something old is new again...



Old use.

When a friend of ours said he planned on bulldozing some of the old houses and buildings on his place, he told us we to salvage what we wanted.  Music to my ears!  I came armed with power tools, crowbars, hammers, screwdrivers, you get the idea.  I was well prepared.  One of the things I found on my salvage search was tons of old door knobs and faucet handles.  What could I do with these? 

Delphinium tamers.

 That is when I saw an article in a magazine with a creative way to use old doorknobs.  I have searched everywhere  and cannot find this magazine, so I can give credit where credit is due.   The lady in this wonderful story recommended making them into plant stakes.   It was a perfect idea.  If I can ever find that magazine I will give her full credit.  If anyone remembers seeing an article or idea like this let me know. 

My Pointer pointing to a garden stake.

I hired a welder friend of mine, Paul, to make a few for me and wow do they work great!  In the summer I use them to stake wayward perennials.  In the winter I use them to support the cages protecting my roses. The handle makes it a cinch to pull them out of the ground.  I love the decorative touch they add.

A wheel with the stake in the middle.

I added my own twist and had Paul make one with an old faucet handle. I put the stake in the center of a small wheel. I then tied strings from the holes in the handle to the spokes of the wheel (of course I didn't get a photo with the string). Another addition to her idea is curling a small piece of copper wire around the stake. I’m still working on this one. I have two beautiful brass doorknobs I’m going to try with this plan. I will keep you updated on the results.

Keeping my roses safe.