Advertisement

Meeting Sue Gerdes

Meet Sue Gerdes

“I love to learn and am addicted to.. every type of ART out there, making ‘thrown-out’ treasures funky and functional again.” it says on Sue’s ‘About me’ at Flea2Fab.

Sue Gerdes has been a member of Flea Market Gardening since the beginning, I think.   She lives in South Dakota on  her family’s third generation farm. Her two girls and three grandchildren live only an hour away. She likes gardening, …loves crafting for a non-profit shop and she is active in her Church.

Sue tells us, “Junking and art are my hobbies!  Being green is my thing…not so much trash because we cannot recycle here in the country, but with furniture and big items or relics from the past,… it is my passion to give them new life. A self taught artist, I dabble in oils and pastels and charcoal, too.”

Sue’s Artsy Garden

Birdhouse bench welcomes you to Sue’s home.

“My thumb is a little green but not all green. I garden but rely on rain because our Artesian well is salt based, making the soil we do have concrete hard from the build-up of minerals.” Sue says.  “Rain barrels and hauling water by truck from the nearest town is our only option.  If it’s too dry then I concentrate on decorating with color from objects I collect.

“My first attempt at a dancing garden sparkler…fun!”

“This sparkler took a long time but I think it’s worth it.  I used rebar tie wire and  a small hose clamp to tie them together. I shoved them down a pipe that I pounded into the ground. For sparkle, I took the beads and strung them on wire, then made a loop with my rounded pliers so the beads could start and stop…worked well! hmmm note to myself: make these much taller, maybe on a pole about 6 ft instead of 3 ft…..the cats had way to much fun with it last night.”

“Can anyone tell me what these are, I have a abundance of them!”

 

Veggie garden with an unusual trellis…and a dish flower!

Sue has a vegetable garden shown here with a dish flower and a baby crib spring.  She has a special recipe for Jalapeño jelly great for anytime.

Jalapeño Jelly

1 1/2 cups white vinegar, 3/4 washed jalapenos and roughly chop ( I wanted mine hot so left seeds in) 6 cups of sugar 2 pouches of liquid pectin. I use Certo Pectin.
1 tsp red or green food coloring or what ever color you like. I do a batch of red and a batch of green for Christmas. First put peppers in 1 1/2 cups of vinegar and put in the blender and chop finely. Then strain out the chunks leaving just your strong and spicy pepper vinegar juice. In a sauce pan add your sugar and pectin and pepper juice and boil and stir well for 2 min (rolling boil),  scoop off the foam and put into six  8 oz jelly jars. When serving this pour a jar over one brick of room temp cream cheese and serve with crackers on the side for dipping.

Sue’s ‘art supplies’

“Why I drag junk home? What a silly question, Sue laughs, “the junk from years ago has quality that is rarely made anymore. Everything is mass produced and we live in a throw away society. Things from the past are not hollow… they are solid, they are not pressed… they are cut and welded with such wonderful designs and elegance. Junk that I drag home is made to withstand time and wear.”

“I love making things from these cast-off beauties, to breath new life into them and save them from the dump and showing others what can be done so they can do the same and say with pride” I made that.”  Look at all the good things saving junk does for us, …we can save space in our landfills, save buying materials from stores and make something no one else has. It gives us pride.  I also drag junk home cause I am cheap!”  (Ha!  ~~ Sue)

“I found another use for my many plates…idea came from a store in Texas.”

 

“Better picture of bird feeder so you can make one.

All I did was drill the plates/bowl with a ceramic bit on a drill press, Hubby connected them…he used threaded ready rod that fit the size of the whole we drilled. Then attached with bolts to hold the plates up and a eyelet on top to attach the chain for hanging. We didn’t have a eyelet for supporting the chain so he welded a washer at the top and it works just as well.”

Advertisement

Red, white and blue block

“This is made from a block of cement and will not blow away with our Midwest winds. Next year I can see this with a bejeweled sparkler on each side in a bed of white and blue flowers,” Sue says.

“I love cobalt blue bottles…. they are my fav!”

 

Sue’s mosaic sign over her potting table. ” Yes, well, La De Da!”

 

Old window, shutters and object d’ rust make a classic Flea market garden vignette.

 

‘Gnome Home’

“‘Gnome Homes’ made from smooth river stones, wood putty and paint. Wood putty makes the ‘eaves’ and the chimney.  Use outdoor paint and spray with a fixative or paint on a cement sealer to keep it.”

 

“I love windows! The letters are painted and on the back side so had to paint them backwards…I love a challenge. “

 

Twig arch before

My little arbor made out of twigs and branches. We have tree shelter belts nearby so hubby chain sawed the branches them the size I needed. I made pilot holes with a drill bit so the wood wouldn’t crack, then inserted long screws.(hardest part is finding straight branches) buried it into the ground about a foot…replace this every 6 years or when it needs it. Never throw the old one away I put them in the back yard after cutting off the rotten wood that was in the ground. They make small arbors for my birdhouses. ;o)

Twig arch covered with morning glories

 

Sue’s very colorful potting table

 

“Tis” Fall and here are my Scare-Deer (scarecrows) ringing in the season. They love eating pumpkins.

