Customer Reviews

Salvage Style for the Garden: Simple Outdoor Projects Using Reclaimed Treasures

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I'm always looking for more accessories for my gardens, but I don't like my garden looking like a display for the local garden centers, so I was excited to see the interesting new Marcianne Miller book, Salvage Style for the Garden. I was inspired to create more than one of the projects in this book, and it also helped me think more creatively when I looked at some of the things I already had laying around in the shed.

This book has projects that will please the most sophisticated gardener, as well as projects for gardeners who like a more primitive or country look. Miller and Irwin have an original and creative sense of style and many of the projects in this book are very different from the standard copycat projects everyone else seems to have. Planters, benches, trellises and projects that are just plain fun fill the book.

As the book progresses, you will see some of my favorite projects, such as a huge pinwheel, which I am very excited about making for my children's garden. You will learn step by step techniques for creating garden ornamentation like a glass hanging planter or a window leg table from pieces that you can find in your local salvage yard or pieces you may even have in your own cellar.

All in all, there are over forty ideas with step by step instructions. There are also many more ideas to inspire you to create you own garden art and structures in the galleries of additional ideas.

The best thing about this book is that it is not just a pattern book for making projects. It is also set up to teach you to look for and use salvage to create your own unique pieces. It is well written, crammed with ideas, and fun to read. The pleasure these women feel when they create a new ornament for their gardens comes through very clearly in this book.

Most of us know that using a wine barrel cut in half makes a great planter. This book takes you beyond the stereotypical salvaged items and shows you a new way to look at your throwaways. An old floor grate becomes an interesting trellis. An old column finds a place in the garden for a statue or a potted fern. "Reclaiming your treasures" is what its about. Re-using things that you were going to throw away anyway and isn't that what the greening of America and your garden is all about. I love this book.