Homestead Garden Decor

Welcome to my garden. This is not a round up of other people’s gardens and pictures. This is you coming for a visit to my garden. My style of homestead garden decor is a cross between antique and au naturelle found objects. Come on in!

Our homestead property used to be a working mixed farm. A lady stopped by a few years ago under the ruse of buying honey (see all about our honey in this article), but she quickly admitted that she had grown up on this farm. It was really neat to meet her and gain a small bit of knowledge about our homestead’s past. So, as with old farms, there are old and odd ends lying around, some of which found a place in my homestead garden decor.

Garden Decor

Who doesn’t love a circle to add some geometry to the landscape? Like many of these objects, I’m not sure where this came from or to what it belonged, but this large rim brings a geometric statement and mystery.

Is this a wrench? My 97 year old grandpa is fascinated by this 26” tool! As a farmer for many years, himself, he found his own mystery in this antique. I like how it also mimics the length of the log, almost hiding in it, waiting to be found.

I like the contrasts of this set up – the old metal plowshares, the old log, and new solar lamp. Sitting among the greenery (even the giant dandelion…) makes it seem like they are becoming part of the earth again.

I love this wavy disc thing. Can you tell I didn’t quite grow up on a farm? It is of considerable size, and its wavy edge has that bit of playful whimsy that belongs in my prairie wildflower garden. Perhaps a bit of sorrowful déjà vu of the 99% of tallgrass prairie plowed under when our ancestors settled in this place to make a new life for themselves.

The huge cottonwood log behind it is a beast! It also looks like one – an old scarred beluga whale to be precise. The kids and cats love walking along it.

This log is not quite as large as the beluga whale, but while most of the other logs in my garden have sawed ends, this one has the dark jagged end of being snapped off. It makes me feel small to think of these giants succumbing to the elements like that. And when the cottonwood giants that are still standing are swaying in a storm, I feel small. I gain some perspective on life, and am thankful God is in control.

The stump is from the maples we had to cut down because they had grown right over the length of our house. The stepping stones are actually from a massive willow that had one of its trunks die off, being almost on the ground already. The little birdbath provides some cute quirkiness to the scene.

I like to imagine that this is a peaceful spot, away from the other attractions of the yard, where two people could sit, one on the log, one on the stump. When the mugo pines grow, this spot will be wrapped in forest green and smell like heaven, after a rain.

This little bed on the other side of the yard is packed with contrasts! The needles of the dwarf mugo pine set off the thick red leaves of the Sunsparkler Wildfire Stonecrop, which is distinct from the long narrow leaves of the big bluestem prairie grass. The log and red granite rock that split in two create a hard contrast to them all.

Ok, this reel mower did not come with the farm. I may have had some energetic kids and unrealistic ideas when our lawnmower broke down. The reel mower is still kinda functional, and the kids still mess around with it, but it has become more of a lawn ornament than a lawn mower.

When you have a thing for blue glass, but not everything finds a place in your house, it can find a place in your flower bed (my flower bed)! Maybe a toad will find a home there. The blue glass in the garden is actually a marvelous idea because there are very few flowers that show as true blue. (Like the blue columbine I bought that looked royal blue on the tag and grew into fatal purple.)

I planted this stump in my prairie wildflower garden when those maples came down. It is 18” across and 32” tall. I had quite a time finding something affordable and big enough and to use as a bird bath. No glass bowls are that big. Maybe one day I’ll make my own concrete bowl for it. I’ll need a crane to lift it.

This birdbath is frequented by cats, bees, and sometimes birds. The hummingbird feeder in the background was very popular last summer. It was very cool watching those little birds buzzing around.

Ok, yes, I made that. No amount of hinting or asking got this arbour off the honey-do list, so I had to take matters into my own hands. This structure had to be tall enough to frame a door whose landing is 2 ½ feet off the ground. She stands 11 feet tall and is made of oak from our land. She’s not going anywhere.

Did I mention, the grapes are like nothing you’ve ever tasted in the grocery store? You can feel those antioxidants seeping into your veins!

I hope you enjoyed my little homestead garden decor tour. No gnomes, but I hope it shows that you can create structure and whimsy with whatever you can find, and whatever tickles your fancy. If you know what any of those rusty old tools are, let me know!