Garden Oddities: Accessories, Features and Peculiar Plantings

When driving through most residential areas, one inevitably notices how various yards and landscapes blend together—similar trees and flowers, typical wishing wells and other props, the same tailored lawns. One always appreciates a landscape that takes the road less traveled—as the poet once said. Installing that one-of-a-kind garden need pose a challenge only to the imagination. A creative garden and landscape may be outfitted by a vast array of props, plants and novel features for a unique setting that is destined to be a standout in the neighborhood.

Of course—odd doesn’t mean eyesore or weird; for gardening purposes, odd can mean unusual and unique. One still wants to promote and inviting and attractive garden and landscape that is enjoyable and maintainable. Whatever features you plan to implement, keep your home and land in mind—a landscape cannot fool Mother Nature; your plan must be to create a harmonious blend that incorporates unique features that adapt well to your soil and climate.

When it comes to garden features there are many to consider. In and of themselves they may seem ordinary, but design and placement can reveal hidden qualities about the features you install. Garden cascades, ponds, wall mounted fountains, labyrinths, mazes, fencing, patios and a myriad of other garden features can render a landscape like no other when designed to be standout focal points of the garden. Something as simple as a mosaic walkway as opposed to the cement squares one generally finds makes an unusual feature. If your garden will have a theme, each feature should compliment the idea. For example, your walkway might be constructed of bamboo for an Oriental theme.

Your garden pond, whether large or small, might be made less ordinary with a special stone bridge or an usual type of plant to ornament it—an Amazon lily pad, for instance. Garden bridges may be as simple as large flat stones bobbing up over the water’s surface to a formal painted and lacquered structure with room for a table and chairs. Garden walls may be installed along the property lines or simply to divide the patio from the rest of the yard. Consider a garden wall with openings throughout for plants to weave through and around.

Garden accessories or props run the gamut from rustic to formal. If you want to install props that are less typical than the wooden wishing well and the white trellis, you will have little trouble finding creative garden accents. Scour local flea markets for plant supports, containers and anything made or that may be adapted to withstand the outdoors. Old wine racks can be transformed into elegant plant stands. Wrought iron pieces of furniture will work in any style garden. If you want to adapt what you have, terracotta pots can be painted or embellished with simple decorative finishes for any look you desire.

Your plantings can also transform your garden into a one-of-a-kind landscape. Instead of a neat hedgerow, consider planting a small garden maze with a center for a special feature like a chalice well or statue. Instead of a plain square bed of flowers, consider installing a flower clock or flag comprised of different colorful plants. Pleached features, topiaries and other strategically pruned plants will certainly draw attention to areas of your landscape. Fill containers and window boxes with plants not seldom seen there—but may be grown there easily enough. One sees geraniums and petunias aplenty. Consider other plants for a change.

Check out some gardening history books for ideas to help make your setting less usual and more a standout. By taking time to design your garden with unique features, you may find more fulfillment there and want to spend more time gardening than ever. You may even inspire your neighbors to design their own unusual gardens.