Adding excitement to a garden is easy. You can create instant, year-round color, structure, motion and fun to the landscape with a bit of garden art.
Just like shopping for plants, look for pieces that complement your gardening style. Many pieces are functional as well as beautiful, helping you get the most from your garden budget. In centuries past, garden art included statues of gods and beautiful people as well as pieces that mimicked nature’s ornamental qualities. You can still find those traditional garden statues. But these days you will also find colorful pieces made from a variety of weatherproof materials in an array of styles. You no longer need to settle for drab plant supports. Look for items like the tomato cage, by Kaleidoscope, made of durable, heavy gauge steel and topped with colorful weatherproof glass inserts. Train peas and pole beans up colorful and sturdy structures like Kaleidoscope’s spiral supports.
Bring a garden to life with garden art that moves in the wind. Metal wind spinners, mobiles and wind chimes add motion and, in some cases, sound to the garden.
Try creating a bottle bush using individually mouth-blown art glass globes instead of wine bottles. Select those suited to the outdoors. Strategically place them in the garden, so you can enjoy the way the sunlight plays off the unique glass.
Add a bit of color and ornamental appeal when purchasing the next birdbath or bench. And don’t forget about other winged visitors. Some garden art, like poppy sways, also capture water for hummingbirds, butterflies and other beneficial insects.
Artfully direct water from the roof using decorative rain chains into a rain barrel or mulched area. Use this century-old technique to slow the flow of water, preventing mulch and mud from splashing onto the house.
Include a bit of fun and whimsy in the landscape. A flock of funky metal chickens meandering through the garden or school of steel fish swimming through the perennials may just be the extra character a garden needs.
Take time this season to finish off an established garden, create a focal point for a new garden or just add new life to an existing landscape. Whatever the reason, you’re sure to enjoy the added beauty that garden art can provide.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books and hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series. She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine.
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