Garden Visit: Head's-Up, Peter!

Today, I stopped by "That Place on 85th" to snap some photos to share with my friend Peter who blogs at The Outlaw Gardener.  For some reason, I think he'd like this shop.

Metal flowers abound!

The real name of the store is Home & Garden Art LLC, but I bet that more people know it as "Hey...yeah, I know that place!"  It's located on NW 85th Street in Seattle--not far from Swanson's Nursery.

Eighty-fifth is a pretty busy street--a major cross-town arterial--but you're not going to bypass this shop without noticing it:  The flock of ten foot tall reclaimed metal chickens will see to that.  And the chicken welcoming committee is just the beginning.  This shop is so crammed full of fun, color, and whimsy that a visit would put a smile on the face of even the grumpiest customer.

Lotsa chickens...

Tell me that you can't find a place in your garden for a metal chicken... 

...or a flying pig...or a dog...or a goat...or a really festive bottle tree...

But I don't want to give the impression that it was all whimsical, animal-themed items.  No--they've got all kinds of stuff.  There was a lot of typography (both decorative, painted metal signs and the three-dimentional letters and phrases that we've all seen somewhere)...and an assortment of furniture...

...and LOTS of gates and arbors and trellises...

Metal trellises representing a variety of more traditional themes. Aren't those bird stakes kind of sweet?

More trellises and gates.  There was a lot to choose from--these two pictures
represent only about half of the available styles.

...rain chains...

...and hardware...

...and concrete statuary...and decorative tiles...and art glass garden stakes...and there were also some clean-lined and modern metal pieces, although those were definitely in the minority.  They buy some items and make others so, if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, you could probably talk them into making or modifying a piece so that it is just right.  

And if you didn't find what you were looking for, maybe you should just buy a mariachi band's worth of metal frogs.  (They are, seriously, better than the real thing.  I mean, have you ever seen those poor taxidermy frog musicians that you can buy in Tijuana?!  Trust me...if your taste runs to mariachi frogs, just get the metal ones.  They've got them here!)  

Frog mariachi band.

My apologies for the cell phone snaps--initially, I'd only planned to take reference photos, but the experience proved to be too much fun to not share!

Garden: This One's for Loree: Botanical Cactus Garden

Loree of Danger Garden doesn't know me, but I have been reading her blog off and on for years.  So, when I spotted this gem of a cactus garden adjoining Ethel M Chocolates in Las Vegas, I thought of her.  Loree, these photos are for you...

Just a quick note...all these photos were taken in the scorching, blinding, blazing light of mid-day with my cell phone.  All things considered, I think my phone handled it pretty well!  Better than I did, anyway.

Some cactus gardens are so sparse--like a plant zoo--but this one looked comparatively lush and pretty.  I liked the intermingling of trees, cacti, and colorful, flowering plants.