I only have a little back yard and last year when I moved in, quite cleverly planted a fig tree in pretty much the only shady spot. :rolleyes:
I thought that I might arrange some bits of mirror on the fence opposite for a bit of prettiness and so that it might reflect some light on the tree. I'm pretty sure that it's far enough away not to actually burn the leaves. It would be really nice to also do some mosaic on a bit of the wall as well

Has anyone else done anything like this?
And if there are any suggestions on where I might be able to get broken mirror and tiles, that would be wicked :D

You'll be able to get mirrors and tiles on freecycle - also get into skip rading (though not in Meersbrook as they're already well raided). When someone has a new bathroom the old tiles will be dumped in a skip. Pick carefully as some of the designs might be a bit minging.

Hehe thank you. I have put a message on freecycle but people seem to be geting rid of only white tiles left over from their kitchens and bathrooms so I'd have a very sterile looking garden if I just used these :hihi:

if you're using mirror - you need to check it's suitable for outside. BAthroom ones need to be sealed to stop the silvering from rusting off the back ;)

I was contemplating using two large ones in our garden as we only gett the sun on a small patch of the back of an evening

Ah yes, good point - I hadnt thought of that. I was just going to break up a mirror and stick it to the fence.
err...
I hadnt really thought past that. :blush:
Does anyone have any suggestions?

I saw it on a programme such as ground force

they used theatrical mirror I think

plastic stretched over a frame, and heated with a hairdryer or heat gun until the wrinkles disappeared

Cheap new mirrors tend to be plexiglass, rather than proper glass, so no rusting. :)

I only have a little back yard and last year when I moved in, quite cleverly planted a fig tree in pretty much the only shady spot. :rolleyes:
I thought that I might arrange some bits of mirror on the fence opposite for a bit of prettiness and so that it might reflect some light on the tree. I'm pretty sure that it's far enough away not to actually burn the leaves. It would be really nice to also do some mosaic on a bit of the wall as well

Has anyone else done anything like this?
And if there are any suggestions on where I might be able to get broken mirror and tiles, that would be wicked :D

Jacwelina

I have a biggish mirror going spare. Send me a pm if you want it.

What a good idea! I'm a fiend for putting vases of flowers in front of mirrors to make them look more :hihi: I think there are so many entrenched conventions about what a garden should look like, where as something like this can transform the space. To be honest I don't know that a mirror will be the answer to the fig tree issue. I'd rather move it to a naturally appropriate place rather than try to engineer the right conditions.

I only have a diddy balcony, but the way I am at home the back door is always open and I love blurring the division between indoors and *out there*. Mosaic is a fabulously satisfying medium to play with. Post pics when you've finished!

PS I've never tried this, but if you go direct to places like Stokes, they might have spoiled stock and broken stuff to give you or sell dead cheap - you'll need frost proof product though.

Thanks for the shop suggestions but low_carbon very kindly not only spared a mirror, but delivered it to me as well! :thumbsup: so I am going to break it up, pray for no bad luck and put it on the fence to make the space look a bit bigger and brighter ;)


I think you're right about the fig tree really - I just dont want to dig it up now the leaves have started to come out. If anyone knows if it IS possible to do without harming the tree, any advice would be welcome.