I lost one of my vintage French outdoor chairs to a tree limb mishap last month. They aren’t impossible to find, but it’s more than a trip to a box store. I may be one chair down until we wrap up our move to a new house. [Ed. Note: See what she did there? She and her husband did buy a new-to-them house!]
Some of my most firm conversations during our moving process have been reminders that none of the vintage and antique garden furniture or ornaments are staying. I cannot part with the garden plaques that I purchased from Christopher Filley, who had purchased them from the late Kansas City designer and antique dealer Jack Rees. I would carry the faux bois bench, which happens to be the same design as George Terbovich’s outdoor chairs, to the house on my back if I needed to. Nearby is a small owl garden ornament from Pear Tree Design and Antiques that was a birthday gift to my husband. Owls are part of our story.
My children remind me that not everyone is interested in having old, rusty things, and I’m certain they are right. But I have plans for an old soapstone sink. It’s obvious that it will be a perfect spot to trim flowers from the existing and future beds in the new house, and a reassuring reminder that caring for homes and gardens is a worthy endeavor.