Luann's Blog

Choosing Accessories for Your Garden(audio file opens new window)

Even some of the best designed gardens can often be improved upon with the use of landscaping accessories. There are many different accessories to choose from and so you really shouldn’t have a problem finding something to suit you. You just need to know what is available in order to know what will best fit in with your gardens needs.

Flowers and plants are rightly the central attraction of your garden, but they needn’t be the only one. Garden accessories can add character and fun to your garden as well as serving various useful purposes. From sculpted row markers and border fences to fully-functional fountains and ponds, here’s what some of the best-dressed gardens are wearing this year.

Decorative trellises and arches do more than serve as supports for climbing plants and vines. They can be a beautiful accent on their own. Whether you choose a simple iron fan trellis in a corner of the garden, or build an elaborate arbor or gazebo to support roses and ivy, they’ll add a graceful note of natural beauty and add to the enjoyment of your garden. If you allow colorful flowers to grow around it, you will notice how homey it actually makes your home feel. You truly cannot go wrong with an arbor as it looks great on both lawn and patio.

There are some great benefits of adding lights to your landscape area. Not only do they add a touch of class but they can add a sense of security to the area and even the house. The lights can really help to brighten up any dark areas around the yard and they can also make it easy to see at night whilst you are out in the garden. They also help the landscape to look extremely impressive and it adds that little something extra to the balance. They really are an inexpensive way of adding extra charm and style to any landscape.

Lighting allows people to stay outside in the warm months and enjoy socializing or relaxing in the garden. They are absolutely great for entertaining and it really does help to make people feel very welcome. Overall you really cannot go wrong with a little landscape lighting.

Birdbaths and Pedestal Birdbaths are a great way to invite birds into your garden. Whether set into the ground as a small ?pond? or on a pedestal, they can add a touch of old world elegance to a shrubbery or foliage garden that will benefit from the pollination efforts of your feathered friends.

Fountains and Ponds The ultimate accessory for any garden to have has got to be its own pond or fountain. Even small spaces can sport running water with a concealed circulating pump and a nearby power source. A trickling waterfall over rocks or a full-sized pond complete with Koi can both bring a measure of satisfaction and serenity to your garden.

When it comes to landscaping your garden, rocks do often make a great addition and they come in a variety of different sizes and colors to suit every gardeners needs. You can make pretty features, use them as stepping stones and you can even build small little walls for the garden too. Whatever you decide to use them for, there is certainly no getting away from the fact that stones can be great for landscaping.

Besides looking nice and adding a natural quality to your landscaping, rocks are very durable. This makes them great for walkways and retaining walls, or just to decorate a small pond or waterfall. They can be functional or just for looks. No matter what, using rocks or stones will make any landscape more interesting to look at. The type of rock or stone you choose will depend on what its use will be.

Boulders are normally rather large rocks that work well for use in water landscapes. They can also be used to mark a driveway or the entrance of a garden. They can be very dramatic, and if placed correctly, will attract plenty of attention. Very large flat boulders can even be used as a place to sit and enjoy nature.

Lawn ornaments include things such as garden Gnomes and bird baths. They are things which look good and add that little extra something to the garden. You can purchase lawn ornaments in all different styles and sizes so you should easily find something to suit you and your needs. Always remember that whatever you decide to purchase for your garden, it does need serious consideration. This is because you do not want to purchase something which either does not fit or simply looks out of place. So, be sure that it will suit the garden and that you measure it beforehand.

It is best to consider the whole theme of the landscape in order to get accessories that blend or add something special to the area. So, if you want to decorate a secluded area of the garden you could consider using trees, shrubs, a wooden bench or anything you like that can add peaceful surroundings. If you are building a water feature in your land, you could add extra features such as stones or slabs and some nice plants and flowers to add some extra color to it.

Adding Landscape Accessories(audio file opens new window)

Planning your landscape can be very rewarding work. When it comes to actually building your landscape the work is worth while with the end result in mind and you will feel extraordinarily proud of what you have produced. You could be transforming your garden completely with water features, a patio, decking or basically anything that you want. However, the thing that really helps to give it that extra special look is by adding some accessories to the landscape.

Adding accessories to any landscape has many benefits that are easy to see. They can help to lighten up areas or to add a little bit of extra charm to open spaces. Without using accessories, the landscape may be missing that vital ingredient to make it look and feel complete. It can really turn an open barren space into somewhere that either you can relax yourself or you can entertain others.

Even some of the best created gardens can frequently be improved upon with the use of landscaping accessories. There are many different accessories to choose from and so you really shouldn’t have any difficulty finding something to suit you. You just need to know what is available in order to know what will best fit in with your landscaping needs.

Thinking about your garden as a barren wall in your living room. Before choosing what to hang on your living room wall, you take cues from the style of the room. Think of your garden in that context, from the size of the space available to the arrangement of trees, shrubs and flowers and the architecture of your home. These will be the cues used in choosing and spacing your garden accessories.

Each part of your garden may have a different mood or feeling and can furnish an opportunity to incorporate different types of garden sculpture. Such pieces produce interest year round and serve to animate and differentiate a space; a strongly planned element can even inspire the theme for the plantings.

Gardeners trying to introduce too many pieces into their garden produce too many distractions for the eye to absorb or enjoy. The garden becomes complicated and cluttered. Under the less is more principle, one well-suited piece will develop a presence and a focal point, introducing harmony rather than chaos into the garden. The less is more principle does not mean you are limited to uniform arrangements of statuary in your garden. Multiple pieces and styles can work comfortably together if they are not part of the same grouping.

Lawn ornaments include things such as garden Gnomes and bird baths. They are things that look substantial and add a little extra something to the garden. Statuary is one of the most common and versatile additions. You can purchase lawn ornaments and statues in all different styles and sizes so you should easily find something to suit  your gardening needs. Remember to take considerable time deciding what to purchase for your garden. This is because you do not want to bring home something which either does not fit or simply looks out of placement. So, be sure that it will suit the garden and that you measure it beforehand.

Cutting a piece of statuary out of cardboard and placing it in different locations throughout your garden can help you get a feel for where each piece looks its best. It will also give you some time to think about why you want to add that particular ornament to your garden setting. This may be a time consuming practice but well worth the effort.

The most imperative thing to keep in mind when choosing the right piece of statuary is the overall style of your home and garden. Whether you have an urban, contemporary or country garden, the statuary you select should be compatible with the style and feeling of your house and garden. Most likely, you wouldn’t place a classical statue in a contemporary-style garden. However, classical statuary makes a wonderful feature for a more traditional home or garden.

Birdbaths are a wonderful way to invite birds into your garden. Whether set into the ground as a small pond or on a pedestal, they can add a touch of old world elegance to a shrubbery or foliage garden that will benefit from the aesthetics of our feathered friends.

It is best to consider the whole theme of the landscape in order to get accessories that add something special to the space. So, if you want to decorate a secluded surface of the garden you could consider using trees, shrubs, a wooden bench or anything else you like that can add peaceful surroundings. If you are developing a water feature on your land, you could add extra items such as stones or slabs and some nice plants and flowers to add some extra color to it.

Just like a picture on your wall, garden statuary looks best with some kind of frame. Some choices are using a  background of traditional clipped box, yew or a mixed border of grasses to frame your statuary in the landscape. A stone wall or trellis covered with roses or even a simple wooden fence maybe all you really need.