Garden getting the winter blahs? Nothing easier for a touch of color than stains, which are so much more interesting than the same old, same old solid paint.
We all use preservatives on wood decks to help expensive wood last longer, maybe with a dash of pigment to add a soft hue. But why stop there - how about spiffing up while sealing concrete patios?
When my cottage garden’s old driveway needed replacing, my landscape architect friend Rick Griffin suggested I make it look more rustic. So we had the concrete guys form smoothly irregular edges and pile long, linear mounds of dirt up the middle, which were later dug out to create little narrow center beds for low growing flowers, succulents, and round river stones.
But what really set it off was Rick’s urging me to use a garden sprayer to apply a watered-down brownish latex stain that dried looking like a dirt driveway. Not painted solid, just stained enough to add color while showing naturalistic flaws. Now, instead of straight lines of gleaming white concrete it now looks like a two-track country drive with low-growing succulents and flowers up the center.
So, I’m sold on stains beyond the knees of my jeans. I use them now on everything - why have a splintery grayish brown wood deck or fence, or glaring oyster-white concrete, when the surfaces can be preserved and at the same time glow with soft hues?
And because I like bringing the garden indoors, I just creatively stained the new concrete floor in my little backyard cabin. Instead of simply pouring on a lifeless flat color, I went with a mottled, forever-funky finish to look both antique and boldly contemporary at the same time.
And though I am by no means a handyman, I did it myself. I was daunted about applying an acid stain myself, so after reading up on my options and watching some online DIY videos, I had my unflappable and uber-capable friend Pam Pybas, Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s Fix It 101 guru, come by for tips and encouragement. She had just done a concrete countertop at her own home, and talked me into going with a semi-transparent water-based stain that is easy to apply and soaks in for a long-lasting durable finish. Though any paint store can provide the materials, I found it all at a big box building supply store.
It took four easy steps, starting with cleaning and preparing the smooth concrete surface, using my garden sprayer to wet it down with an inexpensive concrete etcher to ensure the stain would soak in and stick better. I mopped it thrice with clear water to remove the chalky residue (on an outside patio I would have just rinsed with the garden hose).
Once that dried, I used my sprayer again to apply the thin water-based concrete stain which had already been tinted at the paint store, and mopped it around a bit to make it less solid so the underlying concrete swirls would show, just like exposing the grain in stained wood. Four hours later I hit some areas again to create a darker blotchy effect. To further the antique effect another four hours later I sprayed a different color stain in random spots and spread those out with my mop for a wonderfully weathered look.
The next day I applied a concrete sealer - again, from my garden sprayer - to protect the stain from spills and scuffs and give the surface a little satiny sheen.
My just-brought-in potted plants now look more at home, set atop a subtly rustic water-proof floor.
Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.
