Meeting Jeanne Sammons

Regularly, I profile one of the very involved and talented members of Flea Market Gardening. These folks are inspirational, talented gardeners and bargain shoppers! You may already recognize their names and photos and the next time you do you can say hello!

Meet Jean Sammons

Jeanne Sammons, “Sitting in my swing in my Secret Garden in the Pines, early evening.”

Jeanne and her hubby, Larry are retired and have lived on the same acreage for over 40 yrs now where they raised their children and animals in Northeast Iowa. She loves gardening!

Jeanne says, “I love anything “rustic”… especially using old barn wood, metal and pottery in the gardens. I love feeding the birds,…Larry takes care of filling the feeders, and I can spend hours watching them from inside the house and photographing their antics, especially during the long Winter months!”

“A beautiful day in Iowa and I enjoyed using some of my ‘harvest’ today and decorated up the Baker’s Rack on my porch/patio…cut boughs from pine trees and gourds and curly willow, too. A good day!”

“This is a door arbor, built last year, made from a couple old doors and 2×6’s that my hubby and I did together…Mandevilla vine hangs in the middle … white Cleome around it and a Knock-out Rose is new, too.”

This scene stunned us all when we first saw it. How did Jeanne know how effective the white cleome and chair would look combined with the fabulous idea of a door arbor. Many are ‘stealing’ this idea, but don’t forget the cleome!

“No fresh paint, just sunshine on the weathered fence…plus yellow day lilies to brighten it! I have several Asiatic & Day lily colors planted here, too. The plant growing that you see is actually a ‘Prairiefire Crab Apple’ off to the side & you are seeing a branch.”

“This is what I call ‘Live Art’ … made by an artist at Farmer’s Market for me a couple yrs ago…here it is in my gardens…I move it around and love it!”

“I like flower gardens, prairies and pine trees. I have a ‘secret garden’ out in the pines with a log swing where I relax, meditate and feel close to God…I refer to it as my outdoor church. I am continually adding, moving and creating new gardens…love being outdoors!,” says Jeanne.

Jeanne loves birds and loves to photograph them.

“Another passion of mine is photography which goes hand-in-hand with gardening for me! I’ve taken photos for many years, just ask my kids! I also enjoy trying to capture the beauty of nature. In the early 90s, I went back to college and graduated, receiving an art degree with a photography emphasis, and an English minor.”

“Never pass up those ‘blue insulators’ at flea markets!…3 blocks of wood, strand of mini-lights, 3 metal label thingy’s and some faux greenery behind it all…’Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!'”

Interesting glass insulators indoors and in the garden

“Here’s an old barn wood door that we rescued … I painted it white, added a board frame and grapevine wreath, an old freezer basket, a branch of Curly Willow and took it to daughter’s house with Fall Mum…… barn wood is fun to recycle!”

Last January, if you remember, I tried duplicating Jeanne’s old barn door, with a Dutch door of my own. What an inspiration! It was a fun project and everyone followed along to give me suggestions. ~~ Sue

“Finished up another original ‘Barnwood Bloom’ today …” says Jeanne.

“Retirement has been good for us! We joined our local Farmer’s Market about 5 years ago where we bring our old ‘barn wood’ creations: bird houses, feeders and my newest barn wood art, “Barnwood Blooms.” I really like how the stovetop grate frames the stained glass candle holder flower and I used patio umbrella spoke for the stem…My husband cut the metal leaf thingy’s from a pair of brackets I had…and course, the old barn wood board with a coat of Poly…everything from Flea Marketing!”

And this is the garden where a wren hangs out on the Bell. There are some weeds here, too…but it still is lookin’ good!

Jeanne says, “Creating photo cards has been a hobby for as long as I can remember, so I am always pleased to share my gardens, the birds, garden walks through photography.”
Jeanne is another ‘Queen of the Vignette’ as you can see, and her photos are distinctive by the soft focus edges she likes to use. I’m so glad to have Jeanne with us to add her creative contributions and joy of gardening! ~~ Sue