FREE AS A BIRD
“I have collected birdcages over the years and love the idea that they are empty – as they should be,” says Karin. Her many different birdcages are draped or filled with air plants and are suspended, along with a bird feeder, at varying heights on the branches of a swamp cypress.
To the left of the birdcages is a statue, The Crying Lady (inset), adorned with a string of beads around her arm. “She sure had reason to cry about the garden during the previous drought!” says Karin.
“I try to partially hide my statues in the shrubbery to create the impression that they’ve been in situ for years. But if you have a beautiful work of art, by all means display it as a focal point.”
To achieve an aged look on garden pots and statues, Karin mixes homemade yoghurt, cow dung and a little moss, then brushes this mixture onto the surface. “Keep it moist and the moss will eventually start to grow. However, to ensure success the pots or statues must be in the shade.”