A Rustic Garden Blog

I was in middle Mo and saw the weeping willow trees turning yellow. The beginning of Spring is finally here. Time to clean out your flower beds to make room for the beautiful new growth that will soon be here.

I have many grasses that need the dead cut away. I have 2 different tips that are pretty easy and fast.

If you grasses are close to a structure they will need to be cut away. I uses hedge trimmers. The waste does not scatter as much as a weed eater.

The fastest easiest process it is to light a match to the dead grass. It really burns hot so take precautions and only do this if your plants are far away from anthing that fire could hurt or spread. I like to have my garden hose close.

The new growth will come right up through the burnt stubble. Now your landscape will be ready for garden wrought iron benches so you can sit and watch the spring emerge.

Country home decor is comfortable, warm and welcoming. Combining a few country cupboards and  a primitive table with braided runners and mats can be a great start.

Hang a wrought iron planter on the wall but place a vintage wooden box in the planting area to hold your candles or extra linens. Placing colorful home decor accents in unusual  places brings the eye to your whole room and welcomes your guests to experience country style.

We make the steel posts that coordinate with our wrought iron garden fencing. Yes they accent but structurely they add so much strength. Each post is made in our welding shop here in middle IL so we can make it any length. We use them to hang and latch our large wrought iron gates. The posts also easily interlock with our steel fencing sections.

Let us know your landscape design and we will can work out a plan to fill your space right down to the inch.

Just revamped our kitchen and did not spend much so that is a big plus. Used  repro tin ceiling tiles as the back splash. The cabinets were varnished oak so the colors blended too much so I got busy with the paint brush. Using a off white paint I covered the cabinets heavily then sanded the edges and scuffed them here and there. The next day I brushed on a dark Minwax stain then wiped it off. After it cured I brushed a semigloss  poly to protect them.

The results was awsome! The cabinets looks vintage and is a great contrast to the other surfaces and walls in the room. The final step was adding new rustic hardware. 

The result complements our lake house’s country home decor 

Last fall my family purchased a vacation home at the Lake of the Ozarks. Fun, fun, fun. It still does not seem real yet but I have so many country  antiques throughout that is is starting to get comfortable.  I live with antiques.

Early painted furniture and original country store collectibles are some of my favorite purchases. I stopped on I70 near Colombia Mo at Artichoke Annie’s Antique Mall and found a wonderful 1800’s trade sign. It read Perkins Horse and Carriage Dealer on a 18″ wide 7′ board all hand painted with green paint over cream. Did I over describe this? Well maybe but I just love antiques and you could say I decorate with unique home decor.

Rustic Home Decor  is accomplished using color and texture. A braided rug can bring your homes interior colors together and ad that primitive rustic feel.

To country decorate your walls use wood, metal and fabic. A hand crafted wooden shelf might be a great accent with a vintage quilt draped over its hook.

The right Lighting is also important and mellows out the scene. A candle chandelier is a great choice. One stop shopping is A Rustic Garden.

Having a summer cabin is one of the best investments that any family can make. After all, property is always sure to rise in value. Even if the market is terrible, things are only going to plateau or dip slightly, but there will certainly be an upswing again. This ensures that the value of your property rises over time, but it will also prove cost effective in the short run. After all, having a place to stay for a week or two on vacations will save you the money you would have had to spend on a hotel or condo. This can really add up over the years.

And while not many people think they have the extra income to purchase a separate cabin, consider buying it with multiple people in your family or circle of friends. This way, the asking price will be cut in half, quarters, or even more. This might still be a strain for many, but if possible, it would make a great source of retirement income. Or, you could pass it along to your children as part of their inheritance. If it does become more a family fixture than an investment, don’t forget to go all out with the decorating; it’s the perfect opportunity to add rustic décor, which may not go in your everyday home.

The wrought iron gate and posts with attached sides pictured here was for a 73″ span.  We could easily adapt another size to fit your space.

The posts will bolt down into your concrete and we can bracket to the house and garage at each end.  The interlocking wrought iron fence can be easily adapted to fit any size opening.

Consider all our fencing and steel gates at A Rustic Garden to enclose your flower garden, driveway, or entire yard.

More and more people have found how rewarding gardening can be. Creating an area in your landscape that attracts hummingbirds and becomes a relaxing, peaceful space for you and your family is important and really quite easy.

Garden art is a good place to begin. You can pick a trellis or window box that coordinates with you home then work out from that area with planing of annual and perinials to create your unique area.

Country  living is really all I know. Raised on our family farm in middle IL is all I know and it has help me find the direction for my own country decorating style.

I began buying and selling anitques  in the early 1980’s. Much of my business was refinishing antique oak furniture then selling them along with vintage quilts. After all these years my tastes has moved to selling country antiques and primitives many still in their original painted surface. It is easy to go to work every day when you love what you do.