Yard Art

by Shirley Kelley, Master Gardener

The cold days, cold winds, and then a few warm days gives you the feeling that warm weather is on its way, unless the silly ground hog messes it up.  Strolling through your garden to check to see if anything has survived, sure enough there sets the brightly painted chair that you added to the bed.  The flowers in the pot setting in the seat may be dead but you still have some color to add to dormant plants surrounding it.

Farm equipment seems to be very popular in the landscape. Maybe it is just a rusty piece without any color, but it stands out among the dead plant material.  On second thought maybe it had a hidden color of a fond memory.

If you like houses but you don’t want the common bird house you can have a replica of a favorite house and include it in a flower garden.  In the picture shown, the house is setting in the middle of blue salvias, yellow coreopsis, and sweet potato vine and when all is dormant you still have the accent of the house waiting to be surrounded again come spring.

What would happen if you cracked a favorite vase and you really didn’t want it in the home?  Find a blank space in your garden, lay the crack downward and plant trailing plants in front as if it fell over and spilled.  There are ceramic vases that you can turn into a self contained water feature which would give you an accent piece with the calmness of water tricking over it.

There are a lot of things you can use as yard art like angels, animals (not live ones they won't stay still) golfers, farm implements, pots, wagons, garden tools, and don’t forget the bench where you can set and feel the serenity of nature. 8-18-2018