Scarecrow Gets A Little Personal In My Garden

Fall is my favorite time to decorate inside the house as well as outdoor garden decorations.  I love the colors, the smells, and the chill in the air.   But this special scarecrow is just a bit personal.  And it’s one of the favorite gardening gifts I’ve ever received.

You see, she’s wearing one of my old dresses from kindergarten – long, long ago (NO, the bloomers aren’t mine)!   This scarecrow was a gift from one of our dear backyard neighbors in our hometown.  Dr. Jayne Meadows is not only a good friend, she’s a wonderfully talented artist, potter, sculptor, illustrator, and on and on and on!

Several years ago, Jayne asked my mom if she still had any of my childhood clothes.  Where my mother was hiding this one, I’ll never know!  But Jayne said it was perfect for the gift she had in mind. 

You should know that Jayne can make anything she dreams up.  But who knew she could make a scarecrow?  She had an idea to make a special one for my garden.  She rolled up newspapers very tightly to make the legs and arms.  I think she may have used a paper mache technique for the head and body.  But poor lil’ Jill can’t stand up!  She’s in a permanent sitting position! 

The clothes help to cleverly hide the newspaper body and they also keep everything in place.  Black knee socks cover her lower legs and feet. 

Her head is tightly wrapped in orange fabric and the face is painted on the fabric.  (I just noticed in this close up picture that she’s missing her acorn nose!)  A dowel rod is used to attach her head to her body and then hidden with the neck scarf.

Garden gloves are stuffed for her hands and her curly hair is made of corn stalks.  Jayne even made a doll baby and named it “Linda” just like my childhood doll!  Both lil’ Jill and Linda have wooden heart necklaces with their names.

This is indeed one of the best gardening gifts I’ve ever received.  It means so much because our special, talented friend designed it and made it unique for me.  Honestly, I only put lil’ Jill outside on special occasions.  I would love to include her as part of my garden decor all the time but she’s much too precious to be exposed to the weather.  Instead, she sits in her own chair on the porch inside looking out at the falling leaves.

Why don’t you try to make a scarecrow?  You can make a special gift for a friend or you could make a whole family of scarecrows using your own family’s clothes!  They’re really not very scary!

Hand made garden decor gets our green thumbs up!