Giant Front Porch Urns at Cactus Creek
Some projects take longer than others. Pulling these giant urns together for the shop’s front stoop took close to a year. But now that it’s done I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.
I originally found the metal urns at one of my favorite thrift shops - Savers in Kansas City back in February of this year {pic below via Feb 2021}. I think I paid $20 for both. I can’t remember for sure but I do remember thinking it was a hell of a deal.
My biggest concern about them flanking the front doors of the shop is that they could blow over. If you’ve ever been on Main Street in Weston on a windy day then you know it can feel like a wind tunnel at times. To mitigate the risk I filled the bottom of the urns with several pounds of shiny black aquarium rocks that I found on Amazon.
The next layer was green moss, also found on Amazon. I am the most concerned about that moss deteriorating over time. It’s a wait and see situation. The urns are generally covered from rain so that will help keep them preserved.
I found the pinecones and sticks foraging around on my hikes, some in a friends yard and even a couple of Aspen twigs we brought home from our fall trip to Wyoming. I nearly bought the twigs but I just couldn’t justify buying sticks so it was a hunt and gather situation.
The final layer was more moss tucked into the sticks like a birds nest. The dried protea is a tropical pod I bought from Hobby Lobby. According to their website protea are particularly suited to convey your love, sympathy, joy, and best wishes to those close to you. Now I love them even more. They are a little blessing on everyone who comes into the shop.
The wild asparagus bush is also from Hobby Lobby. I was a little meh about using so many organic materials and then topping it off with plastic bushes. But it is what it is - they are living outdoors and need to survive. And I’m completely happy with the final result. Now we will wait and see how they stand the test of time.
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