Becky Norris lives and gardens in Oklahoma and though she has a relatively small garden, she has packed every inch with unique, landscape, hardscape and garden craft projects, large and small. She has one thing any gardener would love,….a small garden cottage all her own.
Not without challenges in her life, she has taken on one huge project,..her brick and cast stepping stone patio and completed it,…all on her own. Step by step she gets things done in her garden, to her immense enjoyment. And you may see pink!
“Here you can see the coneflowers behind the raised planter which was made from an old metal closet with the doors removed, a picket fence around the raised bed made from pallets and the door turned into a glass on glass panel,” Becky tells us.
Becky says, “I have been gardening most of my life. While spending the summer with my grandmother one year she woke me in the middle of the night to come and see a bloom on her cactus. This particular plant rarely bloomed and she did not want me to miss out on the gorgeous bloom. This experience really piqued my interest in plants.”
There is a peace I feel when I am in the garden, working in the dirt or pruning plants. There is something so simple about being one with the flowers and the enjoyment of seeing the insects, bees, butterflies, moths, birds and those occasional snakes and lizards that are attracted to the plants or the insects that live among them. I think what I enjoy most about my gardens besides the beauty of the flowers is the solitude I have when it is just me and the garden.
“I thought on this bird house for quite some time,” Becky says, “so glad I could get it built the way I wanted it. I am very pleased with it. And it has 4 spots for the birds.”
“Ten years ago I moved to Oklahoma when I remarried. I missed the large parcel of land I had in Alabama but I worked hard to make this place my own. Once I found out what grew well here, I embraced those plants and set out to create a beautiful garden that I could fill with my old flea market items. Here, I could also display all the crafty pieces I so enjoyed making.”
“I love to be able to take an ordinary item and by simply adding some common items, turn it into a piece of garden art. I have had to add lots of dirt, but those raised beds have really helped to make beautiful borders and the amended soil has made the flowers thrive in a less than suitable area. I always laugh when my husband says we have ten acres of dirt in our garden and we bought it one bag at a time!”
“Cloches made from old glass gallon jars, etched with designs and old glass pieces added to the tops.”
“I have always loved anything handmade. I think that is another gift from my grandmother who taught me the love of flowers. My husband and I both love to go to flea markets and auctions and I never see an item for what it is, …my mind always sees it how it can be. I know immediately when I find an item or buy an item, just what I will do with it.”
I have a garden divided into different areas and for different purposes.
I have a rusty area where I can put all the items made of rusty farm implements and any other neat rusty items that my minds eye can see as art. I look at so many ordinary items of long ago, as art. There is an artistic appeal to common items like old rusty plows, old galvanized farm items, and things such as shovel and rake heads.
Becky’s unique flower tower. Old copper pots made into a flower stack, glass on glass mosaic pieces to hold one pot off the other.
As a Flea Market Gardener, I love using these things in my garden. I not only enjoy the flowers but I love seeing these old rusty items in my garden everyday. On the other hand, I also have portions of the garden where I want formal with a dash of whimsy.
How Becky created this mosaic. Mosaic Magic: Rescuing an old glass garden table
One of my other areas of artistic work is in mosaics. I have created several mosaics especially for my gardens to accent the flowers while they are growing, but also to fill the empty spots during the winter. I love creating beautiful works of art and I have used all sorts of items I found at flea markets, or items I already had on hand.
There is a lot of gratification from taking nothing and making something beautiful out of it. In my case, I took an empty area, barren and hard packed dirt and worked to make it into the beautiful oasis it is now. It is a place I love to visit each day and I never grow tired of being in my garden.
Becky’s gorgeous garden shed sign
Becky’s crystalline garden window
Mosaic Magic: Rescuing an old glass garden table
Becky’s marvelous mosaic garden
Winsome window mosaics, for the garden
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