after subzero lows and highs in the single digits Farenheit, a high of 41F/5C, then highs in the 20sF/ -3ishC
This is the ball I bought this summer at the Smith & Hawken going out of business sale. The worst part is that it was frozen to the ground and I couldn't bring it into the garage until this morning, after the damage was done. Looks like I'll be learning how to make cement castings this spring.
*Do As I Say, Not As I Do
28 comments:
I feel for you! I have done the very same thing! Drat! I should know better too. Frozen to the ground and must wait to know what the damage will be. ;>(
This is my big fear with any kind of ornament: that I will forget to bring it in, or be surprised by a freeze. So far I have only busted cheap rain gauges.
Oh I'm so sorry MMD. We have a blue glazed ball that we ruined the same way last year. Since the pots seem to winter over, I thought this ball would. Sadly, no. The hypertufa balls are easy to make.
Frances
That is why Smith and Hawken went out of business. They did not maintain the quality of the original owner, and it got worse and worse until the end. It might as well have come from Walmart, the brand was so diluted.
Even on sale I bet it was expensive. I bet you can get a driveway repair kit and faux fix that right up. Looks like it was made to look distressed in the first place. You should be able to patch it. The concrete that's on there is just a thin layer over a layer. I'm quite positive about the whole situation.
I think Anna is right. Cement repair. I lost my agave because I didn't bring it in. I knew better.~~Dee
What a shame, but at least you've given us all a timely reminder. I hope you're able to repair the damage.
Dang it! We don't have this problem around here in the winter, normally. I wonder how my pots and bird baths did with the freezing temps we experienced. I should go take a closer look.
I try to remember that gardening is an ephemeral art and the fleetingness of it - for plants and artwork alike- makes it more dear. However, I am STILL lamenting the vibrant, handmade mosaic birdbath that I destroyed by leaving it out over the winter. Luckily, I have pictures of it to remind me of the work and the pleasure that it once was.
Oh what a crying shame MMD. I've been gnashing my teeth as one of my terracotta pots has been cracked by the frosts here. The first winter casualty but probably not the last.
Geez, don'tcha just want to kick yourself in the pants?? I have done that very thing. It makes me so angry with myself. Heck, just paint it up and put it out again next summer. No one will notice.
MMD, what a shame. It looks like it was a beautiful ornament. Sadly, a lot of us seem to forget the pretties in out garden and many have ended up the same way. I lost a dragonfly stepping stone last year and was sick about it. Here's to remembering next year!
Sadly, mine is not ornaments, but the perennials that I neglect. And the freeze thaw, freeze thaw doesn't do them any good either.
I think that some years I am a thoughtless gardener.
Jen
Awww... :( On the bright side, I have all the confidence in the world that you will end up making a much cooler garden ornament once you get the medium mastered!
Carol - are we eternal optimists, thinking that our items will make it through just fine?
Kathy - thanks for breaking that, it caused me to put my raingauge away for the winter.
Frances - I knew it wasn't concrete because it was lightweight. I've been looking for something to use as a form for hypertufa balls. Now I've got one.
Anna/FGG - thanks for the advice. I think I will patch it up with the stepping stone cement I have from last season.
MMD, I'm so sorry... you wouldn't have purchased it if you didn't like it! :-(
However, making your own concrete garden balls is fun and easy.
I would have done exactly the same thing! That's a bummer!
That sucks. I have a few casualties too. One of my solar glass lanterns collected an inch or so of water then froze then thawed before I noticed it had cracked big time. Weather and yard ornaments don't mix.
Oops. I hope you can fix it. I left something concrete like that out this winter, too, and noticed that it is flaking off badly now. Oops.t
Been there, done that also, Barbara. It just happens. And it's always surprising when something like this flakes and cracks. I had a couple of lovely concrete doves that sat on my doorstep, and even though I put them in the greenhouse for the winter, there was some snow or rain leakage in where they sat, and they turned to crumbling messes too. Some gorgeous cobalt blue pots that were in the greenhouse also crumbled because they were ceramic rather than heavy clay, and they still had dirt in them so when it froze...you know what happened. So now I'm leerier of such purchases and remember to bring in things that might be even slightly fragile. Usually, anyway...
It would really look cool with mosaic tiles all over it. Go for it!
Lisa - It has to look good to me, and if it doesn't it'll drive me batty.
Beckie - I'm surprised your stepping stone got damaged. I leave out all of my concrete stepping stones that the kids & I made and none of them have been damaged. Of course they're under the snow most of the winter.
Jen - sometimes it's hard to mulch the garden for winter, especially when it snows on ground that isn't frozen, and the snow doesn't completely melt until weeks later. Then it's push the plants back in the ground & put on the mulch & hope for the best.
Blackswamp Girl - ah, the caveat of mastering the technique. Let's hope its a short learning curve.
Shady - fun & easy is good. I'm ready to move beyond stepping stones.
ROR - hopefully you'll have learned from my blunder.
Grace - metal ornaments take the weather well, and some even look better for the wear.
Carol & Jodi- I'm surprised, as concrete things are usually more resilient. I have a concrete angel that has sat outside for years with no damage (except for a chip that happened when somebody knocked it over).
That's a shame. I've done the same thing more times than I like to admit. Like you said, I need to look into casting my own things too. Hypertufa is supposed to be resistant to weather damage but I don't know that for a fact.
Marnie
Cindy - shopping for mosaic tiles is a good winter activity for me.
Marnie - I'm willing to experiment with the leaving the hypertufa outside. Then I'll report on it. Of course, you'll have to wait until next winter for that.
That's too bad. In my Bethlehem house the previous owner (a non-gardener) left all of the nice large terra cotta pots out. When I cleaned up, I lifted them and the bottoms stayed on the ground. So I lost a few...I feel for ya.
Oh dear, too bad about your new garden ball. I did bring in my gazing ball earlier this season, but I think I've left some other things outside. And there are still some Christmas decorations buried under the snow:) But right now it's so icy here, I won't be going out to get them until it thaws.
Thank you so much for the detailed comment left on my blog to which I have replied.
I too have been caught out with terracotta pots becoming frozen. One never learns!!
I have some S&H mushroom ornaments that suffered a similar fate - orangey crumbly mess! Concrete casting is very fun though, do try it!
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