So I had a moment...bare with me

An interesting comment was posed about my or the use and possible overuse of discarded items. Which first made me smile then laugh then suddenly a large defensive wall went up and I felt like I was being personally attacked ( a very bad reaction I often have, so much so that an hour earlier my hubby asked me something and when I answered he said “honey that was not a personal attack.) ** I DO NOT believe this was the intention of the commenter. I DO believe it was an innocent thought and a good one. This post is merely the manifestation of that comment in my little world and is in no way intended to offend or upset the commenter as I think she has a lovely blog and is a very intelligent and talented person.

On to my manifestation and the answer to the comment

The art of creating and often, especially for me, re-purposing is one of the reasons why I love blogging and its ensuing community. I did not set out for this to be a political platform or a green space. Nevertheless, there is a lot of Green in my beliefs. I think that many of you will agree that we are conscious of our use of materials. Let’s face it we are all living in a plastic loving, readymade, fast food society. Most of us are trying to do our part. Take this and this for example. Last year there was a widespread “use what you have” movement circulating throughout blogland. So the question, could ones use of broken dishes and cast off shoes turn a garden into a landfill with flowers. I suppose it could. I can also suppose the mate to the said boot is resting comfortably among the flies and other cast off items in such a place. I am just trying to limit my contribution to that space.

As for artful, I find this an interesting thought, for one "artful" is relative, I was just telling another blogger how using half of a broken mug in a planter and its esthetic appeal satisfied my craving for a quick creative fix, when my creative time is so limited. To me, doing this little thing was both creative and artful. Indefinitly however, is a long time and I don’t expect to do anything that long, besides I believe in balance. Near the broken pitcher is a beautiful rock that we found hiking in one day (and had permisson to take). In the same garden is a brick that was part of the landscape my father did at the house I grew up in, placed near some transplanted flowers that were his. My father passed away four years ago. This particular garden is a balance of favorite things and precious momentos.

For my purposes, I try to limit my use of the broken and the discarded in my garden to those that were favored. The life spans of these items in the garden are significantly shorter and when they expire they are broken further to be used in the bottoms of pots for drainage as will the boot-cut up. Such items and things like packing peanuts, that seem to arrive at Christmas, are great to put in bigger pots as filler. They serve for both drainage and save on potting soil. I had thought to post a picture of the particular garden in its entirety but I decided against it as I do not want to indulge my self-inflicted feeling of this comment being a personal attack. I know it was not. So thank you for your thought provoking comment and questions and giving me cause to think deeper into the why of things.