Time to decorate the garden!

Depending on where you live, sprucing up the garden is on your mind. Here in the Northeast, the temperature hasn't quite made it to Spring levels, but the early flowers are starting to break through the soil. Adding a decorative element or two will dress up the garden, and auctions have some wonderful offerings.

I love this water feature from House to Home (UK). There is an antique trough that adds character with the wonderful lion fountain attached to a stone wall.

This elegant garden designed by Xa Tollemache, a UK garden designer, uses wonderful urns topping the entry wall. She has made this a beautiful room in which to sit and relax.

In a city garden designed Xa Tollemache, she used trellises to add interest to the walls, much like you might use wall paper, and she added a fabulous obelisk to draw the eye along the garden path.














If we think of our garden as another room, we want to plan our decorating scheme. We might want to include architectural elements, or perhaps some antiques to make it look more established.

A pair of obelisks adds a chic architectural element to any garden, or even an apartment balcony! This smart pair is on offer at the April 9th Garden & Architectural Antiques auction at Kamelot Auctions in Philadelphia, PA (Lot 26). These are made of wrought iron, stand 76" tall and have an auction estimate for the pair of $600 - $1,200. 

A stone trough makes a wonderful water feature or planter. This one is also in the Kamelot Auctions sale (Lot3). It's described as Chinese, and certainly the carving makes it more interesting than most. This is 45" wide and has an auction estimate of $600 - $900.

Seating is important in the garden, and this bench is particularly decorative. It's wrought iron, circa 1900 (Lot 49). I love the red color with the green decor of urns and garlands on the back. This is 47" wide, and has an auction estimate of $800 - $1,200.

A pair of urns can be used for plants, or just as decoration. Place them at the entrance to your garden, or at the corners of your patio. This pair of cast iron urns (currently painted white) are included in the next New Orleans Auction April 9th and 10th. These are Lot 463, stand 37" tall,  and have an auction estimate of $600 - $900.

A water feature is always nice in a garden. The sound is so soothing. This patinated metal fountain (37" tall) was sold at a Christie's auction of $938 off an auction estimate of $800 - $1,200. Marble ones seem to sell for much more. I think this one is lovely, and would serve as a wonderful center piece for a garden design.














A garden is a room for as long as the weather is warm enough. You will spend even more time in it if it gives you as much pleasure as a well decorated room. I'm not much of a green thumb, but you don't have to be if you have some wonderful decorative elements around which to plant a few flowers or bushes!