by CHRIS REID
It’s early Sunday morning. Still sleepy, a little bleary eyed, you shuffle outside to get the newspaper. You glance over at the neighbor’s house and see two hot pink flamingos on the lawn. You rub your eyes and look again. Either you had one too many wine coolers last night or your friend and neighbor has just become a card carrying member of the garden art club.
People may have different ideas of what constitutes yard art, but most would probably agree that garden ornaments can inspire, comfort, amuse, entertain or perhaps do a little of all those things. Decorating the yard and garden with different kinds of objects is a great way to express one’s personality and creativity. What’s really appealing is that anyone can do it on almost any budget, and – this is the fun part – almost anything goes. Besides setting out things like pink plastic flamingos, which first popped up in yards around 1957, people display statues of saints, angels, gazing balls, animal figures and much more in their yard.
Soulful and blue
One popular way to decorate a garden, especially in the South, is to create a bottle tree, also known as poor man’s stained glass. Bottle trees are created when glass bottles, usually blue, are slipped over the upraised branches of a dead tree. When it’s described like that, it doesn’t sound too attractive, does it? But if you’ve ever seen one, you know that bottle trees can be both soulful and charming in the garden, as well as fun and adventurous.
It’s generally thought that bottle trees originated in Africa in the ninth century, but, according to garden writer and designer Felder Rushing, the history actually goes back much further. After the invention of glass during the Bronze age, hollow glass bottles started appearing around 1600 B.C. in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In the years that followed, people began to believe that spirits lived in bottles, probably because of the sounds made when wind blew over the bottle’s opening. This led to the idea of bottle imps and genies.
Folklore dictated that hanging glass bottles outdoors would trap evil spirits during the night and then the spirits would be destroyed by the morning light. This belief carried down into Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe and then on to America through stories carried by Africans brought over as slaves. Why were so many of the trees made with blue bottles? One theory is that people thought spirits were attracted to the color blue. Other people felt the color had healing properties. Regardless, most would agree that cobalt blue bottle trees are beautiful in the sunlight.
Warding off witches
A more formal garden ornament is the gazing ball. Hand-blown, the reflective, colorful glass globes were often placed on pedestals in front of gardens. It’s believed that gazing balls were first made in 13th-century Venice, Italy. While they may have been considered just decorative at first, at some point, people began to think that gazing balls would repel or ward off witches and other evil spirits. Who knows, maybe that myth was thought up by an enterprising Venetian who wanted to sell more glass! Later on, in America, it played a different role in the antebellum South. A strategically placed gazing ball in the front garden allowed the homeowner on the veranda a chance to see who was calling before the visitor could see them. This gave the owner time to prepare refreshments or to hide, whichever was deemed appropriate.
Whimsical imps
And then there’s the garden gnome, the sometimes stern, sometimes loveable-looking little figure who brings whimsy, humor and, it is hoped, good luck to your garden. While gnome-like characters were in German stories and fables years before, many feel that sculptor Philip Griebel of Graefenroda, a community in central Germany, was one of the first to make garden gnomes on a large scale in the late 1800s. It’s believed that the look of Griebel’s ceramic gnomes were inspired by local miners who had a small stature and wore rough work clothes, heavy shoes and red peaked caps. Even after all these years, Griebel’s company is still manufacturing gnomes today. Talk about gnomes bringing luck!
Reduce, reuse …
Besides purchasing garden decorations, you can also recycle items, as with the bottle tree, and make unique art for your yard. Things like old bicycles, window frames and wooden chairs can make interesting structures for morning glory vines, ivies and clematis to clamber over. Another fun project is to take an old metal bed frame and plant roses where the mattress would be to make a real “bed of roses.” Or, make a unique edging by placing old bottles of coordinating colors upside down all along the border of the garden.
Those with an artistic bent can create their own garden art from scratch. By using hypertufa, a recipe that usually includes peat moss, Portland cement and vermiculite, you can create things like stepping stones, sculptures, bird baths and more. Things made out of the lightweight material have a weathered, rustic look, perfect for a garden.
You can create your own garden art, you can use recycled items or you can buy things to help give personality, warmth and meaning to your garden. And don’t forget the pink flamingos. It’ll make you the talk of the neighborhood!
Chris Reid operates Reid’s Nursery east of Uhland.
