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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Tacky Garden and Greenhouse Project

You perhaps know that my garden has a few mirrors in it.  A few weeks ago, one of them fell over and broke because I hadn't affixed it to the fence so a Craigslist search began.  No big mirrors for quite a while and then this:

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"Must get rid of Mirror Closet Doors 6' opening, Standard height, Bronze frame. I have over 200 sets of these mirror closet doors and they all must be removed by Aug. 10th Deadline. So someone please step up and take these off of my hands."

OMG 200 sets of them?  A hotel was remodeling and replacing all of the mirrored closet doors with wood.  Jackpot!  Did I mention that they were free for the taking?  My favorite price so we got ten or eleven of them.  Here's where they went.


You may recall that our neighbor put up a new wood fence.  Fence?  What fence?  Three of them went here.

The mirrors reflect the bamboo grove and for some reason, part of the garden that's not directly behind them.

Pay no attention to the pots, this area is being reworked. 

A couple more went on the side of the garage behind the grove.  The gunnera didn't get watered for a couple of days and got baked but is reviving and the black pot inside the too small ceramic pot will change 

 The rest went inside the greenhouse.  The garage door which was left intact in the conversion was covered with blue and white curtains seen here in late June.


The curtains were taken down and the mirrors added.  It's difficult to tell because the mirrors are reflecting the plants and the tomato jungle is taking over everything. 



Here, on the other side of the jungle, it's easier to see.

Would I be a bad gardener if I removed some of these tomato monsters? They're blocking the view of some really cool plants but they're starting to produce.  Maybe some would enjoy being in the great out of doors.  It would be difficult to pull them out without damaging them at this point.  

Anyway, the mirrors here reflect some light which is a good thing, and make the space seem larger.

37 comments:

  1. I can't say I love 'Wow' too much but in this case I say Wow, Wow, Wow!!!
    Wow to such offering (200 sets of mirrors!) and Wow to your mirror appetite (10 or 11)!
    And, of course, big WOW to how they look in the garden!

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    1. Thanks, it was fun to find so many of the same size!

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  2. I am deeply in love with every single piece of information you post here. Will be back often to read more updates!
    tree nursery

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  3. OMG, how awesome to score all those mirrors! I don't suppose you got any to spare? I'd love to have a big mirror in my garden. Why don't I ever seen those kind of craigslist posts? They look fabulous.

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    1. It was way cool to find them! Most of the mirrors in my garden have come free or cheap from craigslist, some from thrift stores. I'll keep an eye out for more for you!

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  4. To get so many mirrors, I am assuming all the same, great find.

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  5. Score! It's quite difficult to see the mirrors in most of the photos though, which I assume means they're doing the job!

    (Hopefully these are modern mirrored doors and not the must-be-backed-with-lead monsters that I have in my 1970-built home and are almost impossible to carry. )

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    1. It is difficult to see them so they are doing what I'd hoped. A little heavy to move but worth the effort!

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  6. OMG! The ad! The opportunity! The new mirrors look awesome.

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  7. love all these mirror in gardens.
    i have a big one in my garden too, but difficult to takes good picture of it.

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  8. Marvelous! Visually doubles the size of the greenhouse.

    I wonder if He-Who-does everything would agree to taking the mirror doors off my closet and replacing them with anything so I can put the mirrors in the garden?

    Cull the tomatoes, leaving 2 or 3 of the best to provide you with fruit. Tomatoes can be pruned if you want to move some outside.

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    1. What a great idea and they're already there.
      You're right , the tomatoes should be culled but if I wait a couple of months they will have to go anyway for the great migration.

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  9. One mirror breaks, 10 or so take its place. Well done Outlaw!

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  10. Score!!! I would have grabbed a few myself. I've always wanted to have mirrors behind my bamboo.

    Tomatoes. We have the same problem every year. I usually let them go until I can't take it anymore.

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    1. The visual effect of the mirrors is really fun!

      I hate to get rid of the tomatoes now that the cherry varieties are producing nicely and the larger ones are just starting to set fruit but I do miss seeing a lot of the more interesting plants that they're blocking.

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  11. Peter, I love this idea with mirrors! But I have no many of them. The fence looks very pretty.

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  12. OMG .... Peter I am SO JEALOUS of you ! these are fantastic ! ... I would love to be able to do a few like that too ... can you mail me a couple ?? LOL ... Seriously .. rip out the tomatoes and have the view you really want ... it will be fantastic ! .. that bamboo gets me every time I see it.
    I think t is my very unsuccessful attempt at growing Green Panda ... it just never took off.
    However ? the Giant Grass is beginning to look suspiciously like GIANT GRASS ! haha
    Still young and impressionable yet ... but the potential is there.
    Keep doing what you are doing ... it is wonderful as is your garden !
    Joy : )

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    1. I'll send some mirrors by carrier pigeon...may take more than one bird. Love your idea of ripping out the tomatoes. If I get motivated it may happen but they're starting to produce so maybe I should enjoy that reward first. Next year, only three or four plants. Thanks for your kind words!

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  13. You have very good karma. Mirrors in the garden are always wonderful.

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    1. Yes, I'm very lucky indeed! I seldom see mirrors in other people's gardens.

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  14. Love it - what a great find! It really works wonders in the bamboo grove and the greenhouse. I'm going to have to start scouring the interweb for something like this :-)

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    1. Mirrors are great fun to play with. I hope you find some!

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  15. What a lucky break! (Hmm, poor choice of words?) I love the illusion created by those big mirrors. It's like the concept of a borrowed view, but you're borrowing it from yourself. As for the tomatoes, be ruthless. Save enough so that you'll still get the tomatoes you want, but rip the rest out!

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    1. Lucky break...groan! Love it! I like your idea of ruthlessness with the tomatoes!

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  16. It's hard to see the mirrors in the photos, but that's because they are doing what they are supposed to be doing - doubling ghe view and doubling the space. Cool.

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    1. They're fun but it is hard to see them in photographs.

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  17. SCORE!! I love mirrors in the garden. I have several and am always on the lookout for more. Yours look great. I love your garden.

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    1. Thanks, Grace, there are never too many mirrors, are there? I considered getting more but wasn't sure where I'd put them right away. I love your garden too!

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  18. I love the effect of mirrors in the garden. I did try one once but I had to move it in the end because birds would wear themselves out attacking their image in the mirror. They wouldn' t give up and spent days in pointless warfare. Do you ever have problems with this?
    I always love a glimpse into your greenhouse. Are you really going to eat all those tomatoes?

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    1. Several years ago, a bid flew into a mirror and was stunned but soon flew away but have not had problems since. I only clean the mirrors once a year and allow a bit of dust to accumulate, they still reflect the garden but I think it helps the birds see the difference.

      The tomatoes have not been producing very heavily yet so we've had no problem consuming them although there are a couple of bags of them in the freezer as well. I'm hoping to freeze a lot for use in soups and sauces in the winter and perhaps have some fresh ones to share.

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  19. I'm so tickled for you that you got your mirrors and they were FREE! I understand what a complete coup that was...hope more free things come your way. Your photos are wonderful!

    ~Ann
    www.thenorthernwestvirginiagardener.blogspot.com

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.