Of course, plants are essential. No one would disagree with that! However, there is another element that makes a good garden. Arguably underrated but most assuredly subjective. That element is the Accessories, i.e. the design embellishments, garden decor, those finishing touches.
It’s something I’ve only come to appreciate myself, very recently, and why I felt certain gardens (including my own) felt a little flat, even sterile. It’s only when I was visiting other gardens, the penny finally dropped: It’s good to add character!
In a recent Instagram poll I asked whether my followers accessorise their gardens and 30% said no. Hopefully, if this article will help change that.
Many newbie gardeners’ initial focus is very much on the greenery and understandably so. I’ve been there! Plant shopping can be so addictive it should probably carry a public health warning. Or at least a bank account warning when your app detects you’ve entered the proverbial Aladdin’s Cave! Let's not mention the allure of those new shiny tools!!
Aspirational lush green lawns, shapely shrubs, blossoming trees, and an endless range of gorgeous flowering perennials all seem so much more important, more alluring than anything else. However, just as a home is more than simply rooms and furniture, so a garden is more than spaces and plants. To my mind, the best gardens encompass planting, structure, layout and vistas, but crucially the use of materials, focal points and embellishments, either subtly or theatrically.
The Arts & Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century championed the use of local materials, skilfully employed to create beautiful, engaging gardens, generally on a smaller scale. Inspiration and ideas abound for our own gardens in the 21st century.
If you’re unfamiliar with Arts & Crafts gardens, make it your mission to find them and visit them. York Gate on the outskirts of Leeds, Yorkshire is one of the very finest examples, with everything from path materials to pruning styles sparking wonder and amazement.
There are great gardens around the United Kingdom that take ‘garden decor’ to unsurpassed realms with the jaw-dropping application of classical architecture and sculpture. I am, of course, talking about the celebrated gardens of Hidcote and Sissinghurst, but especially Iford Manor (near Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire), originally designed by Harold Peto.
There, statues and architectural relics from antiquity are juxtaposed with ancient wisterias and understated water features, culminating in a truly inspiring sense of theatre, in the most magical setting. Unquestionably, one of my absolute favourite gardens in this country and a must see… although while we’re on the subject, my all time favourite is Great Dixter. No other garden has ‘spoken’ to me quite like Dixter!
Back in our own humble abodes, we can still take inspiration from the grand estates and gardens of great renown. It doesn't have to be priceless stone relics and classical statues. Plant pots, benches, the material underfoot, steps, walls, gateways, doorways, gardening paraphernalia, plant supports, obelisks, archways, pergolas, and arbours can all contribute to a sense of style, theatre and/or heritage. It should be personal too. It’s your garden after all and it should reflect you and your own predilections. Avoid the ‘cut and paste’ mentality. Allow yourself time to develop your style. This is where visiting other gardens is so invaluable. You can cherry pick elements that grab your attention, fill your mind with ideas and inspirations, and apply them to your own garden!
In my own garden, harking back to the Arts & Crafts philosophy, we use local Cotswolds gravel throughout to connect all the spaces together. Right from the main gates, through the driveway, around the Kitchen Garden and down the Flower Garden path. In the Cottage Garden, mostly hidden by the yew hedge, there are former railway sleepers still with the nuts and bolts, used as a retaining wall and the garden steps - a nod to the nearby railway town.
Regarding garden decor, there are modest architectural adornments, such as stone balusters and finials. A pair of former pillar-top stone lion ‘guardians’ welcoming you to the front door. Much of the stone garden decor has been generously gifted to us by my partner’s uncle, a lifelong stonemason. It’s wonderful to be able to acknowledge his skill and include that heritage in our garden. Originally destined for the Oxford Colleges and many grand houses around the country, these gems didn't make the highest grade. If he hadn’t preserved them, it’s likely they would have been pulverised or scrapped.
However, to me, they look truly magnificent in our modest garden surrounded by plants, enjoyed by us and the local birdlife. Stone balusters, that would have adorned stately balconies and terraces, are used as rather posh bird tables and whimsical side-tables, just wide enough for a single cuppa or a icy G&T. The largest balusters support stone finials that we found at Frome Reclamation. They’re rather more grand and act as strong verticals either side of the Garden Terrace steps as you drop down into the Flower Garden.
As much as I appreciate garden decor in the warmer months, they're even more valued in the winter, when all else has faded apart from the evergreen topiary. During these stark months of perpetual grey, occasionally punctuated by frost, the stonework, benches, and structure still give you that interest. Something structural, yet beautiful to look out upon, during those dreary cold and miserable days!
