A $20 Wrought Iron Bistro Table

I have a thing for wrought iron furniture.  You have probably figured that out by now....right?

I was checking out the 'stuff' on FaceBook Marketplace and found a wrought iron bistro table without the top.  It originally had a glass top but now it was just the wrought iron table base. But that isn't the end of the world and Pier 1 has glass rounds in stock. 

But before I checked out Pier 1 (around 50 bucks for a 30 inch), I checked out our stash of glass tops.  R picks them up whenever he sees them at the curb on trash days.  We have square pieces, rectangle pieces, and of course round pieces.  But unfortunately our stash was void of a 30 inch round.  No worries....I have other ideas...LOL

Here is the table that I bought for 20 bucks.  The round stock is larger than normal and the welds and the way they terminated the ends means it was a quality manufacturer.  I didn't see any embossed maker marks like Woodard but Woodard did use stickers on some of their pieces.

First thing that I did was use my brass bristle brush to clean and remove any dirt or rust.  Then I flipped the table over and put it on the saw horses and my piece of painting plywood/luan.  It's a thinner piece of plywood so it is easy to haul out for painting or working on a project.  

I always paint the bottom first and I always paint my wrought iron pieces satin black.  The satin is less reflective so it appears darker.  Satin is also the finish that the manufacturers use.  Satin finish still has a little sheen and it looks so much better than the garish shiny semi or high gloss finishes.

After the bottom is painted I flip it over and paint the top side.  I also always paint in the shade.  This allows the paint to dry slower and I can see my missed spots better when in the shade because there is less glare coming off the wet paint.

I searched the barn for chairs, in between the coats of paint on the table. I found two white wrought iron chairs with bright yellow vinyl seat cushions.  We didn't buy these chairs.  R found them at the curb. I remembered when he brought them home.  I thought to myself "nice chairs but that yellow isn't going to work...at all." Then we stored them in the barn until they were found again, 5 or 6 years later.

The first thing that I did was remove the padded cushion.  I was really hoping that there was a wire mesh seat underneath the cushion but sadly no.  But the more I looked at the chairs the more I liked the shape and style of them.  I can always have the seats recovered.  I would do it myself but there is vinyl piping around the edge and I really like that detail.

So here is the table and chairs painted.  The chairs are actually very comfortable but that yellow is just not going to work at all.  I am going to search for vinyl fabric and see what is out there.  I need something that will work with the two patterned fabrics that I have picked out for the patio sofa and chairs.  

Morrie approved.

But so far I have just 20 bucks invested and I would love to keep the entire project under 50 bucks. Tomorrow is forecasted for thunderstorms all day so nothing will happen concerning the table top.  But it will be a perfect day to look for vinyl fabric at the fabric stores.  Wish me luck.

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Why You should plant Milkweed in your Yard

What is milkweed?  Monarch butterflies need the perennial milkweed plant to lays their eggs on, then feed the larva (caterpillar) by eating the leaves,  then to attach the chrysalis, and finally they need the milkweed flower for it's nectar to feed the monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterflies are on the decline.  Last year was a disastrous year for Monarch butterflies.  During their migration northward they encountered a storm that killed millions of butterflies.  I know that last year I did not see even one Monarch.  This year we saw at least one Monarch every day during the latter part of the summer.

MonarchWatch.org

Monarch Chrysalis 

A list of Monarch butterfly and Milkweed sites for more in depth information.

Monarch Watch Org

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Pollinators

Harvesting Milkweed Seeds

Michigan State University

Growing Milkweed

Fantastic video showing how to remove the seeds.  Thanks YouTuber Mona Miller . Check out her YouTube channel.  Lots of important and interesting facts.  

Free milkweed seeds

Live Monarch

The Butterfly Farm

Free Plant

Birds and Blooms

Save Our Monarchs

Native Milkweed

Here at Gear Acres we try to maintain a large plot of native milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis).

I think that the 'weed' part of the name throws off people.  This is  not a weed.  It is a tall perennial plant with a large beautiful light pink flower that has a wonderful scent and as an added bonus, the bees love it .  Milkweed plants are not sold in plant form at nurseries because it doesn't transplant very well.  You will need to buy milkweed seeds and sow those seeds in the fall.  Seeds need the cold temps to germinate in the spring.  We were lucky and had volunteer plants near our fruit trees.  Volunteer plants are plants that you didn't plant but who's seeds were dropped by a bird or a seed that was blown into your garden by the wind.  The latter is probably how the original seeds came to be planted in my yard.

What is this line and where did it come from????

Milkweed is not to be confused with Butterfly weed.  You can buy butterfly weed at any nursery that sells perennials unlike the milkweed which needs to be grown from seed.  

My local Home Depot sold butterfly weed this summer.  It is actually a species of our native milkweed and it's botanical name is Asclepias tuberosa.  Butterfly weed attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.  So plant this in your garden, too.

We planted 5 butterfly weed plants this summer.  The flowers are orange but I understand that you can also get yellow if orange doesn't fit into your color scheme.  It worked out perfect for us because we planted the butterfly weed plants along the fence row by the street and we used a brighter, warmer color scheme of orange, yellow, and red.  We figured that unless we planted bright colors no one would see them as they drive by at 55 mph.  Also, butterfly weed is hardy and likes the sun which is perfect for this area that receives intense sun from early afternoon to evening. 

Today we harvested the milkweed pods so that we can plant the seeds elsewhere and have a second plot of common milkweed.

Have you ever wondered why they call it milkweed?  The plant has a milky white sap that contains latex and alkaloids.  Take care not to get the sap in your eyes.  If you get sap on your hands, wash them immediately so that you don't inadvertently get it in your eyes. 

 As the pod dries, it splits open......

 ...and exposes the seeds that are attached to silky threads.....

.....these act as little parachutes that carry the seed in the wind to it's new location.  I am going to harvest my seeds before they fly away, using the method in the video link located earlier in the post or right here. 

Morrie was today's supervisor.  He thinks that we made a big mess and that we should pet him instead.

Do you have milkweed in your garden?

Go  to MonarchWatch.org to see how your yard can become a Monarch Waystation.

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