As I’ve mentioned, I’m deep into my end-of-season garden assessment. This week I’m thinking about the little “accents” (or . . . tchotchkes) in my garden!

Assessment, Part 4: Accents

Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of . . . accents . . . that I place here and there in my garden. I think it adds a personal “touch” — and a pop of color and whimsy. It’s easy to get carried away with accents. If you have too many – or even too many in just one space – it detracts from a garden. I’m confident that my accents aren’t “too much” (luckily I have a large garden areas spread out over my entire yard, so they can handle a bit of whimsy), but I do like to assess them at the end of the season so I can remember what worked and what I liked best.

Some of the things I place in my garden are special little things that are meaningful to me. Like the stone and little red bird in the photo above. The little red bird was one of my mom’s favorite accents from her own garden, and I love having it in my “mom garden” (a little bed I fill with my mom’s favorite flowers every year). Or the “Jenny stone” and miniature hostas I planted near my tiny pond. (You may remember that Jenny loved hanging out in hostas). Or even just a silly little faded gnome that one of the kids gave me for Mother’s Day long ago (purchased at Walgreens . . . with love).

             

Some of the things in my garden are part of “collections” I’ve been building for years. Like my suns . . .

             

             

Some of the accents in my garden are there simply because they add a needed pop of color. Like this new windsock I hung on my pergola this year (a new favorite thing, for sure) . . . or yellow pots of red geraniums at my front door. The little blue owl is new to my garden this year, too — and it always reminds me of Erin, who loves owls. I also have several garden flags in my garden . . . just for fun.

             

             

Some things are in my garden purely for the zen.

             

             

Some of the things in my garden are structural. Colorful cushions on the little chairs on my narrow front porch. My brightly (spray) painted garden structures. New side tables on my patio and front porch. The wine bottle border on my herb garden/foundation bed. A rain chain hanging on my pergola.

               

               

There’s . . . stuff . . . everywhere in my garden. It’s fun. It’s colorful. It’s important to me. And it’s another way I can bring my garden to life.

             

And there you have it: Assessment 4 in the books. Big takeaways?

  • I’m really happy that I took the time to spray paint my garden structures this spring. It was a lot of work — but they looked fresh — and really did add a wonderful sense of whimsy and colorful pops to my garden.
  • The new windsock brought me much joy.
  • Even thought my “mom memorial” stone is covered with flowering plants for most of the season, I always love knowing the stone and red bird are under there . . . somewhere.
  • The colorful cushions on my front porch chairs really brightened things up and added a nice little punch to the front.
  • The blue owl brought my herb garden to life! My herb garden really struggled to take hold initially this year. (Too much water. . . we had a alot of rain early in the summer.) But the blue owl brought the good juju and has earned a place in my herb garden from now on.
  • The wine bottle border is several years old now, and can use some refurbishment next year. (That one goes on Tom’s to-do list. . . )
  • I think my balance of accents . . . was just about perfect this year. I was generally pleased.