Why do artful objects - such as sculptures, architectural artifacts, and birdbaths - have such an impact in the landscape?  Like adding jewelry to a little black dress, or a few bright pillows to a tired sofa, art and ornamentation improve the garden's composition.

  Garden decor should provide delight, but it shouldn't compete with your plants.  A well-placed sculpture adds to, rather than detracts from, the border's appearance.  Precious objects displayed side by side with foliage and flowers or partially hidden amoung the stems and branches of a favorite plant  - give a garden its personality.  They also communicate volumes about the gardener's own tastes and style.
  While there is no right or wrong in something as subjective and personal as choosing artwork for your garden, the general rules of scale and proportion, placement and balance, and harmonious composition are useful guidelines.

   Think of scale as the "heft" of materials, shapes, and forms, especially as your garden relates to your home.  Evaluate your home's architecture and use it as a guide to selecting related artwork and ornaments.  For example, a Victorian-style home is often feminine in feeling, finished with delicate millwork and detailed trim.  A contemporary home may be more geometric and massive, with a presence tha overwhelms the landscape.
   Each of these styles requires compatible ornamentation in the garden.  A trellis with latticework for the Victorian garden, while a beefy arbor makes sense for a contemporary home.
   Don't choose garden art that gets dwarfed by the scale of your home.Proportion is a close relative to scale.  A single cherub appears lonely and out of proportion in a woodland garden, but a pair of cherubs, perched on twin rocks at different levels, conveys a definite sense of presence.  If you love antique birdcages, but its to small for your perennial border, place it on a 2 foot pedestal.  Or use a favorite technique of interior designers:  Group like-minded smaller objects together to fill a larger space.  This works well with garden pots, animal statues, or ornamental garden spheres.

   Where you place artowrk says volumes about its role in the landscape.  A blue glazed, ceramic garden pot, like the one show above, might be fine at the bottom of your porch steps, but looks fantastic when placed in a border at the perimeter of your garden, posed against dark green shrubs.
   As you stand in the garden, use your eye as a guide.  What earns your notice?  Is it a bare spot underneath a 15 foot Japanese maple?  Why not place an Asian-inspired lantern at its base?
   As in fashion and fine art, balance can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, depending upon the mood and style of your garden.  Formal gardens usually call for symmetrical touches.  Flank the beginning of a pathway with two colums, inviting visitors to further explore the garden's delight.   As with anything creative, this approach is subjective.  It's what your eye sees and what pleases you that matters.

   Returning to the idea of accessorizing that little black dress, remember: Once you think you've designed the perfect outfit, take one thing away.
   Smart design calls for a dose of restraint. Take a walk through your garden and look for clutter you can eliminate.  Where can you take away a distracting piece of art and instead let the surrounding plantings sing their song.  Strive to add extraordinary pieces to your garden and take away objects that don't distinquish themselves.  There is certainly room for kitsch, but it's placed in a special place where it fits.  Give your garden an air of sophistication, a sense of harmony, and a touch of restraint.  Allow some objects to take center stage, with others in a supporting role.

Well-placed objects will enhance your garden's beauty and reflect your personal style.

Many pool area's are lacking when it comes to landscaping and potted plants surrounding them.  Most have a medium deck space, patio table with chairs and a lounge chair or two.  Quite often the plant materials are sparse and many times non-existent.

In many cases, what is lacking are colorful flowers, fragrance from fruit trees or bushes, warmth from grass or ground cover and/or privacy from trees and tall shrubs.  Put it all together, in a nice well planned design and it frames the pool view and softens the deck surrounding it.