Imaginative sculptures make Palmer garden a happy place

Garden Tour series:

Step into the coolest garden you’ve ever seen. Where color abounds and whimsical sculptures pop out of the flowers. Look closer and delightful little details come into focus which are not as obvious. The overarching theme is rust, and there’s plenty of it!

Welcome to the garden of Carmen DeVilbiss of Palmer, Alaska. Carmen and her family are hay farmers who own and operate Windy River Farm. The name alludes to the powerful winds that often blast through a glacier-carved gorge and the wild river that runs through it.

It was here on the side of a mountain that her husband’s family began homesteading in the 1950’s. Over the years the land has naturally accumulated all sorts of discarded machinery and farming equipment; a real gold mine of old, rusty stuff that Carmen turns into fascinating garden art.

Tossed into the field

A self-described “scrounger”, Carmen finds things all over the place. Old, rusty tools, tractor parts and occasionally an unexpected surprise. Turns out people used to dispose of their stuff by tossing it into a hayfield. One day, her father-in-law called out to her and said: “There’s some good metal junk over here, if ya wanna come take a look”.

And that’s how she found the storm drain covers she used to make the pathway to the family’s front door. With the words ‘Alaska’ right on them, they give a wonderful local flavor to the walkway.

Also buried under a pile of dirt and weeds was a bunch of firebricks. She dug them all out. Of course, they were covered with moss that Carmen meticulously cleaned by hand, one by one.

Sometimes the images in garden magazines or on Pinterest make it seem all too easy to just get an assortment of old or used remnant material and put it out in the yard. That’s rarely the case. When you see how many bricks there are, and how many she had to clean, you can appreciate the effort it takes to do something creative like this. But it’s also well worth it!

Perhaps the most charming element of this walkway is the stepping stone nearest the front door with an emblem of the family business. Look closely and you can see the imprint of a tractor in the concrete. A bicycle chain ring makes the wheel. The nail heads around it form letters that spell out “Windy River”.

A Cool Rock

Rocks sometimes have unique features that can add interest to a garden bed. Carmen placed this rock right where the pathway begins, so it caught this writer’s attention–one of those nifty little “details”. Although it doesn’t look that big, Carmen said the rock was quite heavy. But it’s so artistic by nature and absolutely beautiful in this spot.

Imaginative sculptures

Salvage makes wonderful garden art that adds a considerable dose of personality to an outdoor space. While it is easy to come by, it’s trickier to figure out how to use it effectively in a way that’s engaging in a setting. Especially when it’s big stuff.

Before placing any of her artwork, Carmen says she began by looking at her outdoor spaces. Looking at them and thinking, “this space needs ‘something’–or–“what could I do over here? What would work in that spot?”

It’s obvious from Carmen’s arrangements that some degree of forethought went into deciding where things should go. You get a sense that everything belongs right where it’s at.

Heavy Metal

Ingenuity. There’s simply no other way to describe Carmen’s fanciful handmade sculptures. They’re heavy, and thus well able to withstand the howling winds that blow down the mountains. One piece, comprised of 12 pickax heads weighed-in at around 150 lbs, so her husband helped install it. That she can make large, rusty industrial metal “work” alongside delicate flowers is an art form in and of itself.

The ‘key’ is repetition. Carmen has several such pieces across her sizable yard that visually pulls the look together into a single cohesive theme. Her outdoor spaces flow harmoniously as you move from one end of the yard to the other.

Surprisingly, as large as the artwork is, it doesn’t detract from the flowers, but rather helps to showcase them. You can’t miss the art. Yet it draws your eye to the flowers and creates an interesting backdrop.

Flower Power

In the early Spring, the art probably takes center stage. But as the garden matures in mid-summer, it all balances out so artistically. It’s the flowers that make this Palmer garden such a beautiful place.

Whimsical accents

Carmen’s garden also has it’s share of “little things”. She has a few carefully chosen accent pieces that add a playfulness to her flower pot groupings. You don’t see them right away, but they’re fun to discover.

“I’m new to gardening”, she says almost apologetically. It all started after they built their house. Over the years, she’s been experimenting and teaching herself how to create flashier planter arrangements using the ‘thriller/filler/spiller’ method.

