Is Something Missing from Your Garden?

Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel

Your shrubs are trimmed, your perennials and annuals are blooming in sweeps of color and the weeds are (mostly) under control. Yet something is missing. Could it be garden art?

Perhaps what you need is a garden ornament or sculpture to add that something special to your landscape. Garden art can draw the eye to a specific highlight, invite visitors to the next turn in a path, or add the finishing touch to plantings. When deciding where to place garden art, view your garden from the place where it is most seen — the patio or the entrance gate. 

You might use garden art as a focal point because of its size, shape, color or movement. Consider scale when selecting objects. You don’t want a tiny object in a large expanse or a large object in a small area. Consider smaller accessories that surprise visitors, such as a turtle on a rock partially hidden by foliage or a dragonfly perched on a birdbath. Less is usually more. Your plantings should be the main attraction!

If you’re in the market for garden art, what should you consider? Large, “found” objects such as antique farm implements, life-size figurines or animal statues, fountains, birdbaths or sun dials, sculptures that move with the wind, painted panels, large rocks, graphic stepping stones or colorful containers (plant-filled or not) are all possibilities. Thrift shops and flea markets are great sources for inexpensive, one-of-a-kind, unique finds. You might choose  ornaments that have a common style or theme (“country” for instance, or rusted metal) that complements your home’s style or interior decorating style. If you have an affinity for a particular animal (chickens, rabbits, frogs, etc.), look for that animal in a variety of materials.

Scoop up surplus kitchen colanders to house aloes, echeverias, and other tender succulents. Look for discarded wooden crates at the grocery store (line them with plastic and make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom). Spraypaint a disparate lot of collected containers all one color for a cohesive display. If your yard contains a variety of rocks, consider building a cairn and use it to draw attention to a spectacular planting.

Choose wisely. If you have a large collection of objects, store a few each year. Consider siting objects in new locations to maximize their effect or create fresh combinations. Position them strategically where they feel at home and will draw the gaze around the garden. Replace them from time to time with something different. Then both you and visitors to your garden will say, “Perfect!”

Feature photo courtesy pexels.com; coleus head photo by Donna Hessel.