15 Ideas to Steal for Your Garden

There is no law that says you can’t be inspired by what others are doing

Pablo Picasso said something to the essence of , “ Bad creative person imitate . Great artists steal . ” The same quote is often attributed to Igor Stravinsky and T. S. Eliot . Whoever said it , the other artists stole the citation , almost as if to try out its point . The same sentiment has been echoed by such creative hoi polloi as David Bowie , Steve Jobs , and Quentin Tarantino .

Wegardenersknow this idea well . After all , is n’t that why we go on garden hitch and read gardening cartridge holder ? All the thing you want to know to make your garden amazing are most likely already being done in someone else ’s garden . So here are some coolheaded ideas to take home to your garden , and if anybody complains , just quote Picasso . Or Stravinsky .

1. Use Furniture as a Focal Point

Often , acontainerplanting or a plant withamazing foliageor flowers is the focal point of a view — that matter that draws your eye and tailor everything around it . But those take upkeep or enlarge and diminish with the seasons . article of furniture , on the other hand , requires almost no maintenance and is always there . Plus , it hints of a place to stay , beckon visitors onward .

2. Let your Hardscape Loosen up

The unattackable , purely defined lines ofhardscapenaturally counterpoint with promiscuous rude plantings , which is great . But your stone walkway can have a personality that is less “ librarian ” and more “ surfer dude . ” This laid - back path is a stark complement to the planting that it wind through . Everything is irregular , from the edges to the flesh and pattern , and it reach the mood just right for roving , or meandering , or whatever you need , gentleman’s gentleman .

3. Use Nontraditional Materials

I hump a big , beautiful flat piece of patrician stone , but it is n’t the only stuff you may use for a way . Gravel is another coarse option , but here we see apath of little Stone , the size you normally toss aside , set into howitzer and gradually giving way to rows of colored glass bottles . The optic pattern they create turn the path into something you desire to look at rather than just walk on . I ca n’t avail but question , though , if the trash is tricky when wet .

4. Break up a Sea of Foliage

Elevating this ‘ Great Expectations’hosta(Hosta‘Great Expectations ’ , USDA Hardiness Zones 3 - 9 ) give it swelling , creating a focal point in a sea of interesting foliage . The shape and stylus of the container matter , too . Because it is straightforward , the container cater a unattackable Zen of contrast to the scene . Its formal fashion set in a naturalistic setting indicates the hand of an creative person create a scene rather than Nature pleasingly arranging itself .

5. Think Small

This lilliputian container has a span of estimate worth stealing . First , emphasize strong shapes . The circular bay window — what is it , an army - size paella pan?—sets the theme , and the circle of round thymes verify it .

secondly , adding enclose moments of a different conception manner , be it courtly ( as this is ) , realistic , Asian , or modern , is a great way to enliven your garden and your creativity .

6. Draw Attention to a Cool Combination

I ca n’t help but see a pair of big depressed fluffy carpet slipper on the feet of the penny-pinching - legged coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea‘Kim ’s Knee High ’ , Zones 3 - 9 ) . But the point is that small moments or combinations can be lost when they are in a bed wall by other plants . When you have a pair this double-dyed , bring it out of the bed to give it the tending it deserve .

7. Remember, a Room is a Room

You do n’t have to lose the comfort of your living room just because you want to be outside . And similar design rule apply . Two cozy rock chairs in front of the fireplace , coloured walls adorned with graphics , throw pillows that add dashes of colouration — are the same component that make a successful indoor elbow room . What is even better is that you are skirt by plants that pick up and tote up to the colors of your outside living way .

8. Put Old Tools to Work

This one is as simple as it is charming . Take four old prick ( the duller the good ) , tend them together , and bind them with string . Now you have the perfect treillage for clematis like ‘ The President ’ ( Clematis‘The President ’ , Zones 4 - 9 ) or ‘ Guernsey Cream ’ ( Clematis‘Guernsey Cream ’ , zone 4 - 9 ) .

9. Save your Bottles

Glass tote up an unbeatable texture to the garden , and it is more long-lived than you might intend . it can be used in itinerary , as inch , and even as a sorting of keep wall . As if you needed a understanding to open another bottle .

10. Let Plants be the Hardscape

Why build up ( or hire someone to work up ) a typical arbour or summerhouse ? This protection is still made out of wood — living Ellen Price Wood , the kind we gardeners like . A lilliputian tending to pruning and weaving of branches can turn a copse of whitebeam ( Sorbus aria , Zones 5 - 8) into the perfect ceiling for a seating domain . beechwood ( Fagusspp . and cvs . , Zones 3 - 9 ) are also suited to this kind of thing .

11. Give Yourself a Place to Rest

With all the body of work you put into your garden , you for certain need a place to rest . But you ca n’t just slap a mound anywhere . Give yourself a position that is secluded and shadowy , and surround yourself with cool it plant . Avoid anything with strong colouration or scents in party favor of plant life like grasses that sway quietly in the piece of cake .

Put a Succulent in it

I journey around the land match out garden , and one thing always makes me say , “ What a good estimation ! I could do that . ” It usually boils down to someone putting a crowd of succulents in something . Often , the vessel is some old turn of something from the house that incurred guilt at the mentation of throwing it away . From old boots to frying pans to dresser pants

14,instead of trashing something , inspired gardeners turn it into an opportunity to grow a plant .

Succulents are adaptable to tough situations . They do n’t like to be watered or flow too much . Many of them do n’t mind tightspaces and shallow soil . They are fascinating to look at . And , should you kill a few , they can be refreshingly cheap . A planting shelf on a gem paries

15,is certainly a place that dries out quickly and could use a big dose of pizzaz . succulent are up to the Book of Job . The shuttlecock who live in the house with the short fleeceable ceiling

12,certainly appreciate ( I would bear ) the cooling it allow for . And the terra - cotta pipes arranged on an slant

13,make an impingement on their own , but when they are overflowing with succulent , the effect is hyperbolize .

All of these undertaking are within the reach of the average nurseryman ( well , maybe not the stone shelf thing ) and are easily adaptable to the climate . Terra cotta would crack for me in winter , but perhaps alloy could work , keeping the succulents in a footling sens inside the pipe so they can come in for winter . What a undecomposed idea ! I could do that .

Steve Aitken is the editor program .

exposure : Michelle Gervais ; Richard Bloom ; Marianne Majerus / Marianne Majerus Garden Images ; Stephanie Fagan ; Jerry Pavia

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