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Garden art

By T. C. Conner

Late winter is a good time to take a look around the gardens and notice all the "empty" space. Simply put, empty means there's probably a spot in your garden that needs a hardscape feature. And being that we are still in the throes of winter, it's a perfect time to sketch your outdoor landscape. Take a pencil and paper or your garden journal and make note of areas in the garden that need improvement.

A statue of Saint Fiacre, patron saint of the garden, may add an enticing look as he watches over the new hybrid tea rose you planted last year. You may have room for another birdbath or feeder. There, in my "big rock garden" is a spot I never noticed before. I think I'll make a tee-pee structure and hang a saucer full of seed from it, and maybe a bentwood rustic fence shaping the perimeter of the flowerbed.

But first, the birdbath, feeder, tee-pee structure, and rustic fence must all be made. And you have the knowledge and know-how to make most of these hardscape features yourself. Spring is just around the corner here in the northeast so why not plan to build at least two new features for your garden this year?

You can probably find "weed trees" that need cut within the perimeter of your own backyard. These are small saplings that spring up along the borders of field edges with a diameter of less than two or three inches. They make perfect poles for tee-pees. If you ask permission from the landowner, I'm sure he or she wouldn't mind if you thinned out a few of these nuisance trees. And tee-pees are so easy to make you could even offer to make one or two for the landowner to use in their garden.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/gardening_out_of_style/114611

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