Posts Tagged: garden art

Garden Art

Garden art definitely enhances any garden no matter what is planted within in its boundaries. Over the years, we have enjoyed the art in garden tours, botanical gardens, friends gardens and even in our own garden. Garden art can consist of fountains, statuary, vertical planted walls, containers, metal signs, ceramic artwork, birdhouses, and unusual designed yard furniture.

In Italy, some of the elaborate gardens have magnificent fountains with different spray patterns, huge statuary or monuments of saints, famous people and angels. Often cathedrals have small walled in gardens that hold carved crosses and statuary that honors deceased priests or conquerors of the town. Fontarronco, a garden near Arezzo, in Tuscany, has exquisite tiled water fountains and tiled walkways. This garden is highlighted with flowers to cut for the house, vegetables for the table and artistic arbors providing shade from the intense heat. It is a simple garden that is breathtaking due to the colors of plants and tile work.

Often Botanical gardens will have hand made wooden or iron gates, windmills, carved benches and waterfalls. Around every corner there will be a surprise. One of my favorite Botanical gardens is in Fort Bragg. It is divided up into “rooms” and if you stay on the 3 mile path, you will end up at the ocean. The dahlia garden is my favorite spot. The hand made benches are to sit upon while surrounded by a rainbow of color in this sea of dahlias. A three sided gazebo anchors the dahlia garden where occasional weddings are held. The gate leading to this garden is a statement itself.

In our yard, the garden art is mostly cement faces, angels, and rabbits. Occasionally metal dragonflies can be found scattered throughout, In the winter when the garden is sleeping, the artwork still allows us to appreciate the views from every window.  

 

Ornate garden gate. (photos by Sharon Rico)

Dahlias enhance beauty of the garden gate.

Garden Art with Lights

With Christmas just a short 10 days away, many of us are still adding the final touches to our home.  The way things are going this year; a wreath on the front door may be the extent of my holiday flair.  Yes, I wish I had time to do more, but don’t despair, I have the privilege of living next store to an amazingly talented individual.  She has taken Christmas decorations to a new level, with what I call a form of garden art.  Every year her front yard is transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland.  Her strands of hand-painted lights have been transformed into beautiful flowers, each with their own stamen.  She does have the standard reindeer or two, the typical Christmas tree, but these pale in comparison to the rest of the show.  I can’t wait for her to put on the final touches this weekend, strands of hand painted butterflies (made from the bottoms of plastic one gallon milk containers-these are incredible) woven in-between the strands of flowers.   Her front yard is the most unique display of garden art transformed into holiday spirit, really quite a site to see!  Of course, I asked if she could move on to my front yard to add to my lonely wreath…we’ll see what happens.

Read more