The Love Bus

This is our Love Bus, eventhough it is a van, and it is probably my favourite piece of garden art. It is certainly the single piece we invested the most in. It was one of those things that we just fell in love with when we first saw it and there was no way I wasn't taking it home. Actually, though, it was delivered because it is concrete, very heavy and did not fit in our car. The two boys that delivered it were not happy to find that I wanted them to put it in the farthest corner of the yard from the gate. That was when we lived in the city. The movers brought it here for us and it was much easier to place up by the back deck in Benedict's Upper Level Garden. I love the little peace sign rims and the yin yang bubble window. The other side says Flower Power in bright coloured paint on raised letters. Until this year, I have always grown impatiens in it but this year I grew my new Begonia 'Golden Wave' inside. If they survive the winter, I will repeat that next year because it was quite stunning. The Love Bus also has a roof that sits on top of it in the Winter. I usually fill it with leaves to replenish the soil and cover it until Spring. I used to make a table out of the roof for the Summer, using bricks as the legs, but because it has raised flowers and a bigger peace sign on it, it was not the easiest table to set a cup of coffee on. So in recent years, I just lean it somewhere in the garden. Usually on the opposite side of The Gecko at the same stump. In the front of the bus, there is a personalized license plate with the artist's name, C. Johnston, carved into the concrete. Although we ate peanut butter sandwiches for a month to buy it, I have never regretted the purchase. We have had it since 1996, it has always lived outdoors and shows no signs of fading. Well worth the brief sacrifice!