Green Lake gardeners may be many things (“quirky”, “zealous”, and “over-the-top” come to mind right off), but we are anything but boring.
This street-side topiary dares you not to crack a smile
A Gallery of Green Lake Creativity
Draw some inspiration from your fellow Green Lake Gardeners who let their personalities shine through their gardens.
This N 81 Street gardener has pushed this gothic theme to the hilt.
A more playful fantasy reigns a few blocks east on N 85th Street.
Mosaic Walk N 76 Street - Creativity in secondary spaces makes small moments more fun
This Adirondack chair brightens the cloudiest day
Whether your taste runs to gnomes or grottos, garden ornaments can add year-round structure, focus, or a dash of color and fun to your garden’s personality. But if you go for a theme, say it loud– one gnome can look lost, but ten looks like a party!
Garden troll at a Japanese futon and breakfast on Bainbridge.
Where to begin? Look below to find clues to your garden style.
Garden Style-Finder:
- If it’s classical elegance you seek, a bronze crane gracing your koi pond will do nicely. Design Icons: Beatrix Farrand, Gertrude Jekyll, Thomas Jefferson, Russell Page, and (it must be said) Martha Stewart…Local Inspiration: Woodland Park Rose Garden.
Woodland Park Rose Garden
- If funk is more your flavor, make your own garden art – cover some pots, urns or stepping- stones with a mosaic of pebbles, shells or smashed ceramic; build benches from salvaged architectural materials. Designer Icons: Rebecca Cole, Keeyla Meadows, and Little & Lewis. Local Inspiration: Fremont.
Handmade ornaments create a Seussical fantasy in sculptors Little and Lewis' famed former garden on Bainbridge Island - (courtesy www.littleandlewis.com)
Color runs riot in the euphoric home garden of artist Keeyla Meadows
- Looking for an old-fashioned, down-home welcome? Nothing says ‘country’ like a planted-up boot, bathtub or wheelbarrow. Let layers of paint peel through on the furniture – it adds character! Designer Icons: Tasha Tudor and Celia Thaxter. Local Inspiration: Phinney Ridge Farmer’s Market.
Bed from Vermont
- Fancy some ironic postmodernism? Plant a raised bed (ideally made of stainless steel or carved out of a Noguchi table) with Astroturf, and fill with plastic flowers, flamingos, or the Archie McPhee items of your choice. Designer Icons: Diarmuid Gavin and Martha Schwartz. Local Inspiration: Olympic Sculpture Park.
Diarmuid Gavin
- Nature-lovers should create ornaments from stone and wood. Think: what would Frodo put in his garden? Make your arbor from willow or grapevine cuttings, turn a millstone into a fountain, make a boulder into a bench and let moss have its way with it. Designer Icons: Piet Oudolf, Ken Druse, and Patrick Chassé.
Paint
Paint makes a quick, changeable, contribution to a theme. Garden writer Sydney Eddison repaints her patio set to match a new theme and mood each year, usually inspired by a favorite textile or painting. One year the mood is Marimekko, the next Monet. Ultimately, your garden can be your personal, everchanging canvas – the possibilities are endless.
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Read more about gardening in Green Lake.
Read more My Green Lake articles written by Erica Browne Grivas, freelance journalist for hire.
