the Backyard B'zmany hands make light work!

You’re in the garden department of your local store, and you see the cutest little frog garden ornament. It’s only $14.99, so you buy it. At home you plop it into one of your flower beds and you think it looks pretty cute. Then another time you see a cute fairy, rabbit, gnome, dog, cat, bird, etc, etc, etc. All only $14.99, all about the same size, all end up in your garden and all of a sudden you have a clutter-fest, not a landscape.

Step away from the yoga frog!

Have you ever driven past a yard and seen a blur of clutter? You can’t tell what the stuff is, just that there’s a lot of it.

One particular job I worked on while in the landscaping business sticks in my mind as the most egregious offender in this department. This woman had a garden that was a series of wonderful rooms with great structure, but I swear it took an hour for four of us to haul out all the bunnies, frogs, fairies, etc. before we could begin to renovate her space so that it would look its best for an upcoming wedding. This woman had no lack of income, and could have easily spent a couple hundred dollars for a piece of art that would set her garden apart and make a statement, but instead she’d probably spent that much and more on dozens of cheap, silly things that distracted from the garden instead of adding to it.

Wouldn’t you rather see one “WOW!” piece that stands out and compliments the space? Using one large element creates a focal point that will give your garden a far more dramatic and well ordered look. It should be the centerpiece of that part of your garden, probably set in first, with the rest of the decor in that area focused around it.

This is what you want - WOW!

So the next time you’re tempted to rush to the check out with that little $14.99 bargain bunny statue, please, save your money and buy something that makes a statement! Try Four Seasons Pottery on Hammond Drive or Habersham Gardens off Cheshire Bridge Road. They will be happy to help you select a special something to make your little part of the world into a private art-in-the-garden experience! One big pot, statue or sculpture as a focal point will give you more design mileage than a dozen frogs doing yoga could ever hope to convey, and will have your neighbors knocking on your door asking for the name of your landscape designer.