My potting shed is also in this area...latex outdoor paint didn't hold up very well (2 yrs outside)...so I powerwashed it today with DH's help & will try some oil base paint on it...table & door were salvaged & very old:

Today I painted a metal barrel & drug it over by my blue bottle fence & put my patio Fern on top of it...looks pretty good there cause area is bare of flowers...here's the blue bottle fence:

DH & I tried several gauges of wire & we bought these straight rods & he bent them for me for around the bottles...here's a close-up. The wires are stuck thru a drilled hole in a strip of wood, then bent over ...then strip of wood we screwed into the bottom of the horizontal fence post:

Here's another view...one empty wire...I need another bottle.

Here's a star with glass that I got at StVdePaul for $2...it was formerly a handle holder...cut off that part:

And this bottle, my fav, was too big to hang in the wire so I found this bottle rack with leaves that would hold 2 bottles of wine (right side up though)...so cut the bottom off it & used it to hold tall blue wine bottle (Germany one)...& bent the leaves around fence post area:

Ok, here's the whole works...I'll keep working on it some & share another pic when potting bench is re-painted...also I do have some grapevine that's coming along nicely on the right side of the painted window.

Hope you enjoyed my version of using blue bottles in my gardens! Thanks for lookin'. Jeanne S.

giggles...this is what it looked like 2 yrs. ago after building it from an old enamel top table & old door & giving it a coat of paint:

crete...I do love the bottle trees & I tried one a little bit...but didn't think it looked "at home" in my gardens...so I am trying this fence & liking it...I just came in from planting a big "Hosta" in front of the bottle fence & mulching it with big chunks of tree bark I peeled from some old logs. Thanks! Jeanne S.

The potting bench looks good with the chipped paint, but if you leave it outside the wood needs to be protected. Oil paint is the best way, but you could check on some other options like a sealer to preserve. Even a waterproof deck sealer in clear might work. Another possibility would be to use the oil paint, distress it again, then seal it.

hugs, Karen

Nanagrandma Sylvia

I like the look of the chipped paint on your potting bench, but I'd worry about weather damage. It's such a beautiful piece.

cegg...good idea of "bed springs"...I did try that but the bedsprings I had were not heavy enough gauge for the bottles...& if there's a breeze, we feel the wind here!And, nanag'ma...I would love that children's book! LOL!

Here's a couple more pics of that area...I put my fern back on the patio & added this wood plant hanger that DH made yrs & yrs & yrs ago...I will put something in it...but right now, it reminds me of "framed art."

That 2 holder wine rack ($2) I mentioned before ...cut off the bottom of it & it works quite good on the fence for the big bottle.

And I dug up a big ol' Hosta that was crowded & moved it ...adding big pcs of bark I peeled off of some cut logs...the bark will break down this Fall & Winter:

I have a couple metal art "stars" that I purchased on a fun trip in early Spring at a laser place...I'm working on an idea to fit them into the Blue Bottle Fence. Thanks again, GJers! Jeanne S.

Here's a full view:

No progress on potting table either...too much rain & a nice vacation. Still to come, I hope. Jeanne S.