Garden Accents & Accessories!
Arbors, Trellises, Gates, Bridges and Fountains Arbors provide an entrance to your garden and a decorative window frame for your backyard landscape. As a feature of your garden, an arbor can serve as a retreat. Traditional lattice trellises adorning the sides and top of an arbor will support climbing plants. They add charm and romance to your retreat. In fact, an arbor is easy to create using trellises. Arbors can be made of wood, powder coated steel, bamboo, polyethylene and other rust resistant, sturdy material. Red cedar is warm and rustic. It is an especially popular choice of material in all outdoor furniture and garden accents. A trellis can be a beautiful garden accent to support your climbing plants and provide additional privacy to your garden or balcony. Climbing roses, morning glories, ivy and other vines are some favorites that thrive well on a trellis. Honeysuckle can add a wonderful fragrance to your whole yard if large enough. The traditional lattice look with climbing roses gives a romantic feel to a garden, and trellises added to an arbor swing make it even more so! Bamboo cane is a popular building material for making your own trellises and arbors, and the directions for lashing or tying the canes are fairly simple to follow. Bamboo is very strong and long lasting, but will deteriorate sooner if in direct contact with soil. It's a good idea to mount a bamboo trellis on hard wood stilts or move it inside in winter weather. Wrought iron and powder-coated steel are also very common materials used in making garden accent trellises and arbors. Intricate ironwork calls for a lighter more delicate climbing plant that will allow the artwork to show through. A trellis of any material can be free standing or placed up against a wall, or even mounted on top of a fence for additional privacy or a distinct garden accent. Trellises can even serve as garden gates if attached to hard wood posts, and they are a common addition to arbors in many gardens. A garden gate, will both welcome people into your sanctuary and keep them out. You'll find a huge assortment of gates that serve a purely functional purpose or a wonderfully ornate one with features to accent and invite. Garden gates are commonly featured in fences, but they can also be purchased, or even made, as stand-alone doors to be placed between sections of shrubs, trees and flowers on the perimeters of your garden. On the other hand, if you're putting up a gate fence for security reasons, planting flowers and shrubs around it and adorning it with an arch and trellises will soften the visual effect without limiting the functionality. Garden gates are available in a huge range of styles and materials, from traditional white picket and wrought iron to lightweight, but weather durable, polyethylene. You'll want to choose a style that will compliment your yard, provide a garden accent to blend with your home, and create a harmonious effect between them and the outside world. A heavy solid red cedar gate with a latch will provide the ultimate in privacy and security and keep pets in and other creatures out. An ornate wrought iron gate will allow glimpses into your yard and garden with whatever level of security you want depending on how ornate and it's size. Garden bridges are yet another garden accent that is both functional and decorative. You can of course use a bridge as a pathway across a stream or pond, but you can also place them in areas of your garden that get muddy or simply as a decorative structure that you can dress up with climbing flowers and plants. The sound of cascading water is a welcome and peaceful feature for your garden sanctuary that will attract birds and small wildlife. A search for a waterfall will reveal small wall-mountable fountains that will accent your patio or deck and large multi-tiered ground ponds with any number of sculptures and other garden accents. You'll also find giant rocks or rock replicas made of fiberglass to accent your pool or garden pond. Many waterfalls are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, but if they're left outside in winter, the pump mechanism should be disconnected to avoid damage. You can put a fountain or pond heater in the basin or a tier of a waterfall to provide birds with an open drinking water source when natural sources are frozen over. Planters Garden planter is a term for all shapes and sizes of plant holders, ornamental or plain. Planters are a great garden accent. Urns are traditionally shaped, deep containers with a base of some sort and are usually ornately carved, molded or decorated. Garden planters and urns come in a huge assortment of man-made and natural materials such as stone, terra cotta, pottery, ceramic, polyethylene, brass, wrought iron, wood, aluminum and fiberglass to name a few. If you live in a winter climate and plan to leave your planter outside during winter, stone or concrete are the best choice, as other materials will suffer or even break in freezing temperatures. Cedar planting boxes are especially popular for container gardening of flowers, herbs and vegetables alike. Raised or mounted planters eliminate the bending and kneeling that may be difficult or impossible for some people. For people with limited or no yard space, a small selection of planters and urns on a deck or balcony can serve as a garden in itself. The rustic look of the half whiskey barrel is extremely popular as a mini-garden accent along pathways or in