New Life for an Old Combine

When we bought noTTafarm and realized that the 1950s Gleaner combine in the east pasture was ours to keep, we had a few options:  sell it for scrap, restore it and become farmers, or turn it into a piece of yard sculpture.  I took a page from my own mother's garden ideas (she has an old manure wagon in her yard which usually boasts a profusion of pink petunias) and decided to create a flower garden with the old combine as the centerpiece.  I was further challenged by our favorite Wildcats, Mark and LuAnn, to plant a majority of purple flowers.  Scott and I spent a sunny Sunday afternoon to start this great project!

I wonder how long the Gleaner has been parked?  What kind of crops did it harvest? 

After assessing the hopper atop the combine, Scott decided to create a frame to hold a series of six 30-inch window boxes.  He used surplus galvanized conduit to fashion hooks to hold the frame.   

Marita was an excellent noTTafarm gardener today!  She helped me get the planter boxes ready, planting purple petunias (plain and striped) and yellow zinnias.

Here's the finished frame with hand-hewn hooks, ready for use.

Scott stacked everything in the wagon and pulled it all down to the Gleaner.

After a couple of whacks, the frame fit!  "Thumbs Up, Scotty!"

Awww!  Marita took this picture of the cute Mr. and Mrs.

The purple flower display is off to a good start. 

Now all we need is water and sunshine!