Pausing on the Terrace Garden, one regret is that when we built the terrace in 2016 we used an imported sandstone rather than sourcing something locally, but this also came down to a question of cost and practicality. Besides, we were not the gardeners we are today and didn’t even consider such things. But that’s ok. It takes time to find your style and settle on designs and themes. That’s why I’m a gardener and not a garden designer. My gardens are constantly evolving, usually a very long way from those initial, slightly wooly, layout drawings.
Garden decor around the garden
On Instagram my garden is probably most widely known for the Courtyard Garden a.k.a. the White Garden. Perhaps because it is relatively small, with the scope and style easily applied to small gardens everywhere. Sited in the sunny corner of our gravel driveway, comprised entirely from containers, there are over 40 vintage galvanised buckets, boilers, baths, tanks, troughs, and Dolly tubs. The most important word there is ‘vintage’.
Recycling an assortment of old galvanised containers helps give the Courtyard Garden a sense of age and heritage. Somehow, there is alchemy between the containers and the plants giving the impression that they have always been there. As a side-note, I feel exactly the same way about certain those self-seeding pioneering plants like Erigeron, Aquilegia, Hardy Geraniums, Verbena bonariensis, and Hollyhocks. They tend to find a home in the gaps between paving slabs and steps, or popping up in the gravel or edges of borders, conveying an impression of a long-established garden. Something that should be encouraged, albeit with a gentle editing.
Vintage white metal Love Seat on terrace
White Lutyens-style bench in Flower Garden
Cottage Garden white metal bench
Bright white benches are used as convenient focal points and they’re all modest purchases. Our Lutyens-style white benches are flat-packed from Wayfair. The small white loveseat was a bargain from a local vintage dealer. The white Cottage Garden bench and Courtyard Garden bistro set are from mainstream garden centres. They've just been allowed to age without worrying about a little rust, just for that shabby chic patina.
Speaking of focal points, the latest addition is a traditional beehive based on the classic design from the 1800s, but with bright white sides and a slate gabled roof. It will, no doubt, be moved from border to border and garden to garden, before it finds its place. This is a great example of garden decor, because: It’s fun and theatrical; Handmade with care; Makes a great focal point; Reflects our tastes and personalities. If you didn’t know, my partner is absolutely besotted with bees and almost all my ornamental planting decisions have bees in mind.
How do you source these materials, garden decor, and vintage elements without familial connections to stonemasonry, for example? For hard landscaping materials, really look around your local area. What are the buildings made from? What is the history of your town? Could you take inspiration from these? Builders merchants carry a vast range of materials these days, just like the Cotswolds buff gravel we use. It could be cobbles and flint for paths, or brick pavers in a herringbone design.
For the decor, try any of the following: Salvage and reclamation dealers; Vintage and antique dealers; Car boots sales; Auctions and house clearances. The majority of our galvanised planters were sourced from a single dealer who has a steady supply from France. While others were bought from local vintage dealers or dealers found on Instagram.
Although it is definitely worth buying ‘vintage galvanised’ (because modern fabrications are paper thin and rust through in a year and are, quite frankly, a total rip-off), you don’t need everything to be vintage or antique. Sometimes the cost is prohibitive, especially when you look at metal benches and furniture. For example, original Victorian Coalbrookdale benches sell for £££ thousands! Genuine antique teak Lutyens benches are over £1,000 too.
So compromises need to be made. We settled on a pair of teak Bramblecrest Lutyens-style benches from Burford Garden Company about ten years ago and they’ve just been allowed to ‘grey’ with age, gathering a little natural lichen beautification! A characterful vintage metal Love Seat from the 70s for under £100 as opposed to the Victorian cast iron original costing several hundred £££. I love the fact that very few of our benches match. Yes, there are two pairs of matching Lutyens-style benches, but the rest are a complete mishmash.
My final thought… As autumn gives way to winter and we’re ushered indoors by weather and darkness, it is the perfect time to assess your garden and see how you can develop its character. Visit open gardens while you can and see how they use materials, garden decor and focal points. Then, set yourself a budget and research reputable salvage and vintage dealers. You don’t need to (shouldn’t) buy everything at once. Add a little every year and edit as you go. If something no longer makes you smile, then it’s time to sell it on, or give it away.
A garden is never finished. It’s always growing and evolving. As all living entities should.
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