Luxe for Less - Personal Purchase Edition

  I'm trying to figure out how to do my "Luxe for Less" feature, so please bear with me as I upload awful screen shots of expensive garden items that I covet and photos of similar items I've purchased for a dime. *If I remember, I'll link up the screen shots with the original websites just in case you want to check out the more expensive items.

I hope to complete a Luxe for Less post once a month(?), as I'm trying to have a less sporadic posting schedule. I do enjoy the randomness that is my gardening life, but I think my readers might enjoy some regular features.

Please let me know if you absolutely hate it.  I'll be fine tuning my layout of features as I decide if they are a good idea. Please also remember that I'm not a writer. :)

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Today's insanely expensive garden item is purely ornamental - the garden finial. Now, I am not the biggest fan of garden art, but I do like a few select pieces here and there. Annnd :::sheepishly::: I'm picky about these pieces :( I won't go into the details of what our home's garden art can and can't be; you'd think I'm insane with all the restrictions and guidelines, but I will say I like finials. I think they are timeless and sophisticated.

*Garden finials have been around forever... like "since the time of serfs and $^*!" <--- enlightenment provided by Mr. Workerman. If you want to have an interesting Garden History lesson all about finals (that will evoke Game of Thrones visions), click here.*

Anyway...

Most of the finials I've seen range in price from expensive to outrageous. My favorites are the ones that look like pineapple/artichoke/pine cone/acorns. Here are a few of that variety; starting with the outrageous, working down to the expensive, and then to my steal of a deal... which I will tell you outright - will be very hard and/or nearly impossible to purchase.  Na-na na-na boo-boo! Sorry!

$2000 for an antique beauty from 1stdibs. My favorite - of course - but I consider it to be at the end of the outrageous spectrum. *I must clarify: Outrageous for "me and Mr. Workerman at this point in our lives" ... not outrageous for people who can afford it. I strongly urge anyone who can afford this particular piece to purchase it. It's lovely and it's an antique (you can't get better than that).

 A set of antique English Finials for a pretty penny. $1795 also at 1stdibs.

At Allsculptures.com for $195 (also found on Amazon.com for $205!).

This one I found on Pinterest, but it's from Garden-Fountains.com.  The cost is $160.

And another one from Garden-Fountains.com for just under $80.

Going to a lower price point, we find...

A set of finials for $48 on ebay. These are cute, but they'd be better as post caps on a fence, or nestled into a container planting. At the $50 price range, you get small garden finials.

Or so I thought...

Until I found these things! Aren't they beautiful!? Tucked away under a glass shelf in TJ Maxx. They are dead-brand Gardeners Eden - a huge steal at $14.99  They are my personal Luxe for Less purchase for the month of April and I couldn't be more excited about being thrifty.

Right now they are sitting in our basement awaiting warmer temperatures. I am going to have Mr. Workerman build pedestals for them... maybe plant some nice boxwood in containers to plop in front of the pedestals. Who knows.

I feel bad that I cannot provide you with exact duplicates for this product post, so I leave you with a Luxe for Less Moral...

SHOP AROUND!

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 Have you ever found a garden deal that was too good to pass up? Where was it? Online, in a store, at a garage or estate sale? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment below.