I’m a daisy kind of girl…and every home we’ve ever lived in, my husband plants them for me.

This spring he built me this arbor because he knows how I love to be outside with our plants…and it was easier and less expensive than the full size shed I requested!

While plants are the most important part of any garden, I am a big believer that we shouldn’t forget the garden art!

I found these metal flowers at the Marketplace on Locust years ago and they have been a happy addition to my garden ever since. When Fall leaves us every year and we head into the winter months, I typically take up all my yard art and store it until the following Spring. When I bring it out again, the decorating of my yard brings another delight to my soul before all the plants begin to awake from their winter rest.

I want to show you not only the new pieces I have added the past several years but hopefully also encourage you to think of your yard spaces as an extension of your personality and your home decor.

Let’s take a look!

As morning breaks, before the fog has completely lifted, I wander into the yard to see what the morning holds for me there.

How delighted I am to see the cleome (spider plant) has burst into beauty overnight!

As I stroll the trail around our home to the back yard, I stop at various locations to see what activity the evening before may have produced. On the downstairs deck where I have a fair amount of enamelware I notice that a bird has built its nest overnight!

And that leads me to show you my downstairs deck…

I believe your outdoor spaces should be extensions of your interior spaces. With that in mind, I like to incorporate both practical and beautiful pieces. Here I used the rugs from my shop space at the Marketplace on Locust and added two rockers that I purchased at Habitat Restore years ago with the intention of selling them in my booth space. When I got them home, my husband and I fell in love with them so we immediately gave them a good home.

I’m not really a purposeful collector but I’m realizing that I’m accumulating certain things in bulk! Enamelware is one of those things! I do use these pitchers to water my plants and to display the flowers I cut and bring inside. The washtub was my Nanny’s which I inherited along with her love for art and the outdoors. It hangs here ready to be taken down and put into use when our tomatoes begin to ripen!

Occasionally I find something goofy and whimsical to add. This frog definitely fit the bill! Propped alongside the antique chair and vining plant, it brings a smile to my face every time I see it. The watering can, also my Nanny’s, is perfect for sprinkling my potted plants and hanging baskets. The insulators were collected from my daughter-in-law’s grandma and from antique shops that my sister and I stumbled into on our sister trips. I used them as tea lights at our son’s wedding and then just could not part with them! I love to see the sunlight filter through them at day’s end.

This proud sign was the very first I ever made. Hanging inside the antique sieve, it can also hold insulators! The walking sticks were hand carved by my husband and are at the ready as we head out to the woods for a walk.

Don’t forget your hidden spaces! Again, this amazing chair was a Habitat find and I thought it would be perfect in my shade garden as a perching place after a day in the sun. But when I got it home and ordered cushions for it, it found a better perch as an addition to our downstairs porch! That means I am still on the hunt for the perfect addition for my shade garden!

So as you gather the plants this year that will beautify your yard for many more years to come, consider finding and bringing home at least one piece of yard art to add to the beauty of your outdoor spaces!

Until next time –

~Blessings,

Connie