Re-purposing

Isn't everybody doing this now?

It's easy to think of reasons to do it ranging from the environmental to the creative.

Why wouldn't you do it?

Those reasons range from being lazy to too busy.

Results of a "wine cork art" Internet search can lead you to some very ambitious re-purposers' very ambitious projects.

Portraits, letters, pieces of art, globes, picture frames, bird houses, wreaths ...

Maybe I'm a little bit too lazy and a little bit too busy with my wine gardening - otherwise known as a passive re-purposer.

But even passive re-purposers can create interesting objects.

This is one of my favorites.

A big empty jar, a little paint, a few (hundred) corks and voila — re-purposed art for a bar or kitchen.

Consider a collection of interesting bottles filled with wine corks to keep the big red wine jug company.

A crate and an old label can give a wine bottle an official winery look.

Fill it with corks and it looks even more official. 

Corks can be added to bottles of all shapes and sizes. 

  

Another reason to re-purpose: It gives you something else to contemplate as you're enjoying a nice glass of wine on a nice summer evening.

The original gardening apps

Before there were mobile apps, smartphones, kindles or computers, there were books.

There were no passwords, downloads, directories or folders.

They were stored on shelves or in stacks on tables or sitting on the floor around the room. 

Some books came in collections — remember encyclopedias, the original Internet search? You can only find them at flea markets and garage sales these days.

Some books are bigger than a tablet and have incredible pictures, most likely taken with cameras loaded with Kodachrome film. 

Pictures of gardens from all over the world.

I have books written by experts like Neil Sperry and by authors that just like to assemble pictures or collections with a vintage look like Susan Waggoner.

Aside from general gardening or picture books, there are some very useful old books on specific plants and gardening techniques.

Forcing is one that gardeners with no yard, no deck, no patio can use — you can pick up bulbs at your local nursery and even an amateur can work magic in a small vase.

Today, knock-out roses are very popular. And why wouldn't they be? They're easy to grow and seem to be much less susceptible to diseases and require less maintenance than other rose varieties. If you have the time, roses are a great addition to any garden.

Better Homes and Gardens has built a media powerhouse to serve people who like to spend time decorating their homes and designing their gardens.

Better Homes and Gardens is one of the few gardening publications still around.

These two were once my favorites, but they're out of print now.

A lot of people think all magazines and books will share that same fate at some point in the near future.

The same fate as encyclopedias, cameras, kodachrome and heirloom roses.

Maybe they're right.  

But I still enjoy all those nice bright colors and the greens of summers that makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!