I don’t  have to have my wood stacked like this, nor could I,  to be satisfied, but I want to do a lot better to spiff up the little realities and necessaries in the garden here to make them fit in better with my natural surroundings.

Alastair Heseltine woodpile Photo: courtesy A. Heseltine

Lately I’ve looked at my garden with a more critical eye. I see more detail through the camera lens and in the photos taken in the last three months and I don’t like what I see.  Mess, mess, mess!  Bright green hoses are running through an otherwise pretty landscape of the trees and fields.  There is a bunch of junk, I call rat’s nests, behind the shed but still visible from the garden paths.  There is wood still stacked nearby from our house construction 5 years ago! Our boat is covered with a big neon blue tarp!  Arrrrgh!

 There are big brush piles, too, waiting for a burn day, not much to do about that until the rains come back, but a lot of this I can do something about:

• I can never again buy a bright green hose when I know that there are black and grey ones.
• Never again will I buy a blue tarp and I vow to put my delicate foot down to my dear husband never to, either.
• I can, one by one, clean up the rats’ nests.
• I can paint our white rusty shed the same brown as our house or another neutral color.

Cleanup…rake up…wind up… stack up; good goals for this month between the rains.  Planting is done, but still work to do.

Now for the fun stuff. 

Here is Alastair Heseltine:

Alastair Heseltine woodpile, Photo: courtesy A. Heseltine

You may have seen this woodpile online somewhere and have thought “This must be Martha Stewart’s doing!” And, if you Google “woodpile”, you are sure to see it attached to jokes and in folks’ humorous blog posts.

In actuality, it is Alastair Heseltine’s doing.  He’s an artist, living up on Hornsby Island in British Columbia, Canada.  He uses willow and wood to weave and stack his art pieces. Here is the Video story and some more of his garden related artwork.  Fun!!

Alastair Heseltine bench Photo: courtesy A. Heseltine

 He says:
“I am a sculptor working with mixed media relating to the environment. Imagery is guided by the inherent nature of material and by construction systems evolved through mindful observation and play. I also draw from the full spectrum of routines and activities that support my practice:  Design, craft production, farming and rural life.”

Alastair Heseltine woven garden Photo: courtesy A. Heseltine

What an inspiration! It would be fun to try weaving some wood or willow pieces through my sedums like he did. Fun!!  Check out the website for some inspiration of your own…