I remember something about pouring milk or yoghurt onto the stonework to encourage lichens, moss etc. Is this correct? Is there any other ways you can make garden ornaments, tubs, brickwork look older than it is or even to tone down the existing colour?
OH has bought some awful colour bricks to build a planter - they were going cheap ''rolleyes'' I cant stand the colour and am hoping there is something I can do to make them more pleasant to look at. Yes, eventually the plants will hang down to cover a lot of it, but in the meantime.....any suggestions much appreciated :)

yoghurt is supposed to give that aged look to concrete not sure if it works on bricks... you could always paint the bricks when you've built them in to a planter, then you can have whatever colours you like.

If I remember rightly, you paint them with live yoghurt then rub them with soil. (Perhaps after you've done it you might decide you prefer the colour of the bricks after all :-D )

Two ideas the first is a layer of PVA Glue then soil then yougat second is PVA glu then sand & Cement mixture then yogurt it grows the old green algea.

Thank you all of you. OH is even laughing at the colour - very orangey bleughh!! We may even have to knock the bloomin' thing down after hes built it - its his first try at brickwork - he bought a 'brickie' tool and is very eager. Have to say that his first attempt at tiling the bathroom was fantastic and his first attempt at carpentry/roofing ( he built our porch canopy) was so good, the neighbour asked him to build one for her, which he did. SO.... hes not altogether useless....just slightly colour blind :-D

The best ones are! I let OH loose shopping once he came home with a blue shirt and a piller box red linen jacket. I never let him wear it when he was with me and it went into the Salvation army recycling bin one day!!