Ornaments in the garden

11/01/2002
Ornaments in the garden

Winter is just around the corner, and for most parts of the country, that means there'll be a whole lot less to look at. No green leaves except for a few evergreens. No flowers to speak of. It's that time of year when we start to think about the "bones" of the garden: the paths, the layout, the structures, the benches, the tree skeletons--all that remains when the leaves fall.


Viewing and thinking about the skeleton of your garden is a lot more rewarding if it includes a generous sprinkling of ornaments. I consider garden ornaments to be mostly nonfunctional things whose role is simply to look pretty--and not incidentally, to express the personality of the gardener. Your choice of garden ornaments will make your garden much more personal and interesting--to both yourself and others.

Garden ornaments include can include anything you like the look of: statues, urns, antiques, found objects, rocks, watering cans, carefully chosen pots, exquisite plant tags, or a scarecrow your children made. Anything that's still there when the snow falls that looks pretty or interesting counts.

If you have a formal garden, you'll want to find some urns similar to the one in the main photo of Villandry above, as well as other classical pieces to enhance your garden. Pieces in this style are still being made in France today, as well as ceramics in a similar style that can echo the theme in the interior of your home.



If you like sculpture, you can find great pleasure in acquiring pieces that can be put outdoors in your garden. Placing a sculpture well in a garden is an art in itself, and can be an act that you find highly satisfying as a collector. I don't know whether M. Bardot, the owner of the exquisite piece in the photo at right, realized when he placed it with a blue Atlas cedar in the background that the statue would age in those beautiful verdigris tones. But intentional or not, the effect is perfect.



Gardens can showcase all kinds of collections. The old cider press belongs to a Normandie gardener who loves old farm equipment. It serves as an interesting focal point at the boundary of patio and garden. In the garden of a collector of antique watering cans, a different example from her collection was placed at every important juncture in the garden.



The most important thing to remember in choosing garden ornaments is to express yourself. Don't worry about what's in the latest decorating magazine. Just choose things that you like--that strike a chord in you. The result will be that the garden will show the imprint of your personality--it will be original--and be that much more interesting for it.



The garden in the photo at left was full of whimsy. Here, its creator has let beans climb over a garden archway, rather than a "noble" plant like a rose. Already the effect is a bit humorous. In front of the arch is a homemade iron sculpture, while beyond it is a modern sculpture, while just to its right, a classic stone urn. Framing the archway are two more classical elements: a pair of Provençal Anduze vases. The overall effect is idiosyncratic--and definitely original.
Farther along in the same Périgord garden, was a poetry grove--a shaded area where pottery shards inscribed with poems especially loved by the gardener are embedded naturalistically in the soil.



Even utilitarian objects can have ornamental value. A collection of beautiful plant pots, placed here and there throughout the garden add enormously to its interest. Antique baskets, cloches, plant supports, and handmade plant tags all add up to visual stimulus even in a garden that is slumbering its way through the dormant season.



Whether art, antiques, poetry, or flea marketing is your thing, let your objects speak about you in your landscape. That way, even in winter, your garden will still have life--yours!

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Products of Interest:
Cotentin garden fish
Tole watering can
Ceramic harvest basket plaque
Zinc bird tag