Spice up the rock garden


 The rock garden with Smurf-like blue stone accents
The smooth pond stones were painted in mid-June

Smurfs have invaded the Baker's rock garden that adjoins the patio.

Blue-colored stones are intended as highlights and interest points among the rocky spot. Originally, this garden was the site of a decorative tree that provided shade to the area on the west side of the house.

Some pretty blue stones purchased years ago in Davenport had lost their hue. I stopped by the shop where I bought them (now named Quint City Stone) but the blue product, intended for ponds, was no longer available.

I thought about dying them: We used to do this with tee-shirts, back in the day when it was trendy to make them "mod." But that would involve putting rocks in boiling water in the house, and obviously not a great idea.

So I found some paint which could be used on cloth and other surfaces. It didn't exactly say rocks, but who cared?

I bought the inexpensive paint and set up a workspace on the picnic table. I gathered 35 of the now faintly blue stones out of the rock garden. Then I set about painting them, one at a time, protecting my hands with gloves.

It was messy but the idea was sound and I came up with a few dozen bright blue stones. I treated them with a perservative and that made each rock a bit shiny.

After they dried I set them back in the rock garden.

The extended Baker family visited a few days later and viewed the results. "It looks like little Smurfs!" the kids said.

Smurfs were invented in 1958 by a cartoon artist, Peyo, in Belgium. The comic figures live under mushroom-shaped houses in the forest and have a variety of personalities, according to Wikipedia, including Jokey Smurf who likes to play practical jokes on his friends. "Smurfettes" were the first female Smurfs. Smurfs star in children's movies.

The kids have a point about this year's rock garden. It includes Smurfs and Smurfettes alike, and even some mushrooms.


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