Birdbath, Grape Hyacinth, and more

These fall planting bulbs were in the clearance section of my local garden center.

Muscari  Armenideum also known as Grape Hyacinth, were placed  in a bowl  filled with bark, water, and topped with moss. Once they are done flowering they will be planted out in the garden where they will multiply. Be forewarned, these can spread like weeds...they produce seeds and form bulblets.

It didn't take long for them to start growing.

The anise hyssop is growing in the garden. They give off a wonderful aroma when you rub the leaves between your fingers.  I can't wait to make some tea.

Here is my little ville de lyon clematis.

I checked out a book at the library called

 Concrete Garden Projects: Easy and Inexpensive Containers, Furniture, Water Features and More

by Malin Nilsson and Camilla Arvidsson

The book has some really attractive looking projects and most of them look simple enough.  So here is my endeavor at creating a heart birdbath.

I purchased a sheet of styrofoam from my local hardware store along with a bag of cement.  The project cost me less than ten dollars and I have enough supplies to make more.

I drew my heart shape and carved it out.

If I could do it again, I would carve the sides at an angle.  The edges came out rather square.

I placed a piece of plywood on the bottom and oiled the bottom and sides with oil to keep the concrete from sticking to the foam and board.

I mixed and poured the concrete.  I must say that I had  trouble with this step, never having worked with cement before,  the cement mix was fine and it also contained small rocks.  I wasn't sure whether to leave out the small rocks and use the fine dust or if a mix of both was necessary? So I had lots of texture, but it could have been from too much water. Not sure.

I covered the project with plastic to keep it from drying too quickly.

...and voila! It's beautiful, functional and enjoys daily visits from our local birds.  Next I will make some hypertufa pots.

A cute little bird visiting my kitchen window feeder. Unfortunately the birds see us and if we get too close to the window they fly away.

Thank you for stopping by.

Daisy