Garden Iron
Through here to Penn's Garden...
Garden iron has been most soothing to me. Whenever there is nothing blooming in the garden, the iron always looks great. To have a master blacksmith for a husband is so decadent – from tools to art to repairs – it’s all right here. This gate is a family heirloom. Cord and both of his parents designed and built it before the family disbanded over 25 years ago. The gate was built as a spec piece with some adobe builders who built the arch to hold it. It was a beautiful way to advertise.
Not long after I met Cord he was showing me around up near Woodland Park and he said, “You know, the adobe guys are long gone – I want to go see if I can find the gate.”
The first arch wasn’t built strong enough to hold it so the builders stashed it behind the fire house. They intended to build a wall and install it there. Cord decided we better go check before someone else made off with it. We found the gate laying in the dirt, abandoned and a bit worse for wear. Cord stood it up and I stared in awe. This beautiful, gorgeous work of art was abandoned in the dirt up Ute Pass – the last piece the family had made together.
He loaded it up in the truck and we drove away feeling like we had just won the lottery. We brought the gate to our mountain when we moved here and it leaned unceromoniously up against the white truck for around 15 years. We would take it to shows and for 6 years we mounted it to the blacksmith shop at the Renaissance Festival as a draw.
I insisted we would never sell it – a family heirloom, but Cord actually considered it a couple of times. He can make another just like it – but this one is ours.
Every year on Mother’s Day Cord loans himself to me for the day – usually 8 hours of straight hardship. Of course I create a fabulous list of honey-do’s starting the year before. Usually expanding the deer fence is the priority but Cord had wised up to this request a few years before and expanded my fence so far I still haven’t caught up and filled it all. So I started thinking about that gate, decorating an old, 1960′s box truck in the yard. Blasphemy!
We started prepping the weekend or so before Mother’s Day. Cord and the boys dug holes and poured concrete to set the posts. The next weekend they mounted the gate. He made hinges, attachments and improved the handle. He oiled it and swung it and I tried not to cry too much – I didn’t want to distract him.
We all stared and stared as if to say, “What took us so long?” It looks different every day and changes with the light. I have gorgeous shots of it and it’s always in the background of my life.
Besides hand made cards from my boys or Cord telling me I’m a good mom, this was the best Mother’s Day gift of all.
Not long after that I looked around and said, “Well, this will never do,” and started cleaning up and organizing the entryway to my garden. Two beautiful mossy rocks adorn either side as well as a pair of concrete lions from my family home. Two whisky barrels flank it and I fill them with food, herbs and flowers every year with the colors contrasting against the black iron beautifully.
Here are a few more lovelies to enjoy – in all its forms.
Not long after I met Cord he was showing me around up near Woodland Park and he said, “You know, the adobe guys are long gone – I want to go see if I can find the gate.”
The first arch wasn’t built strong enough to hold it so the builders stashed it behind the fire house. They intended to build a wall and install it there. Cord decided we better go check before someone else made off with it. We found the gate laying in the dirt, abandoned and a bit worse for wear. Cord stood it up and I stared in awe. This beautiful, gorgeous work of art was abandoned in the dirt up Ute Pass – the last piece the family had made together.
He loaded it up in the truck and we drove away feeling like we had just won the lottery. We brought the gate to our mountain when we moved here and it leaned unceromoniously up against the white truck for around 15 years. We would take it to shows and for 6 years we mounted it to the blacksmith shop at the Renaissance Festival as a draw.
I insisted we would never sell it – a family heirloom, but Cord actually considered it a couple of times. He can make another just like it – but this one is ours.
Every year on Mother’s Day Cord loans himself to me for the day – usually 8 hours of straight hardship. Of course I create a fabulous list of honey-do’s starting the year before. Usually expanding the deer fence is the priority but Cord had wised up to this request a few years before and expanded my fence so far I still haven’t caught up and filled it all. So I started thinking about that gate, decorating an old, 1960′s box truck in the yard. Blasphemy!
We started prepping the weekend or so before Mother’s Day. Cord and the boys dug holes and poured concrete to set the posts. The next weekend they mounted the gate. He made hinges, attachments and improved the handle. He oiled it and swung it and I tried not to cry too much – I didn’t want to distract him.
We all stared and stared as if to say, “What took us so long?” It looks different every day and changes with the light. I have gorgeous shots of it and it’s always in the background of my life.
Besides hand made cards from my boys or Cord telling me I’m a good mom, this was the best Mother’s Day gift of all.
Not long after that I looked around and said, “Well, this will never do,” and started cleaning up and organizing the entryway to my garden. Two beautiful mossy rocks adorn either side as well as a pair of concrete lions from my family home. Two whisky barrels flank it and I fill them with food, herbs and flowers every year with the colors contrasting against the black iron beautifully.
Here are a few more lovelies to enjoy – in all its forms.
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