Tool Shed Treasures

Thanks to Tauni Brustin, gardeners can now collect more than rare cactus and orchids. An avid gardener, she began picking up antique garden objects on her buying trips, first for herself and then for her store, Main St. U.S.A.

She’s collected enough, in fact, to hold a monthlong garden furniture and pottery sale in April. Some of the items in the sale are most useful:

Old wood and iron garden gates that can give a garden the soft air of antiquity not otherwise found in California; chairs and benches to dignify an otherwise bland corner of a terrace; plants stands and pots--including a notable collection of California pottery intended for outdoor use.

And there are the not-so-useful items that will intrigue gardeners nonetheless, such as fascinating patented sprinklers, cans of primitive insecticides and other old garden gadgets that survived the decades in someone’s tool shed. The store, at 1325 West Washington Blvd. in Venice, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Telephone: (213) 392-6676.