“I have had these deer for 12 years but they get re-strawed every year because birds take the straw for their nests in the barn and cats use the legs for scratching posts.  The frame is welded  and made from metal fencing. The horns are from a deer and the rest is straw and wire and string. They are dug down into the ground at least 7 inches so the wind doesn’t tip them over. Every few years I strip everything off of them and they are rewelded. They only come out during Fall and Winter.”

“Lumber from our building site…

Sue says, “I just couldn’t throw this scrap wood away!  There’s even a drawer from a dresser in there somewhere.  It’s really tall!  I just can’t seem to make things small. It’s pretty bright once lighted.”

Sue has a Facebook page called Flea2Fab where she shows more of her creative garden projects. She sells her creations on consignment to small shops in her area, but it the actual creating,…the doing that she enjoys most!

She says, “I’m so glad to have stumbled upon Flea Market Gardening for ideas on planting, names of plants and ideas on the latest fun things to display.

More from Sue G:

 

Re-purposing old light fixtures in the garden

Sue’s ‘Rock Star’ mosaic rocks

Sue’s dangling dish flowers

Sue’s scattered sunflowers and what she did

 

Glassy, classy pumpkin globes

 

Sue Langley

Sue Langley, a passionate gardener and photographer lives and gardens with her husband and Corgi, Maggie on 7 acres just south of Yosemite, Zone 7 at 3000 feet. She manages the Flea Market Gardening Facebook page and website.

View Comments

  • FABULOUS! I see so many things I like. Too bad you don't live closer. We could have a blast creating treasures out of junk!

    • Sue Gerdes says:

      Myra, isn't it great that through this media we can create and show and learn from one another as if we were close neighbors? Thanks to Sue Langley and Stephie McCarthy the Flea Market Gardening page leads the way to beautiful gardening and a wonderful connection with people who have the same likes. Now get out there and Create! ~ Sue Gerdes aka Flea2Fab

  • Really like what you do with the things you find and create. I started this pass summer going to yard sales and finding a lot of things I've use for my gardening. Learned you can plant in just about anything. lol Oh, and thanks for the Jalapeño Jelly recipe.

    • Sue Gerdes says:

      Louis, yard sales and flea markets and second hand stores are the greatest. Besides being able to grow anything in just about anything you are doing the world a justice by recycling. Have you seen the succulents planted in kids rubber rain boots. It's a hoot, or the old chest of drawers with plants popping out of them? Imagination....it's a fantabulos thing.
      glad you liked the recipe it's a fav of mine too. Now get out there and Create! ~ Sue Gerdes aka~ Flea2Fab

  • Jimmye Porter says:

    Thanks for the tour of your garden, I certainly enjoyed looking at all your creations. Love the deer and any yard creatures I see.. I have been collecting scrap pieces for several months now, in order to build a 'I don't have a clue'.. I will know it when I see it.
    Again, love your area. Will be looking for more of your work in the future.

    • Sue Gerdes says:

      Hi Jimmey, Thank you so much, it is nice meeting all these new friends on Flea Market Gardening. I see you are a artist as well. Seen your beautiful beaded Tree of Life a few days ago on your page.So fun looking at all these ideas and keeping up with what everyone is making.Keep up the splendid work and don't forget to take pictures and post for us. ~ Flea2Fab ~ Sue G.

  • Stephie McCarthy says:

    Sue, it was great fun taking a tour of your garden. I loved it and felt so happy to be in such a sweet, heart-land setting! It's like walking through garden gallery, and the dish flower is super pretty!

    • Sue Gerdes says:

      Stephie, so good to get to know you, Thank you gals so much for the exposure. You both do such a good job on this page keeping it interesting and filled with wonderment.I enjoy meeting everyone on here and getting to know them from the inside out.Your art work is beautiful and I hope someday you will share with me how you do it. I enjoy whimmsie and your illustrations are just that, they make us all smile!

  • Sue, I just loved your site... what a bunch of unique ideas!!

    • Sue Langley says:

      Thank you so much, Jan,...I'm glad you're enjoying it...

  • It's so good to see that someone else has a bigger collection of dishes/glass for creating garden decor with than I do. :~)

Recent Posts

Boat gardens sail away…with our hearts

Grow, Grow, Grow, Your Boat... These boat gardens are beautiful, colorful, and well grown.  It looks like a lot of… Read More

4 years ago

Decorate your garden with blue!

'Paint' Your Garden with Blue... Is your garden is singing the blues? Mix recycled containers and crafts with blue flowers… Read More

4 years ago

Lost and Found in the Garden

See this hilarious and sometimes poignant list of lost items in the garden Question.......what was the last thing you lost… Read More

4 years ago

Jeanne’s garden Baker’s rack

Designing a charming garden baker's rack When I first saw Jeanne’s well-arranged and simply delightful Baker’s rack, I thought, ‘Somebody… Read More

4 years ago

Billie’s Yellows in the garden

Choosing a color from 'Over the Rainbow Garden' Billie Hayman's garden is full of color and she shows how one… Read More

4 years ago

Alliums in the garden, real & crafty!

Alliums are drama queens in the garden! Whether real flowers, grown from bulbs or the crafted faux flowers modeled after… Read More

4 years ago
Advertisement