corner locations. Sculptures & Lawn Ornaments Garden sculptures are stand-alone artistic pieces that will add accents and even a theme to your yard and garden. Sculptures of birds, especially water birds, are especially popular figures grouped around a birdbath, pond or garden fountain. Many fountains and ponds will come with a number of mounted sculptures that you can arrange as you please. A garden sculpture might be small or life-size, abstract or realistic, with price ranges to suit every budget. Many of the garden sculptures on the market will enhance your interior decor as well. Lawn ornaments come in a huge assortment of man-made and natural materials. Bronze is especially popular for sculptures because of its long-lasting hardness and the ease of forming it. Bronze is a blanket term for a variety of copper-based metal alloys. A brass sculpture will be available in either bronze or verdigris (see the glossary for garden accents definitions), which is that well-known greenish tinge you see on well-worn copper. One of the appeals of brass and bronze for garden accent sculptures is that it will not rust and it weathers and ages very attractively. Stone is also a good choice for garden accent sculptures that will remain outside in winter. It won't crack or break in freezing temperatures. Almost any functional or purely decorative piece you add to your lawn decor can be considered a garden accent. But what springs to mind for most are things like gnomes and fairies in vibrant colors and active poses prominently displayed in the front yard where all can enjoy them who pass by. Garden gnomes in particular have a wonderful and wacky history, having been created as symbols of luck and goodwill in German and English gardens of the 17th and 18th centuries. Garden accent fairies are widely available as sculptures, statues and as accessorizing features of other garden accents such as birdbaths, fountains, garden ponds, planters, gazing balls and weather vanes. Stepping Stones Stepping stones are not just places to put your feet along a pathway. You'll find a huge selection of stepping stones in different designs and materials. They can be painted with pictures and themes, carved and cast into shapes of any kind, and my personal favorite, made with mosaic tile designs. Stepping stones add character and charm to your garden and walkway and are so attractive you won't want them to be stepped on. You can use them as wall hangings and even as tabletops in your home and as a garden accent. Some suppliers produce table bases that you can place a stepping stone on to make a beautiful cafe table for your patio. Stepping stones are made of every conceivable material suitable for the outdoors. If you're going to actually use the stepping stones as stepping stones in a heavy traffic area, you'll want to choose among the hardiest and most durable of materials for the purpose, which would be actual stone. Gazing Balls & Wind Chimes Gazing Balls and globes add colorful appeal to your garden accents as stand alone ornaments or quite often as an accessory on garden statues, weather vanes, lightning rods and garden fountains. Despite the fact that all gazing balls are just spheres, there is a huge selection of colors, sizes, stands and statues to choose from. Gazing balls are spheres generally made of blown glass, but you'll also find unbreakable globes in other reflective materials like stainless steel and copper. They are quite beautiful on their own, but when surrounded by flowers and foliage, the reflection adds splendor and depth to your garden. In the gardens of earlier times, gazing balls were said to bring good luck and to keep away evil. Different colors symbolized different meanings, for example, red was said to preserve love and faith. These globes were thrown at the house of brides on their wedding day to wish the bride good luck! Gazing globes were used as 'scarecrows' protecting small birds against predators that were scared away by the sparkle and reflection. Gazing globes are common on weather vanes, lightning rods and lampposts, adding color and dimension. Wind chimes make a wonderful gift for any occasion, especially for weddings and housewarmings. They are equally appealing indoors and out. Wind chimes are one of the most popular garden accent items on the market today. In fact, about 75% of all homes already have one. However, not all wind chimes are alike and, once you've gotten used to that familiar tinkling sound, it's hard to be satisfied with just one! Wind chimes are available in aluminum, pewter, bamboo and even glass, all of which offer different tones and sounds, from a gentle tinkling to a long-lasting gong. You'll even find wind chimes tuned to produce an amazing spectrum of well-known tunes. The sound quality of your wind chimes will be determined by the material and quality of the craftsmanship. The selection of scales and melodies ranges from a peaceful, haunting sound to a joyful, dancing melody. The traditional wind chimes, with several long hanging spherical rods, around a longer wooden wind catcher, often feature special adornments such as hand carved wind catchers in the shapes of butterflies and hummingbirds, shadow figures, gazing balls, and special brackets. Many different garden accent musical items like dinner bells, gongs and rain chains can be found from wind chime producers. Some wind chimes also come equipped with adjustable or removable wind catchers that help you adjust sensitivity to the