them on a rock or piece of concrete?

Roses and Lilacs said...

I have wanted to try that for some time. It's one of those things I keep putting off until I have extra time. (Like that's ever gonna happen.) I love yours! Was it difficult?
Marnie

Gail said...

Shady,

I love your creations...they are terrific....someday I will actually attempt this one!

gail

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Shady - I should have done this already. We've got real heat coming at the end of the week & I know this works better at moderate temperatures. That one looks so great.

Shady Gardener said...

Cathy, I made a late addition to the post: a link that will take you to some great play-by-play instructions, complete with a video! http://yardisgreen.blogspot.com/2008/06/little-of-this-and-that.html

IVG, There are probably many ways to make a stand. One that comes to mind is a lowly field tile. The "foot" that is made on the birdbath could be made to either fit inside the field tile, or on the outside of it. Personally, I think maybe it would be best on the inside. The field tile could be finished in a variety of ways, I think.

Marne, it wasn't hard at all. Check out the video link. I'll wait to hear about your creation!

Gail, Just let me know about it. :-)

MMD, How about the next week? ;-) Otherwise, find a shady corner, cover it with the plastic and a WET towel.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey Shady,
Thanks for the tip on the base. Fernymoss had an idea today ... to use a pumpkin leaf! Those ones that came up in the compost have huge leaves, so he may give it a shot with one of those while we wait for the castors to put on enough size!

Shady Gardener said...

That's a great idea!!! Let me know how it works out. :-)

Bramblemoon Farm said...

I LOVE these--wow, they are beautiful! Another thing to put on my to do list...

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Brenda Jean, Always glad to help out the project list! ;-)

Greg said...

What a cool project--looks like they turned out really well!

I love that they are more shallow than your typical birdbath...it's nice to have a different place where other creatures, like butterflies and chipmunks and so on can quench their thirst, too.

I made a mosaic stepping stone a few years back and put a starfish-shaped soap in the center. The rain has long since taken care of the soap, but there's a nice little star-shaped indent that fills with water when I'm watering and I like to imagine a variety of critters enjoying a drink there now and then.

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Greg, I'm sorry I didn't notice your comment until now. These are a great project. I've had my 8 year old niece visiting this week. We created one for her mom, using a Sum and Substance hosta leaf!

I wonder if your soap, as it rained, took care of critters that might have bothered plants nearby? ;-) Anyway, what a neat way to provide a watering hole.