Garden ornaments|A bird motif creates a sense of unity

Garden ornaments-A BIRD MOTIF CREATES A SENSE OF UNITY

By developing motifs, the author creates a sense of unity in the garden. Wild, wonderful, and wacky birds add a whimsical and lighthearted tone. Further interest is created by partially hiding a bird from view so that it can be discovered (bottom right photo), by choosing rusty metal objects that blend naturally with the landscape (bottom left), by positioning a striding ostrich in the middle of an open expanse so it can be seen from far away (top right), and by grouping similar objects together, like this family of storks dancing around a tree (top left).

Garden ornaments-ORNAMENT ADDS A LIGHTHEARTED NOTE

For me, an informal garden demands art that is fun rather than serious. The types of art I collect and create allow me to personalize the garden. I set a tone of lightheartedness, and when I enter the green space I feel instantly cheered and entertained. Even whimsical ornament, however, can serve purposeful design functions. It can be used as an anchor, giving a sense of solidity to an area, as a focal point to draw you into or through the garden, or as a complement to the texture and color of plants.

I rarely buy or create Garden ornaments for a specific spot. One ornament came into the garden on my lap via an 18-hour plane ride from Japan because it spoke to me and just had to be part of my growing space. Others were plucked from dusty benches at the local flea market or fashioned from nature’s abundance (an old, twining vine turned into a snake with the help of some copper eyes and fangs).

I have a few favorite artisans whose work I have collected over the years. Bill Heise, from Vermont, is a creator of found-metal sculpture. I have a marvelous collection of his birds—bitterns, secretaries, herons, and sandpipers. An artist from Pennsylvania who is simply named Simple uses a laser torch to cut out two-dimensional iron objects ranging in size from 2 to 5 feet. I have collected a series of his birds, painted in bold colors. I use them as focal points in the landscape, and I love to plant colorful gardens around them. Three bright-blue herons with magenta heads and yellow bills are surrounded by rosy-purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’), brilliant yellow golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’), and the bright-pink blooms of hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Pia’).

I also think of furniture as ornament in the garden because it can be as beautiful to look at as it is functional. I use it not only on the terraces or in groupings beside the large pond, but also by associating it with either secret hideaways or open vistas. By carefully limbing up trees and tucking in chairs and tables, I have spots to wind down my gardening day with a well-earned bottle of cold beer. Shafts of late-day sunlight squeeze through the trees as I watch a busy wren building her nest—ah, pure delight. Or I place a bench at the start of a long vista, and many a morning I sip coffee there, smelling the garden and savoring the view. Weathered teak and cedar are the furniture materials of choice, blending nicely into the landscape.