How to Adorn Your Flower Garden with Beautiful, Unique, and Inexpensive Garden Accents

In Walt Whitman's words, "Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed." There are few things more enticing to our visual and olfactory senses than a creatively designed flower garden. But just like whipped cream and a cherry appetizingly tops off an ice cream sundae, decorative accents can greatly enrich your garden experience. Garden accents range from more elaborate items, such as gazebos and arbors, to simple and inexpensive flower containers and décor that can be found among your household items. The options are almost limitless. In this article, you will learn how to use a variety of garden accents to turn an ordinary flower garden into a unique and spectacular floral delight.

Flower garden
Garden accent choices
Gardening tools
Flower containers
Lumber
Carpentry tools
Paint

Instructions

- 1
  A garden shed is useful, not only for storage, but also as a unique garden accent as well. Choose a shed that blends with your garden theme, such as a shed that resembles a miniature English cottage, or perhaps one that resembles an outhouse similar to the one depicted in the photograph accompanying the article overview.
  
  A gazebo is a very popular option. Gazebos range from tiny, quaint structures to those large enough to accommodate outdoor entertaining.
  
  A garden arbor is a wonderful way to incorporate trailing plants such as roses, honeysuckle and grapevines into your garden design. An arbor creates a retreat from summer sun. You can incorporate it anywhere into your garden design, but an arbor with a gate makes an inviting entrance into a flower garden.
  
  A wishing well is a quaint addition to a garden theme. A wishing well in your garden can be completely functional or merely a visual accent.
  
  A bridge incorporated into a garden can dress up a shady or unadorned corner. It can also provide a charming walkway from one section of a garden path to another.
  
  Garden sheds, gazebos, arbors, wishing wells, and bridges can be purchased from most lawn and garden centers, home improvement stores, and at various Internet businesses. They are ready-made to assemble in your garden. A less expensive option is to design and build your own. References to websites that provide instructions for building sheds, gazebos, arbors, wishing wells, and bridges can be accessed in the "Tips" section of this article.
- 2
  Consider adding a waterfall or water fountain to your garden design. Water features give cooling respite, and they add a relaxing acoustic dimension to the garden.
  
  Adding a gazing ball to your garden will give the garden a point of interest and drama. Gazing balls can be acquired in most lawn and garden stores and Internet stores in a variety of styles and colors.
  
  Statuary items are among the most common garden accents. You can find a style to suit your garden theme in most lawn and garden stores and Internet stores - from more formal sculptures of Greek gods and goddesses to delightful garden gnomes.
  
  Consider adding a bird habitat to your flower garden. Options include bird houses and bird baths that will easily attract birds to your garden enriching its beauty even more.
  
  Stone arrangements can also add a naturally striking accent to your garden. Arrange them around your water features or place them strategically throughout your garden to make appealing focal points.
- 3
  
  Garden plaques are a very whimsical way of adding interest to your garden. Garden plaques can be purchased in most lawn and garden stores or ordered from Internet stores. The "Tips" section of this article includes a reference to a business website from which you can design and order a personalized slate garden plaque.
  
  A more inexpensive option, if you have the skill and the equipment, is to make your own garden plaques. Using treated one-inch thick decking board, you can create a plaque that will have a more natural look. Using a router, you can add to the plaque any phrase or sentiment you wish. A more colorful option would be to use one-inch thick sheeting or shelving board cut to the desired size and painted in a hue that coordinates with the color scheme of your flower garden. If you want to get creative, you can cut the shelving board in an interesting shape using a jigsaw. After painting the plaque the desired color, use the same type of paint, but a different color, to add the phrase or slogan of your choice.
  
  There is an assortment of phrases and sentiments that can be placed on garden plaques. Some are inspirational, such as "Bloom where you are planted" - "Cultivate the garden within." - "Flowers feed the soul." Others are sentiments of optimism, such as "To plant a garden is to believe in the future." - "All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of yesterday." - "All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today." - "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - "Stop and smell the roses." Some are more humorous, such as "Gardeners know the best dirt." - "If friends were flowers, I'd pick you." - "Mom's flowers...Dad's Weeds."
- 4
  
  Planters, such as Grecian urns, clay pots, and other interesting containers are additional garden accent options. Just about anything that will hold soil will work as a planter for your flower garden. The options of items that can be used as planters are almost boundless, absolutely creative, and quite inexpensive. Many such items can be found among your household possessions. Such items include work boots, metal buckets (which can be painted in colors or designs), wicker baskets (natural or painted), wooden kegs, whiskey barrels, rain barrels, wheelbarrows, wooden crates, old toy boxes, old chairs, old mailboxes, old fashioned baby carriages, antique lawn mowers, roasting pans, stock pots, old bird cages, bird houses, watering cans, dresser drawers, wooden tool boxes, and even a child's wagon. When using such containers, be sure to drill holes for drainage so that the flowers will thrive.The sky and your imagination are the only limits to such unique and inexpensive garden accent options.

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