marbles in a glass cylinder

Years ago at some yard sale, I picked up a tall, cylindrical glass-vase. I took it to the Pittsburgh Glass Center and had them drill a hole in the bottom. I filled it with marbles, because I love marbles. It doesn’t look bad.

I ended up putting the cylinder in among the lilies-of-the-valley. I also stuck the copper ornaments – dragon fly, butterfly, bee and sunflower – into the glass vase. (There are friends who are accusing me of making the back-yard look like Bloomfield. The negative comment references the Italian-American’s sense of decor that is on display in the Bloomfield section of Pittsburgh. A lower middle-class neighborhood with 3rd and 4th generation Italian-Americas.)

The rest of the planting is going slowly mainly because the weather has turned cold and at night it gets below 40. I’m trying something new this year – planted ornamental sunflowers under the white marble stones and zucchini in a pot. Let’s see what comes of this effort. And for the first time, I bought a huge fern and put it into the ceramic pot that last year held a hanging begonia. The green is a great contrast with the white stones.

And I’m finally going to get the back-yard redone. It’s been almost 20 years since the pavers were put down and the sand foundation has fluctuated to the point where nothing is flat. As a matter of fact, when it rains there are puddles all through the back.