Good Morning Gardeners, Garden Lovers, and All! Thanks for stopping by. This is for anyone who enjoys growing and admiring plant life, flowers, fruit, vegetables. It’s all here. We’re friendly and many of us are here Sunday and also check in during the week. Check in after 5pm when we get “silly”! And we LOVE PHOTOS! So feel free to post yours including if you visit around your neighborhood gardens and any public gardens. Lots of beautiful growing things out there. And if you’re having garden problems, give us a shout so we can help.
That’s a bit of my own garden’s art in the top photo. Mr. CNY is the rock sculpture builder. I love mixing textures and colors in potted plants. This diary is about some interesting public outdoor “art”.
Off we go…..
First off is right in my neighborhood. Last summer, there was a contest for murals to be painted on buildings in various city parks. There’s a service building with bathrooms in the park across the street from me. It even was used as a voting site 30 years ago. One day, I saw what looked like outlines of a large mural on the north side of the building (can see it from my window here). And then I saw the painting start. As the mural progressed, I saw the same folks working on it. Out on a walk one day, I stopped and asked the woman who was painting. She was the mother of the tattoo artist/art teacher who designed the mural for the competition. Her design won for our park. It reflects foliage and wildlife as there’s a flood detention basin on the south and east sides of the park. Here’s the finished mural….
This is the side I see facing my house. It was fun seeing what colors were being used and what design elements were appearing.
East facing side. The stylized flowers make me thing Art Nouveau. The west side looks the same with door placement different.
Closeup of flower!
I have a feeling most of us in the neighborhood agree that this is the spectacular part of the mural. Great Blue Herons are regularly seen at the nearby pond, especially during breeding season when they need to fish for food more often. This Heron rising from the pond is so special to the neighborhod. We are grateful to the city parks for this beauty reflecting ourneighborhood. That blue pot in the top photo? The artist’s mom gave that and some others to me. Gardening came up while we chatted. She had extra pots to give away. I said drop ‘em all in my yard when you’re coming by some day. So she did!
These are the two biggest pots the mom gave me. I think I especially like the big off white one. And don’t worry Blue Pot Owners! We’ll still do that Blue Pot Diary some Saturday. A good one for winter when there’s not much growing in many of our parts of the world.
Now we come to the more “controversial” outdoor art. About 20 years ago up in the NYS north country in Potsdam, NY, a fellow used a whole lot of old toilets for planters -plastic flowers mostly. This was NOT meant to be “art”. It was a protest against a zoning regulation that wouldn’t allow him to open a Dunkin’ Donuts on land he owned. So, he set up the “planters” much to a whole lotta horror on the part of many people. And then it became a freedom of expression issue in court. Well, the potty planters are still there as they were deemed legal and many more showed up on property this fellow owns. Mr. CNY’s brother lives up there and some are nearby his home. The photos that follow are not of those. Mr. CNY drove around taking pictures. And there’s more! This has become a part of the local culture. There’s a documentary called “Potty Town”. The story even made The Guardian back in 2020. Lots of media picked it up. Some of the potty planters are much more decorative. Here are photos Mr. CNY took this summer of the basic ones he found Looks like some REAL foliage has grown over time.
But wait! There’s more! How about a song written about the potty gardens. Mr. CNY is in his brother’s band along with the fellow who wrote the song and performed it with his own band. BIL filmed the video starring the Animal Crackers: Robar’s Blues, Robar being the last name of the potty “gardener”. It’s a really cute song. Lead singer is in BIL’s band.
Tell us about and show us the public art or “art” that you love, don’t love so much, is controversial. And thanks for stopping by!
