Sunday, April 25, 2010

What Next ??

All the time I have people ask me what I do with all of my plates and dishes. Well, the obvious answer would be I use them, enjoy them, and entertain with them. I have such a fondness and a rather large quantity of vintage dishes, that it seems they have spilled out from my cupboards.....literally.....

.....and into my yard......as an edging for a flower bed in the corner of my backyard. Now, this was a very easy project, with the exception of deciding which plates were moving from the inside of the house to the outdoors. I used the ones that had nicks around the rim of the plates, just buried that part under the soil. My inspiration came from a Spring magazine I looked at a few weeks ago. I saw this in a home and garden magazine and knew I was going to be doing this in my own yard.

A mismatched group of dinner plates and saucers make a rather charming border in my opinion. Granted, not everyone in my house shares this sentiment, my son especially......but it is my yard, my flowerbeds, and I like it.....my husband just shakes his head and leaves it at that. I really think he is just happy SOME of the plates are out of the cabinets. When I explained that this was in a brand new home and garden magazine....he stated......the magazine surely had fallen on desperate times for sure. Men....what do they know?


By adding a couple of very vintage chairs I had on my patio, they are serving as a planter holder for some of my pots. I then added a few of the chippy iron pieces, and a few statues from various other places in my yard.

This part of the yard gets a lot of shade, my hosta plants are coming up nicely, so I just added some inpatients flowers to the bed and pots. I may add a few more plants in a couple of weeks, but for now, this is all I have planted.

There you have it, my vintage little corner of the yard. Protested by various members of my family.....with the exception of the dogs...they were looking and sniffing the plates wondering where the food was.....after all, it is not everyday they freely see plates sitting on the ground at their eye level....they were just confused that there was not a single morsel of food on any of them.

I guess it is good to keep them guessing, and let them wonder....what will be next?
.....the family and the dogs.


38 comments:

  1. I love it! What a great way to save the memories and enjoy the beauty of your dishes that you can no longer use for meals. I imagine it was quite a job to place them all so perfectly, but the result is certainly worth all your hard work. BRAVO!

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  2. How charming!!! What a great idea, and how great that you can look out in your yard and see what you love. I think this is the cutest thing yet...very inviting.

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  3. i like it! very whimsical! definitely not for everyone but thats the fun in it!

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  4. This is totally you Suzanne....and I mean that in a good way! Love it!!!

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  5. Wow, I haven't ever seen that, what magazine was it in? I am thinking about which dishes I can banish. It does add color during the time nothing is blooming. How cute to have it surrounding a little bistro table!

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  6. What a beautiful creative border you created! I think it is lovely! Thank you much for sharing with us today!

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  7. I think that is a very cute idea! Sometimes I love plates but they are chipped too badly for tables use and this would be perfect and beautiful.

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  8. My mom was way before her time. She was a lot like you in so many ways. Loved to cook, sew, crafts, paint, collect....
    Maybe you and I were switched at birth.

    I would love to see your home next time I am in town.

    Now you got me wanting to hang mugs from the tree limbs!!!! lol

    Remember in the movie 'Twister' the aunt who made all the stuff that moved and made noise in the wind? I LOVED THAT STUFF. Be cool to know how to makes that sort of thing.

    I been after D for years to build me birdhouses. My mom has a BUNCH hanging from her tree and its so cute. AND they use them.

    Seems like all I can attract is a squirrel or 2. :(

    Ugh... wish I was there so you can teach me!
    LOVE YOU
    Mary

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  9. I like it Suzanne. It's different and not for everyone but I would do it if I had the right amount of dishes. Very cool!! :-)

    xoxo
    Jane

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  10. How charming, and this is certainly the day for dish-edging!! Kim at Dear Daisy Cottage was doing this just this morning.

    I found three patterns that we have in common, you and I.

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  11. I rather like it, it sure added color and whimsy to the yard.
    Molly

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  12. Well look how quaint that looks! What a beautiful idea!

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  13. Suzanne, your plates look so lovely as fence! very creative and add characters to your garden! have a good week!
    xo
    fitty

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  14. That looks so lovely, Suzanne! I've kinda done the same thing, but they're in my windowboxes! And I bet your family thought it was a crazy idea, but now they love it. That's what always happens around here. They think I'm nuts, but they like how our house stands out from all the rest on the block!
    Happy Monday!
    Carol

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  15. OH! I have a plate border around my FRONT flower bed--so glad there's another plate person on the planet! I simply had covered every bit of safe wall space I had inside, and they had to go somewhere--you know.
    My husband thought I was clever, though. Most people who come to our home LOVE it, although they wouldn't do it "themselves". Thanks for sharing! It is beautiful!

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  16. Now thats a garden border!! Very cute idea. Do I spot a green Homer Laughlin plate?? Your garden is sure to grow beautifully!!

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  17. Very different. I like it. I am just starting to collect dishes. i want pink rose patterned duishes for a cottage look. How fun it will be to have mismatched dishes for everyone.

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  18. What a great idea and of course clever..you are something as I have told you a number of times..I never would have thought of it. I looks beautiful. At first I thought you shouldn't put your pretty plates outside but when you explained the reason I agreed with you. You are just too smart..

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  19. So beautifully original, love this idea but the puppies would never let me. Never!

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  20. I'm with you on this one Suzanne!! I think your little garden is absolutely charming. Not only is your plate border sweet and charming, you are re-purposing, going "green", saving the planet, one plate at a time!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  21. I love it! I could never pull it off, but it is perfect and fits your personality! You go girl!

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  22. What a lovely space you have created! I love the idea and the look it created.

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  23. I saw this a few years ago-an old house (turned antique store) had a garden with plates as the border. I have done this too in one corner of my yard and I get the same response from my kids. Oh well you and I both love it.

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  24. I'm sure my Hubby and Son would react the same way! But I love what you have done!

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  25. At least when the garden gets ready and tomatoes ripe, all I will need is salt and grab plate. Stop reading books, you have enough of your own ideas.

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  26. I saw this a long time ago and lost it in in the crevices of my mush mind. Thanks so much for reminding me. You little vintgae corner is ADORABLE!!!! I'd get the same reaction here, pooh!
    LOL
    *hugs*deb

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  27. I may just have to steal your idea! I have so many vintage dishes that I brought home only to discover that they were crazed or stained beyond repair, but I hate getting rid of them. What better way to put them to use?

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  28. What a crazy wonderful idea! and plenty of room for overflow of those pretty plates!!!

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  29. I did the same thing a couple of summers ago, got the same blank stare from my daughter and the rolled eyes from my hubby.....but it looked great and I loved it. Very nice in your yard.

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  30. I just saw this done at a house last week! It is so fun!

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  31. I leave men out of the decorating decisions. They can shake their heads and mutter all they want. The garden is MY domain!
    Brenda

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  32. Great idea! I would have never thought to have done that.

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  33. Love the idea of using plates for a border- They look so cute!

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  34. I first saw this on Manuela's blog, The Pleasures of Homemaking, a couple of years ago...now here on yours. Plates in the garden are lovely. Now all you need is a nice mosaic (made from vintage china) from Lavender Hill Studio...
    Beautiful use of plates and furniture. I love height variations in a flower bed.

    Becky K.
    Hospitality Lane

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  35. I love it! I wish I had a lot of plates so I could do it in my yard! My husband would die, just die! He has a hard time letting me even plant flowers much less put plates up around the yard! lol

    Hugs,
    Angela

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Sometimes someone says something really small, and it's like it fits into this empty space in your heart!

Thank you for stopping by and leaving your thoughts here, they really mean a lot to me!

Suzanne

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