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Garden planning

By Michael Vyskocil

A stone sculpture. A rustic bird feeder. Time-worn wind chimes. Many times, these nonliving pieces in garden design come to mind after a garden is established. They become simple accessories to crowd into areas where there's room. These pieces, however, deserve prominence and importance in a garden setting. By incorporating these elements into the planning of a garden, your garden will be both ornamental and functional.

Support structures, like trellises and lattices, gates, benches and stone walls give both order and definition to a garden. When marking the locations of your beds and borders, don't forget about the placement of these items. As in the world of real estate, location is a priority. The site of the object is just as important as its integration into the landscape of a bed or border. Will a stone bench encourage visitors to sit and admire an ornamental shade tree? Will the angel sculpture overshadow a mixed tulip bed? Does a wire topiary form belong in the middle of a wild-flower garden? By properly placing an object, you can avoid having it look as it if was placed randomly in the garden.

There are no firm rules for incorporating objects into the landscape. In fact, relaxing--even breaking--a few rules of gardening can help you inject a part of yourself into your garden and help keep it from looking just like every other yard. However, it's important to experiment with different arrangements to see what works best for your particular space. Here are a few tips to help you:

To create home garden focal points, place objects where garden paths naturally come together or place them at the entrance or exit of a garden.

Position people or animal statues in sites that mimic real life as much as possible. For example, place a ceramic turtle on the brick edge of a walled water garden.

Benches, chairs and other enclosed structures, like gazebos, should be placed in areas of the garden that offer shade and a great view.
Of course, it is possible to allow too many items to dominate the landscape. Try to balance the large attention-getting objects with the subtle casual pieces that blend in with the plants. In addition, keep both the size of your garden and plants in proportion with the chosen objects.

There's many options to consider when selecting garden ornaments. Just look at the list below:

Gates, trellises, arbors, gazebos, pergolas

Garden furniture

Garden accents and accessories

Fountains, sundials, wind chimes

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