This beautiful lantern, set in a little nook at the front of the house, was a great find at the local thrift store. It’s a real lantern minus the glass panels. Yet, it’s hardly noticeable hiding in the background.

Although the leaves wind their way through and around, you can still clearly see the frame and the decorative top part of the lantern. Most of the nasturtiums trail downwards. You see the flowers first. Then when the accent piece catches your eye, it’s more of a ‘surprise’.

Carmen made these “sectional” planter boxes with pallet wood. They can be set in any configuration–separate or all lined up together (as in photo below). The flowers provide something colorful to see in front of their big windows.

Taming a rough spot

Every gardener has an aggravating “problem spot” and Carmen is no exception. There was a patch of gravelly, compacted turf just outside the back door where they couldn’t get grass to grow. It always looked bad.

One day, her husband found some used Trek decking on Craig’s List and built a little patio. Carmen planted raised flower beds around it. Now she has a place to sit and enjoy the sun and she just loves it. And, since the family uses their BBQ grill several times a week, the patio turned a ‘trouble spot’ into a more enjoyable space for gatherings.

The decking was a little weather-worn, but the look perfectly blends in with the casual, relaxed character of the home and its surrounding. “Don’t be in too big of a hurry to try to make something look fresh and new”, she said. “Sometimes the aged look is the best match where something new and bright might look out of place.” In her case, the faded Trex steps back and lets the flowers be the star attraction.

Next, Carmen planted a Mock Orange shrub next to her back door. Its scrumptious scent wafts through the house when she leaves the door open…even as the flowers start to fade in mid-July.

Carmen loves to use metal headboards in her garden beds and has four or five in various locations around the home. One of them works as a gate where a path connects between their backyard and the neighbor.

Who’s that staring at me?

Carmen and her husband have four young boys. While she’s unsure if any of them share her passion for art, they did make at least one contribution. One day as she was out doing yard work, she noticed what looked like a face staring back at her through the vegetation. She went to investigate and discovered this helmet over a septic stub. Needless to say, the boys were pretty proud of their creative addition to Mom’s garden.

A story behind everything

When down at her greenhouse, Carmen would gaze up towards the backside of the house that sits on a short rise above. It was so bare and gloomy she couldn’t stand it. So she began planting flower beds around it to soften the exterior.

This year, she used more of the old firebricks to create a walkway across the backside of the house. The brick’s muted color tones tie in with the blazing oranges and golds of California poppies and tiger lilies. As with everything else, there’s a story behind these, too.

The tiger lilies are remnants of the ones her husband’s Aunt planted on the homestead back in the 1990s. Amazingly, some of these lilies endured over the years and Carmen discovered them while wandering around the homestead property. She dug them up and transplanted them around her home where they live on as a cherished memorial.

Wrapping it up: Some helpful take-aways

• Carmen spends a lot of time doing research to get ideas for her garden. She has added to her gardens slowly and thoughtfully. Each year she focuses on a different area of her yard.
• Scrounge for interesting stuff. But prepare to invest a lot of hours into finding the right pieces that fit the vision you have for your garden.
• Place your art where you’ll see and appreciate it from the inside. So when you look out the window there’s something of interest to see…especially in winter!

• Check Craig’s list for freebies or remnant materials. You might find just what you need to keep your garden project affordable.
• Shop for perennials at the end of the season when prices are low. Plant something new in the fall and you’ll look forward to seeing it come up the following Spring.
• Carmen likes to keep flowers off the ground in raised beds. It makes them stand out in the landscape and easier to mow around, too.

• Use of repetition and theme. Carmen uses many of the same flowers throughout her garden…like her poppies and tiger lilies.
• Beautiful gardens are work. Carmen sets a time–usually in the morning–spending 2-3 hours in the garden. This includes watering, dead-heading, and weeding.

Afterwards, it’s on to the task of preparing lunch; the big important meal of the day for her farming crew!

Imaginative sculptures make Palmer garden a happy place

More interesting stories behind the art

Make it a Garden loves to feature artists and craftsmen who make whimsical art for the garden. If you enjoyed reading “Imaginative Sculptures Make Palmer Garden a Happy Place”, then, the following stories are sure to bring a smile.