Most gardeners know that just the right amounts of sunshine & water combined with great soil and hard work bring their backyard oasis to life. Quickly, after the snow melts, the ground thaws and our singing feathered friends return, each spring gardeners across the country look forward to rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty to cultivate their soil to create a garden of their favorite flowers, shrubs and trees.
A gardener’s shovel is to an artist’s brush. A gardener’s choice of colorful flowers, shrubs and trees is to an artist’s collection of paints, pencils and oils. An artist’s signature is to a gardener’s…hmmm?
The choice of garden decor that is placed throughout the landscape is undoubtedly the signature of a gardener. What does that mean? Simply, a gardener that chooses a sailboat weathervane over a rooster weathervane is more likely to be a water loving individual rather than a country/farm loving individual. It’s how they choose to express themselves in the garden.
The garden is an excellent place for one to set aside the hectic lifestyle of today for a moment, a weekend, or anytime that enables you to step into you backyard hide-a-way. The person that you are inside can be expressed with the garden decor you choose. Your choice of garden decor, your choice of its finish and your choice of its size all factor into the person that you are. Garden decor is an essential part of the garden; it brings happiness, joy, and it can even refresh the soul of its visitors.
Even the most colorful gardens can feel empty without the addition of some garden decor. A bed of roses is very beautiful, but add an elegant sundial or a birdbath, and now the bed of roses become incredibly beautiful. Garden decor adds style, brings comfort and let’s gardeners set the stage for another’s imagination. Each piece of garden decor can help create a scene, a story or a memory that brings life and meaning to the garden.
Gardening should always be fun and not a chore. Your passion for gardening is hard work but always fulfilling. Gardening should be about you and your artistic ability to create a space that is warm, inviting and a stepping stone into who you are as a person. Your garden decor will speak volumes of you and how you define yourself. It will be your signature to your backyard canvas!
Chris Hallinan is the owner of, www.TheGardenChest.com, a successful garden d
Tips To Improve Your Garden Decor
Gardens are not just places where one grows plants and vegetables. To complement the amount of effort you put in here, you should try and improve your garden decor so that your garden looks beautiful, even without flowers. Here are some tips to help you work on it:
1) Singular focus
One way to make a difference to your garden decor is to focus on one part of the garden and build the rest around it. This can be done by building a gazebo, an arbor, a rose pillar or any statues or sculptures of interest.
2) A sense of architecture
You can provide an architectural form and a sense of style to your garden decor by adding a bit of iron gate work, elegant metal topiary forms or concrete statuary to the garden. Simple garden ornaments and artful decor contribute tremendously to the aesthetic value to your outdoor living garden spaces.
3) Adding water features – a waterfall or a fountain
Building a waterfall or a fountain can add a lot of value to your garden decor. In fact, most Japanese gardens have a water feature, and the ones without water features have something that represents water, like grey gravel or sand. If you would like to be a little innovative, you can turn your whole garden into a water garden.
4) Collect and scatter
After having collected a variety of art and ornamentation to add to your garden decor, make sure you scatter it throughout the landscape. Some people place topiary, sculpture or tuteur forms in distant small landscaped garden spaces for maximum viewing impact. Try and frame ornamental pieces of art with easy-growing shrubs and low-growing flowers.
5) Correct use of planters and containers
For an elegant garden decor, you may need to carefully choose the planters and containers to hold your plants. Many kinds of containers are available, the popular ones being made of concrete, fibre stone, fibreglass and plastic. For earth tones, you might choose terracotta. Correct use of planters can also add height, shape and life to your garden.
6) Lighting
Lighting up a garden nicely also enhances the garden decor. Other than lighting up the pathway in your garden, you can also light up a specific tree by focusing light beams on it. Make sure you keep safety concerns in mind for lighting options.
7) Define your place – use varieties of height
Garden ornamentation will define garden spaces. Taller garden decor and sculpture can create pleasant and sprawling visual architecture in small spaces. Always try and place taller plantings toward the back of the garden. Try and use varieties of height to beautify your garden.
8) Block what you do not like
Block a part of the garden with climbers like ivy or vines if you do not like the way it looks. A trellis or obelisk can also be combined with the climbers to block the view. It will only end up enhancing your garden decor. You can also add a birdbath to your garden.
9) Temporary additions for special purposes
If you organize parties in your garden, they are some ways to improve on your garden decor. If you are on a shoestring budget, you could light the garden by candles, lanterns or string lighting. Clean up a certain area within the garden to provide a tidy place for your guests. Addition of fragrant containers would fill the garden air with a pleasant smell. Also, do not forget to get comfortable garden chairs for your guests.
Finally, no matter how you wish to decorate your garden, you should make sure that everything is harmonized. Utilizing all your resources with perfect balance can enhance your garden decor and make it your own piece of paradise.
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