Architectural Detail in the Garden: Hardscapes for your Softscape

difficult to see against the brown leaves
this Eiffel Tower will show up against
the green to come, later in Spring.

 Paris in April

Use your imagination. Let it take you out of your little backyard into the great big world. Or bring the world back home with you from places far away, places full of memories and meaning. From the Eiffel Tower to the Tower of London or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, miniature replicas can be found everywhere. Don't limit your search to the garden centers. Wooden or metal pieces can weather so nicely out in the elements.

 A Garden Gazebo

A darling place from which to view your garden. A darling place to view within your garden. Once again, let creativity be your guide as you look at items with a new eye for usefulness as a garden backdrop. It may be a piece of something larger or need a quick splash of paint but you'll know it when you see it. Train your eye to see things differently.

Broken and discarded or not-so-old "ancient ruins"? You decide. So many cement pieces are made to look like carved Italian marble or straight from the castles of England or Palace of Versailles. Even when they break, which happens now and again, find a new way to use them. When a planter is overflowing with luscious greenery who will know it no longer has a back and is cracked down the center? Or, rather, who will care? And then you have extra pieces to use as decorative stepping stones. You'll start breaking things on purpose!

 Cagey Coral Bells
How about that little plant the bunnies just won't stop nibbling on. It just can't catch a break, until you pop a cage over it and let it sing the glories of new growth. That tender new leaf, tasty as it may be, will get to see another day. And you'll get a chance to see it, too.

Song Birds in the Garden

Painted white and over-sized this one will stick out, even when the plants I put around it grow up and mature. Birds, squirrels, cats, foxes; wire, stone, metal, wood; animals are a natural part of the garden.
This one is in my vegetable garden. There's no reason why a vegetable garden can't be a fun and whimsical place, anything to get me in there to keep up with the weeds!

Leaky pipes? You may need your umbrella!

I don't know why but I just love sticking rusty old plumbing is the most ridiculous parts of my garden, especially the woods and farther reaches. This one gets protected from rain by May Apples or fairy umbrellas for those who are children at heart.

Anything that breaks up the mass of foliage and causes the eye to stop and see, really see the garden serves the purpose. It could be a rock... or something more interesting. Have fun with it.