Show'r from Atelier Tradewinds

I guess I must really want an outdoor shower because I cannot stop looking at pics of them on the internet....and it doesn't hurt that right now the temperatures in my area are over 90 F everyday.

So here are a few more ideas for outdoor showers.

Show'r from Atelier Treadewinds is a mobile outdoor shower made out of galvanized and powder-coated iron tubes and a black locust wood base. (Cold water only)  Wheels are placed at the back to allow the shower to be moved easily. Just click your garden hose to the standard quick connector at the base and your garden shower is ready.  Show'r is also easily dismountable.


As I say, it is the setting that makes an outdoor shower outstanding.  Add color, texture, plants or all of the above!  Examples of showers and their enclosures below:

Guardian

Paint a poured concrete and concrete block wall blue and it makes for a private 'Blue Lagoon.'

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Sunset Magazine

Take some wood and box in the shower ( see at top of shower?) and Voila! a privacy screen. Add some bamboo, if you dare.

Andersson Wise Architects

What to do with all that wood from the trees you cut up? Make a privacy wall. Seal it very very well.

James Crisp architect, Millbrook NY

A lovely wooden screen fence for both the shower and changing station. Fabulous. Make the doorway wide, as shown here.

Garden Bells - A Sonorous Addition to Your Landscape

Decorative Garden Bell from Cox and Cox

 Tintinnabulation  is one of my favorite English words.

It is a noun that refers to the ringing or sound of bells. The word sounds like what it is describing....

Edgar Allan Poe used this word in his rapturous poem about THE BELLS. It is one of my favorite poems and Phil Ochs put it to song.

Here is a snippet :

"Hear the sledges with the bells -
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells."

How can you not want a bell in your garden after that?  :)

Here are a few bells you may be interested in...or Make Your Own...My mother, when she attended Cooper Union as an art student, made a memorable sound sculpture from hanging cans and lids that I would hit with wooden kitchen spoons.  I loved that thing.


The Harmony Hollow  Gardeners Bronze Wind Bell

Gardeners Bell
From  Harmony Hollow Bellworks

This bell is hand made from brass, finished in a beautiful verdigris patina. A perfect gift for a gardener.  I particularly like this bell because each gardeners bell comes with a lovely message that says

"It is universally believed that bells have forever driven away bad spirits and called upon good ones, and this GARDENER'S BELL is no exception.

By attracting the spirits of air (a soft breeze), of fire (warm sunlight), of water (rain plus a little help from the watering can), and of earth (rich soil), its pleasant vibrations are conducive to growing healthy plants.

 Moreover; this bell's melodic ringing puts anyone aspiring to a green thumb directly in touch with the natural rhythms of Mother Nature.

May you dance in her beautiful garden, rejoice in a bountiful harvest, and in so doing, may you cultivate your soul."

I have to buy this bell after reading that! Their website lets you choose which  specific bell to attach  in the middle and lets you hear each sound that their different bells make.  I like the A6. (Click on it to hear)....

Cox and Cox  - Decorative Garden Bell

This cast iron outdoor bell is individually hand cast and can be attached to any door or wall. Beautiful and rusted - it is a euphonious way of calling one in from the garden.

Patina - Star Bell

This is hand wrought with flame cut details and a natural rust patina. It comes with a 7" wall mount which allows for mounting to any vertical surface. The 3" steel clapper had a Rawhide pull.

There are so many more and I will feature more in the future....

Beautiful Outdoor Benches Complete a Garden

Baseball Bench by Douglas Thayer

Benches make a garden....

After you arrange all the plants, the rocks, install the paving and whatever you choose...then you place the bench. 

The bench is what calls to us.

And the bench you place adds a special sparkle that touches the visitor directly.  After all, the bench seat is what we feel when we sit down.

So it must look great and feel good.  Here are some choices for your garden.

Roseto Bench by Crate and Barrel

 

This plantation harvested teak bench has a clean, contemporary double vertical slat-back design.  Handcrafted with mortise-and-tenon joinery. Add on the weather-resistant Sunbrella cushion in neutral stone for extra comfort.

Lucky Beam Bench by Katch Design

 

The Lucky Beam bench by Brooklyn-based Katch Design is made from 100% recyclable aluminum,  features a solvent free powder coat finish and a reclaimed  Pine seat coated with an all-natural, zero-VOC oil base. The  Lucky Beam adds an urban feel to any space.

Lucky Beam Bench by Katch Design

Doug Thayer makes some great benches...Look at this one - LeBlond:

LeBlond Bench by Doug Thayer

“Bountiful Bench” by sculptor, Christina Murphy, is functional art that represents  nature, country, environmental consciousness, and a return to one’s roots.  Visitors can sit on the “lap” of Mother Nature, who is, the artist says, 'the greatest artist of all'...She wears a blanket and sits with outstretched hands.   Assets of the earth are nestled in its folds: corn and vegetables, wildflowers and trees, wheat and soil, fruit and seeds, livestock and fish.

Bountiful Bench by Christina Murphy

Bountiful Bench by Christina Murphy

'Polyphony' is functional art by Cameron Van Dyke. This segmented bench is constructed of colored cast concrete. The concrete pods are polished, sealed, and mounted to aluminum plates which are bolted to the sidewalk. The pods provide durable outdoor seating Collection of the city of Coral Springs, Florida.

Polyphony by Cameron Van Dyke

The firm, Kircodan, also makes some fabulous outdoor benches:

Espresso Bench by Kircodan

Timber Bench by Kircodan

I hope this whets your interest in finding an interesting bench for your garden. Happy Hunting!

 

The Bubble Armchair - A Great Chair for Outdoor Fun

Do you watch Boston Legal?

Nearly every episode ends with  a “trademark” scene between Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader). The two sit on the balcony off Crane’s office, reclining in BUBBLE arm chairs, smoking cigars and sipping glasses of Scotch.

photo from a fun website: thebunnybungalow.com

Their friendship is highly celebrated but the real reasons these scenes are so compelling are the armchairs!!!!

The Bubble Club Armchair by Kartell and Design Within Reach (and designed by Philippe Starck) offers irony and comfort with an air of versatile sophistication. It can the center piece of any outdoor space.

Made entirely of polyethylene, the very comfortable Bubble Club Armchair owes its cartoonlike appearance to the contrast between traditional lines and exaggerated contours. The water resistance of the plastic makes this chair (and its sofa) a fun choice for pool furniture as well.

And the light weight construction makes it easy to carry it back and forth from patio to poolside.

And they light up at night - if you opt for the interior lights.

from designawards.files.wordpress

Of course you may want something a little less modern..in which case this chair might appeal to you:

Kimber modern B & B from Myranchburger