Garden Ornaments

I have always planted flowers, for many years, but the older I have gotten I love seeing full blown garden landscapes. Seeing beautiful borders with blooms and stone, vegetable gardens thriving among the flower beds with various ornaments throughout. Making the old new again and how the flowers come back each year, it's something that I love dearly.

Some very dear friends of mine, the Baggett family, have always inspired my love of landscape. My lovely friend, the late Sharon Baggett, who was a Master Gardener, along with her husband Jeff, took an ordinary backyard in anywhere America and transformed the mundane into the extraordinary. This took many years of painstaking work and planning, but the results are stunning.

Along a stone path leading to the pond, the Baggett's placed an antique metal headboard from an ancient bed frame, to serve as a handrail. They planted a gorgeous flowering vine called a Cypress Vine that has crept up and throughout the antique ornamentation. The end result has been simply astounding. The tiny red blooms of the vine have taken over. Lined with a simple string of lights, this lovely display looks pretty by day and ethereal by night.

Over to the left of the path are the beautiful Angel Trumpet vines. Several of these were simply planted in the ground and left to grow. The end result are these hearty and gorgeous flowers rolling over the landscape. Looking quite dreamy, this is the path that leads you to the focal point of the entire garden, the Koi pond.

The pond is extraordinary to say the least. Large, flat river stones make up the path and area all around the pond, placed over pea gravel, to create a natural walking area to enjoy the beauty. Gold and white Koi swim leisurely while the small waterfall rushes.

Banana trees dot the landscape, truly giving an air of the exotic. Strategically placed plants add to the relaxed feel of the garden, such as the velvety Cockscomb next to the pond that gives just the right amount of color to the landscape. Bird feeders hang here and there. Adding an old antique tractor seat to one of the feeders just adds to the rustic feel.

Going to the Baggett family garden always inspires me. And each time I am able to go visit, something is added or different from the last time to give me a steady source of inspiration. Obviously we can't all have paradise in our backyard, but small changes can have a huge impact on your outdoor space. I already have a small list going of things I will be adding to my garden next season! I hope this post has inspired you too. Happy planting!