Meet Annie Steen
One of the most innovative Flea Market Gardeners we’ve seen recently, Annie Steen has created many charming and whimsical scenes in her garden that have delighted and inspired us! Check out her pond and porches to see ideas that might inspire you!
Annie loves Flea Markets, where she and her husband search out antique lanterns
Meet Annie Steen
A fateful choice led Annie, a self taught primitive artist from East Fallowfield, Pennsylvania to a new creative career, making primitive art pieces with an Americana theme which we love so much. She has had her own business, Pondside Primitives, for over 11 years and says she feels “very blessed to be able to something I truly love.”
She says, “I was born and raised in Colorado, coming back east about 26 years ago. We live in a small Cape Cod with a little over a acre of land.
Some of the items you might find in Annie’s shop.
Annie’s kitchen garden
“My Grandmother always had a big garden, with many fruit trees.” I spent lots of weekends with her snappn’ peas, picking strawberries, washin’ potatoes, and well you get the idea. It’s all about working with your hands and creating, sometimes a lot of times I can’t sleep just thinking of what I want to do next.”
Below is Annie’s fabulous pond, beautifully accented by the plants she’s chosen for her garden, hosta, ornamental grasses and water lilies.
Annie’s beautiful pond, for which her shop is named.
We’ve had the pond a little over 10 years. The choice was, build a pond or take a vacation and I’m so glad we chose the pond. It’s like a mini vacation every time we sit there to relax. It’s a lot of work but so worth it. It’s home to lots of birds, chipmunks and fish, and we even have had turtles in the pond. Yes, each fish has a name!
The pump, ladder and found objects are all unified with wonderful rust!
We almost passed on this pump (above). We didn’t want to spend the money…but was glad I did when we put the pond in! It worked out perfect for our filter; water goes through a charcoal filter then through the pump and back into the pond.
Stars, birdhouses and crows are some of the themes Annie uses in her primitive creations.
This is Annie’s sitting area near the pond. She says, “We love all the stars, the grays of the weathered wood, the rusty reds of the birdhouse roofs and the chiminea. ” We came home one day to a peacock sitting by the pond, just watching the fish. The pond sits right out side the kitchen door between the house and the barn where my shop, Pondside Primitives, is and you can hear the waterfall running all day long– a great sound,” she says.
A fine welcome to Annie’s front porch
“This is a dry sink we built, above, and I added five electric candles. It’s real pretty in the evening.” We like all the flowers and the welcoming feeling this arrangement gives her porch and imagine that the decoration could be changes with the seasons!
”My husband Tim and I spend a lot of time ‘pickin’ and antique’n on the weekends and we love the flea markets! We’re antique lantern collectors and love the quest of finding them.”
We say, Annie, you keep doing what you’re doing and let us know all the news of your business and garden! If you’re in her neighborhood, she says stop in and say hello! ~~ Sue
See also:
Annie’s bird house ladder
Annie’s galvanized tipsy pots
See MORE of Annie’s photos