wind. Sundials Sundials, a favorite garden accent; date back to the traditional English garden. Many people place them in their gardens as a purely decorative accent without paying much attention to their functionality. Sundials are very complex timepieces that accurately tell the real time according to the sun's noon placement in the sky - if they are made and set up properly! If a properly made sundial shows a different time than your watch, you can probably trust the sundial. In fact, public clocks used to be reset according to sundials every few days. There are sundial societies, museums, books and entire websites devoted to the craft and complexity of the sundial. If you're interested in a sundial for accuracy as much as display, you may want to read up on how and where to set them up. You can also find tips on assessing the quality of the parts before buying one. There are dozens of styles and sizes of sundials available. A horizontal sundial will have a dial plate with the hours marked off and a gnomon, which makes the shadow, and are usually made of brass, cast iron or stainless steel. A sundial should be made for the place in which it is to be set up according to latitude and longitude, or the gnomon (the piece that sits on the noon line and projects off the plate toward the celestial pole) will have to be adjusted. Many sundial suppliers will engrave or personalize your sundial. Your choices are limited only by your space, taste and budget. If you're not too concerned about accuracy and want a nice garden accent piece, you can get a small solid brass replica of a historical sundial for between $10 and $20. Outdoor Clocks & Thermometers Weatherproof materials and precision parts are most important in choosing an outdoor clock and thermometer. You'll also want to ensure that the face is fade resistant if it's going to be placed in the sun. A search for garden accent clocks will turn up some indoor clocks that make bird songs or look rustic and country like, only some of these will be suitable for outdoor use. While many garden accent retailers have a large selection of outdoor clocks, most are equally suited to indoor use. They can be mounted on an outside wall, in a gazebo, or placed on a patio table. There are as many designs, colors, sculpted effects, sizes and other qualities in outdoor clocks as there are for indoor clocks, and prices are similar. Lightning Rods & Weather Vanes Lightning rods are both functional and decorative. Most people are familiar with the image of Benjamin Franklin with his key and kite. Lightning rods have developed as a result of his experiments. You'll find lightning rod kits that have mix and match pieces, including gazing balls, directional vanes, figurines, caps and finials. Lightning rods, or lightning protection systems, are designed to re-direct the current away from a structure and into the ground, protecting your home, family and electronics. The lightning is directed to the rod through an attached copper or aluminum cable that is buried in the ground. Most lightning rods on the market are designed to fit any roof pitch and will have detailed installation instructions. There are safety considerations, and even regulations in some places, regarding the height and spacing of lightning rods and the safe installation of the grounding cable. You'll definitely want to consider having a professional install your system. Copper components should not be used on aluminum roofs or other aluminum surfaces, and aluminum should not be used on copper roofs or other copper surfaces. Decorative lightning rod kits will generally have one or a few ceramic colored balls and directional arrows, as well as the rod, the scroll base that fits on the roof pitch and grounding cable or wire made of copper or aluminum. If you have an existing lightning rod, you can buy the decorative accessories separately. Weather vanes have become a treasured form of American folk art and antique collectibles. While their historical use was functional, weather vanes were hand crafted and displayed as identifiers on barns and homes in colonial America. For example, a cow weather vane situated on a barn roof would signify that the farm was a dairy farm, while a chicken would signify that you could get poultry and eggs on that farm. Today, weather vanes are chosen by many as garden accent for home or garden structure roofs. Many people hang them on an inside or outside wall without the directional rods. You'll also find stand-alone weather vanes that can be stuck directly into the ground. The selection of figures has also expanded well beyond the farm animal, with fairies, butterflies and other novelty objects becoming increasingly popular. A full weather vane kit will come with the figure, usually made of brass or copper, the mounting rod, the directional rods for north, south, east and west, and many now come with colorful gazing globes made of glass or copper. Some of the freestanding weather vanes have a garden accent flagpole attached horizontally, and some will have several arms with different figures to create a theme. When assembling a weather vane, you will want to ensure that the figure rotates freely in the wind, especially if you are mounting it high up in an area subject to strong gusts of wind. The weather vane figure points into the direction from which the wind is blowing, so if your rooster is pointing north, the wind is coming from the south!
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