Fall vist to Yeya's

I took the opportunity to stop by Yeya's Antiques and Oddities recently.  The "yard" as Mario calls it gets very hot during summer months so I especially enjoy going once the weather turns cooler.

Lets see what's new; oh boy, a recently arrived stock of sign letters lining the aisles.  Can you spell F-U-N?

Return to Yeya's

It's been a while since we visited Yeya's,  one of my favorite places to hunt for garden junk.  With the weather a bit cool and wet for gardening it's a good time to add to the collection for the coming gardening season and take you on another tour.

I haven't shown you what's new for a while but doesn't mean I have been shopping Yeya's!  A cool cloudy day is the best time to visit and take photos because it can get very hot out here in the sun.

So what's new at Yeya's besides that bright pink wall?  Here are just a few of the things I found last week when I visited.

Vintage garden market and a beautiful tree-shaded venue

Back in July I headed over to Los Patios on Loop 410 in San Antonio to check out the first House to Home Vintage Market show and see the park-like grounds of the private event center.  Los Patios is along the the Salado Creek Greenway trail which is part of a city-wide trail network and is a beautiful place to spend a few hours right in town.

The show was in this very Texas-style wood building near the parking lot.

Visiting Yeya's Part Two: The Find

Yesterday I shared my recent visit and the new plants I picked up at Yeya's last week, but I saved something special for today. I'd been considering this faux bois planter with the bad paint job for a while and I decided to purchase it.

Yeya's and more new plants for the new year

One of my favorite places for garden things is Yeya's Antiques and Oddities just east of downtown San Antonio.  I first wrote about Yeya's a year ago and I have been back there many times since.  It's about time for an update.

This area is known as "the yard".  Mario brings in lots of cool stuff on a daily basis.  The vintage garden chairs near the entrance sign (above) were being unloaded by one of his pickers just as I arrived.

Reflections on Blogging and answers to a few questions

The Outlaw Gardener posed questions about blogging in a comment a few days ago and I promised to answer soon.  I think it's been a week, long enough to interview myself and make up some answers.  

Gomphrena 'Fireworks' with Zinnias

Blogging Memories of 2012

At the beginning of 2012 this blog was just three months old and I mused about the future of my garden and where blogging would take me.  Now I have an entire year to review with 155 posts to choose from and it's time to look back on 2012 and share a few of my favorites.

My first garden blogger meet-up in Austin was fun as I met four fellow bloggers in early November and toured six great gardens on the Garden Conservancy's Open Days tour.  Pam Penick of  Digging corralled us for a group photo to mark the occasion. Our group included (L-R) Jean of Dig, Grow, Compost, me, Diana of Sharing Nature's Garden, Pam Penick of  Digging, and Catherine of The Whimsical Gardener.  I had so much fun meeting them for the first time and spending the day touring six special gardens in Austin.

Garden Junking - Lakehills, Texas

The Texas Hill Country north and west of San Antonio has many unique aspects, from interesting plants, such as the Texas Madrone tree I posted about earlier, to plenty of little shops and small towns along the way.

Last week my friend Ragna and I headed west to Lakehills, TX about 45 minutes from San Antonio to enjoy a day of thrift shopping and views of the Texas Hill Country.  Today's post is for thrift shop and garden junk fans.  There are a lot of you out there because Yeya's in San Antonio has been my most popular post by far.

Our first stop was the Lakehills Trading Post at 12410 Park Rd 37, right by the sign for Hill of Contentment which I found quite fitting for this adventure.

The exterior fits the western style of most buildings in the area.

The owner, Sharon Spears, has put together great selection of vintage glassware, collectibles and plenty of other nice items.

Plenty of pretty options for garden stakes, fairy gardens, totems, and dish flowers here.

The prices are good and less than similar shops in San Antonio.

I was thrilled to find more green insulators to add to my collection in the garden.

Very nice Hill Country style iron and wood pieces on display.

The inventory changes daily and she also sells special finds on ebay as well.  Lakehills Trading Post has a facebook page and you can also reach Sharon at 210-771-0663.

After we loaded up our purchases from the trading post, we walked across the road to Cherokee's Shop.

Rozanne Martinez features lots of rust and old tools at her shop

I liked this floor inside the shop

A different approach to bottle trees

Rusty cultivator, tricycle and other items

Old signs, tools, and barbed wire displayed on the garage

Just in case you forgot we're in Texas!

You can reach Rozanne by email at cherokees99@hotmail.com

I enjoyed our visit to both these shops and came home with cool stuff for my garden.  We headed next to nearby Medina Lake and I'll share views of the lake and plants in a future post.

Yeya's Antiques and Oddities

Are you a garden junk junkie?  I sure am.  And I fed my habit today at Yeya’s here in San Antonio.  Mario, the proprietor, runs a first class "antiques and oddities" establishment that has a wide assortment of fun stuff for your garden or home.

Visualize a piece of rusty machinery as a planter?  See an old workbench as a potting bench or old security doors as a trellis in your garden?  Yeya's is the place.