We've all seen the unfortunate instances where garden decorations have gone horribly wrong, but done with a light hand a whimsical imagination, well-placed paper lanterns, delicate candels or -dare I say it- a charming antique gnome, can fournish a relaxing and ecelctic atmosphere.      

Personally i do like SOME garden figurines, but i do tend to be on the minimalist side of things. I like things that look natural in the environment, or that have functionality like solar lighting and bird baths. I have driven by some properties that suffer from OVERKILL! Id hate to mow that lawn... and I certainly wouldn't be able to relax... which is why i garden.  These items do have their place in personaliziing the space, but too much is just too much!

I'm not a big fan of too many garden decorations, but sometimes if they have a purpose in the design, or tell a story, they can be quite interesting. Basically as long as their are not in my garden, I don't mind :)

I think that you can use garden decorations in a tasteful way, if you get the right ones for your home's style, and you know when enough is enough. A long as there is not too many, and no corney ones such as a tombstone that says "here lies the last neighbour that let his dog pee on my lawn", they can be pretty ballin'.

I like to see a bit of whimsy in the garden. I also agree that one can overdo it to the extreme.

It's like anything in design - things are either done tastefully and to complement the interior design in order for the outside room to flow with the design direction of the interior or everything looks like the dog's breakfast, as it were!  Just as a side note, I am leading the charge to outlaw such discriminatory outside junk as the black stable boy and the dwarfs that some use without consideration to those for whom these are insulting.  As the mother of a wonderful young woman who just happens to have been born with achondroplasia (skeletal dwarfism), I find these abominations to be totally out of place in modern society.

I'm personally sick of those clay toads.  Who thinks those are attractive, really??

Where can I purchase the travelocity gnome?  I want to add him to my collection.  Definitely CUTE!!!!!!

The gnome truly has earned a place in the garden if for no other reason than a tongue-in-cheek way of showing the world that you do not take yourself too seriously.

The thing that definitely has NO place in the garden are the dreaded wind chimes!!! If you own 25 acres of land or have neighbours that are deaf then maybe, but since I have never heard any that even remotely replicate a sound that would naturally occur in nature - and even if I did - not a sound that I would want to hear repeatedly over and over again - especially at 3 a.m. then I feel they should be banned!

It seems that as soon as the weather gets nice and I can finally open my windows and catch a breeze  at night ...someone in the neighbourhood puts the chimes in their garden...closes their windows...cranks their air conditioning ...and leaves the rest of us to deal with the noise!

WOW that was cleansing!

Tasteful garden accessories, used sparingly is ok. I hate when people have complete sets out front or use garish colours in their accessories. I've seen these wire dragon flies in a neighbours yard, about 4 scattered randomly and they look charming. I hate the gnomes and the toads though. Isn't the beauty of your garden enough, why do people feel the need to go overboard.

In general - too much of anything is 'too much' but the noisemakers - whether windchimes or cutting/wacking/chopping equipment takes away the much desired 'peace in the garden' that city dwellers don't seem to get.  Unfortunately, there is no unity, so those mowers go off in sequence with no letup, twice a week.We go 'out back' for privacy' and get inundated with noisy unsightly 'stuff'.  Have a heart!

 Better yet - anyone got an acre to sell (:>)

                                      MARIE

Cute

But don't over do it.

Think HOME STAGING when placing your garden decorations!

Question:  Do you know where I could get the "Lady bending over in Polka Dot Bloomers"?  I think it's a hoot and would like to get one for garden.  thx/dh

Question:  Do you know where I could get the "Lady bending over in Polka Dot Bloomers"?  I think it's a hoot and would like to get one for garden.  thx/dh

Great site...keep up the good work.

Cool site, love the info.