Spring cleaning isn't just for shoe closets and windows. Most people's backyards and gardens could use a good decluttering, too.
The same basic design principles that lead to striking interiors make for beautiful gardens.
Allan Becker, a garden designer from Montreal, says the style and proportion of so-called "hard objects," including ornaments, furniture and containers, need to fit the mood and scale of the garden.
Pergolas, fountains and sculptures add architectural dimension to flower beds. They serve as visual exclamation points, or act as buffers. A bird bath, for instance, is a perfect element for filling the empty visual space between flowers and fence.
But, like too many tchotchkes in the living room, they can stifle a garden's style and spirit when overused. In their zeal to beautify their gardens, many gardeners make the mistake of overstuffing.
In her list of no-nos, Margaret Roach, a former editor at Martha Stewart magazine, includes gnomes, wishing wells and lions, "especially in plastic." Her garden blog, awaytogarden.com,also discourages white plastic furniture, red-dyed mulch and gravel or decorative lava rock.
Becker, who writes his own blog (allanbecker-gardenguru. square-space.com),says decorating a garden is a matter of personal taste. Some people think garden gnomes are cute. Others like "found art" -- recycled objects such as old kettles or kiddie wagons -- tucked in among their nasturtiums.
But Becker says too much stuff just ends up looking like junk. "You shouldn't have too much out there," he says. "Before you buy any ornamental object for the garden, study its style and spirit." Joe Swift, the British garden designer and author, says the crispest, most stylish gardens stick to a restrained palette. They rely on simple geometry and carefully edited plant selections and materials. The number of colours in the flowers and the decor are kept to a minimum to avoid looking "fussy."
"A common mistake is to try to make the most of the space by cramming it with 'features' such as pots and water fountains," Swift writes in his book, Joe's Urban Garden Handbook. Be "ruthless and picky" about garden decoration, he warns. Don't haul things out from the attic or the garage and plunk them into the garden. Don't make impulsive purchases. Here are a few design basics for planning, or rethinking, the "hardware" in the garden:
- Don't use more than one ornamental object as a focal point in each garden area. That means a single bird bath in a flower bed, or a sculpture. But not both. Two identical objects, such as flower-planted urns, flanking a path or entrance, would also work.
- Choose a style and stick to it. A rustic garden can handle recycled objects, Becker says, but a manicured garden can't. Neither can a minimalist garden.
- Limit the colour palette. Choose containers and ornaments in tones that blend with the surroundings, including the house's brick, paving stones and windows, shutters and doors.
- Place ornaments off-centre. To create visual interest, keep things asymmetrical.
- Camouflage. Use temporary screening, such as rolls or panels of willow, hazel or bamboo, to block off unsightly views or divert the eye from "major negatives," such as the neighbour's peeling garage wall. It's inexpensive and easy to install.
- Repeat yourself. Repetition and simplicity in the choice of materials and plants create a powerful and tranquil mood, Swift says. Suspend a row of three lanterns from the balcony.
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