So here’s the thing about running a flower garden—people need something to look at besides just flowers.
We learned this the hard way at Dream Garden. Four months in, we noticed visitors would walk around, take a few photos of the flowers, and leave. Our land was huge, but honestly? It felt kind of empty. There was nothing that made people stop and say, “Wow, I need a photo with that!”
Every popular garden or park has that one spot where everyone lines up to take pictures. We didn’t have one, and it was a problem.
The Problem: Sculptures Are Crazy Expensive
My partner and I scrolled through Instagram and noticed a pattern—famous gardens all had big, photogenic sculptures. We wanted that for our flower field, too.
Excited about the idea, we contacted a few companies that make custom sculptures. We asked for quotes for a large metal heart or a fibreglass statue.
The cheapest quote? Several thousand dollars.
I’m not joking. That was basically all the money we had saved. We couldn’t spend everything on one decoration. So we went back to square one and asked ourselves: “What if we just build it ourselves?”
Our Low-Cost Garden Landmark Plan
We decided to build a “Double Heart” sculpture—standing about 2.5 meters tall (roughly 8 feet). Big enough to see from the road, but cheap enough that we could actually afford it.
Here’s what we used:
- Steel tubes for the frame (the bones)
- Bamboo strips for the cladding (the skin)
- Pink spray paint (because brown is boring)
- A whole lot of screws
Total budget: about $60.
Step 1: Bending the Beast (The Frame)
We bought six lengths of 20x20mm steel tubing. Bending this by hand wasn’t easy. Since we didn’t have a hydraulic bender, we had to get creative with leverage.
We anchored one end of the steel between two heavy trees (our makeshift vice) and used a long pipe over the other end to create leverage. We heated the curve points with a torch to soften the metal, then slowly pulled.
We decided to make two hearts—one slightly larger than the other—and weld them together so they looked like they were interlocking. This added stability and looked more romantic than just a single lonely heart.
Step 2: The Bamboo Cladding
This was the tedious part. You can’t just wrap long bamboo poles around a sharp curve—they snap.
The Secret: The “Split & Stitch”
Method Instead of using whole round poles, we cut the bamboo into short 40cm sections and then split them into flat strips. By using flat strips instead of round tubes, the bamboo became flexible enough to follow the curve of the heart.
We drilled a hole, inserted a screw, moved to the next spot, and repeated. We used over 1 kilogram of screws! It was exhausting, but after three days, the steel frame was completely hidden beneath the bamboo texture.
Step 3: The Pink Paint Game-Changer
Imagine a bamboo heart sitting in the middle of a green garden. It sounds natural, but in reality, the brown bamboo just blended into the background. From far away, you could barely see it.
We needed contrast. We needed something bold.
We bought three cans of bright pink spray paint and covered every inch of that bamboo.
Suddenly, this wasn’t just a garden decoration. It was a statement piece. The pink heart popped against the blue sky and green grass.
Location Matters: Why We Put It On The Bridge
Building the sculpture was only half the battle. We placed our pink heart at the very end of our walking bridge that loops around the flower garden.
This spot was perfect for three reasons:
- Photo angles: People standing on the bridge can get shots with the heart perfectly framed without stepping in the mud.
- Sunset timing: In the evening, the heart lines up with the sunset—absolute Instagram gold.
- Visitor flow: It acts as a “destination.” It gives people a reason to walk all the way to the end of the path.
The $60 Garden Project Breakdown
Let’s talk money, because that’s what made this whole thing possible:
- Steel tubes (6 pieces): $35
- Bamboo (4 stalks): $10
- Screws (1 kg): $3
- Pink spray paint (3 cans): $9
- Welding Rods: $3
Total: $60
Compare that to the $3,000+ quotes we got from sculpture companies. We saved thousands of dollars literally by doing it ourselves.
Final Thoughts
When visitors come to Dream Garden now, they spend way more time than before. They take photos with the heart from every angle.
That pink heart cost us $60 and three days of work, but it has generated thousands of dollars in free word-of-mouth marketing.
If we can build this with just some steel, bamboo, and spray paint, you can definitely create something amazing for your garden too. You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to start.
