???????????????? Should I Bring All These Indoors For Winter????????????...

You have a wonderful collection Jac, it would be a shame if they got damaged or broken, quite a lot of garden orniments are frost hardy, but not all, they can crack, usually terricotta ones would be most at risk from this as they soak up the moisture, and will freeze causing them to expand, i have lost many a pot because of this, some are however treated so that this does not happen, also strong winds may knock them over. i bring mine in, then clean them up in the spring and re posstion them - Brooke likes to help with this job, lol but having said that i have on occasions forgotten one or two and they have been out right through the winter and no harm has come to them, maybe just lucky, or maybe these were frost hardy ones? my advice would be yes, play on the safe side, you will also find they will last longer in between paintings - i know you do like sprucing them up a bit, but will proberly cut down on the amount of times or how often you will need to do it.

Jacque ~
You have some super ornaments there.
I agree with Majeekahead that terracotta is especially vulnerable. Noseypotter recently wrote about how you can paint a coating on some ornaments to make them more resistant to cold weather. I've messaged him and asked would he please put the same advice under this thread for us.

The only ornament I have which is identical to one of yours is the mole, and I bring him and ones made of similar materials inside for the winter. I clean them all in the autumn so that in the spring, they can go straight out and look lovely.

I have one concrete dog which I leave outside, but now I'm wondering if I should bring that in too. :o(

I love your worm one. Really cute :o)

I think that concrete ornaments are generally ok, and would imagine any large ones hard to move! lol the thing you do find with them is paint flakeing more than cracking, i think - i don't have any myself, but often they are perminant feachers in a garden arn't they so i would imagine would be more hardy than other materials.

Yes, now I think about it, you see concrete ornaments that have been in old gardens for years. Good comment. Thanks. :o)

Thanx for all the Info Ang & TT :) The Little Worm My Daughter Got Me from Her Hoils this yr in Devon TT :)

Just to add to the good advice, Jacque, I would take in any that might suffer from cold rain and wind - I mean the painted ones. They'll last longer if they are under cover.

Ornaments may be luckier than ornamental pots. I believe it is water freezing that causes the damage, as it expands when it freezes. So anything that gets damp or holds soil may be affected.

I would bring them in Jacque ... put them in a nice box and think of the pleasure it will give you when you take them out in the spring to meet your friends again ........:0)

Worm looks like terracotta.
Especially vulnerable.
Definitely wrap that one well and put it indoors till spring.
It is so CUTE and from someone so SPECIAL. :o) :o)

Ones like the mole would be okay in a shed.
Maybe fold bubble-wrap around them before you pack them away. :o)

Hi Jacque,
Another point is that many of your ornaments will probably develop a covering of algae or litchen if they are exposed for too long to damp conditions over the winter months.

The paint finishes will also naturally fade if they are exposed to light over a period of time.

Also they may not all be frost hardy. If you want to keep them clean and in pristine condition it's probably best to keep them in the greenhouse or indoors over winter.

Hope all is well,
Love from Grenville and Alan xxxx

~ we had a lovely lions head as a fountain,made from Terracotta, which shattered due to the frost~we have a new one but won't leave it out!

some of my ornaments are in a box now in the shed Jacque, others will be fine to leave out

How fabulous are they Jacque. Love that hedgehog - keep hoping a real one might appear in my garden one day. At the moment I have a black and white pig, a gnome, and Snow White (I think she came from Brighton market).

Love all your garden ornaments Jacque.....i bring most of mine in for the winter and put them in the garage..... Bill and ben stay outside..... also put all my solar lights away..cant wait for the spring to come so i can see all the bulbs coming up and get out to do things in the garden again.....

Ps... forgot to say i love your Robin and the Wren on the trowel......

Hi Jacque glad you did that blog as now i will fetch my garden ornaments in, never have before but i will do in future.

Poor Bill and Ben ..

bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :o)

A Big Thank u 2 Every1 Who left There Kind Comments & Information on this Blog :D im sure its helped others as well as myself :) XXXX

Everyone is warm and happy except Bill and Ben. Lol. :o)

you're gonna need a big room!!!!.....................steve

My favourites are the wren on the trowel and the little worm - they're lovely. I leave everything outside - shed is too full of hibernating tortoises, a mower, etc. to have room to move anything inside. I have had a plastic tortoise for years. My dad bought it for me on while we were on holiday at Selsey when I was married and had just moved into our first home in about 1968!! It is very faded now but still fools people sometimes. My only casualty to date is a ceramic ball which completely disintegrated one winter.

Love your ornaments Jacque, especially the cows and the bunny & squirrel - can't really advise on whether to bring them in, I don't have any garden ornaments (I have no garden and the balcony of the apt does not count!) and the weather here never gets as cold as it gets in the UK. But I enjoyed looking at yours!

il leave the Heavy 1s outside &the others il pack in Paper into Shed now i know what 2do as its taken me a long time 2get my Lovely collection 2gether &id hate for any2Brake :/ The Trowl does come with other birds on it was hard 4me 2 pick which 1 i wanted :)The Cerment Rabbit My Son got me 6yrs ago from local Mrkt 4 a Mothers day Gift&the Robin he got me Last Christmas :) GOY Janette brought the Cows there Yes&No well know on GOY ,The Hedgehog is my newest edition :) lol

I like your ornaments Jacque.
I only leave concrete ones out but the weather does ruin the paint on them.

i love that pot with the primrose in it its lovely, and also the worm i have a snail, a goose that a lot of people think is real from a distance! a rabbit (like your mole looks as if he's just popped up) and a piggy. Will have to take some pics! i leave mine out but most are plastic except the snail and goose

oh i forgot Wilbur!! the flowerpot man sorry Wilbur!

Itd be great 2 see Pics of Them id love to see your Collection & Wilbur your Flower Pot Man :) lol

I so love garden ornaments but at the moment have only a lonely gnome and snow white. They both seem to be surviving the winter so next year I shall add to my small collection. High on my list is a life sized Elvis. Not sure what the birds would make of him but I'm sure it would amuse my neighbours.He would have been 74 today; surely not since I adored him when I was a teenager and still think I'm about 35!