If you want your home to be set apart from your neighbors it might be time to consider garden décor.   While foundation plantings and a few trees will keep your home looking nice, unique garden décor gives it a creative edge and great curb appeal. 

No matter what look you have chosen for your house and yard, there is décor to compliment it.  Many times you can create eye catching items from items that you either have or can find easily and cheaply at garage sales and thrift shops.  In the past few years home and garden magazines have featured gardens with things like broken china as borders, vintage teacups made into bird feeders, and vintage Radio Flyer wagons integrated into a garden area. There are hundreds of items that you can use, and the best thing about it is that you will be recycling items that would otherwise be thrown away.

• If you happen to have an old bicycle that can’t be restored park it in the middle of a garden. Plant flowers around it and add a basket to the handlebars or the back. Plant more flowers in the basket for a whimsical garden decoration.
• Set an old bucket on its side. Plant flowers as if they were spilling out of the bucket. You can also use a clay pot.
• A small well, or wishing well can look charming in a cottage type garden.
• Gazing balls are interesting bursts of color when set amongst the flowers.
• Fountains and statuary are perfect in formal type gardens.
• Pull an old, red wagon into the garden bed. Drill a few drainage holes in the body of the wagon, fill with potting soil, and plant colorful bedding plants in it.
• Bird houses make practical garden décor. Birds eat many garden pests over the course of a day and encouraging them in the garden is a natural way to control pests. The houses come in every style from rustic to Victorian and you are sure to find one that compliments your décor.
• Create a night garden with white flowers and dramatic lighting. It may not look impressive during the day but at night it will be stunning.
• Gnomes are back in style. Tuck gnomes in unexpected places around the garden to add a touch of humor and charm. Don’t like gnomes? Try a flamingo.

Your garden décor should match the style of your home.  If you have a southwestern style then you should consider a more rustic décor than if you have a cottage style.  Don’t stop with coordinating décor and home, though.  You should consider the color and design of your home when you are planning your garden. 

Like any other type of decorating you should try to keep the garden with the same scale and lines as the house.  If the house if fairly low to the ground, like a bungalow for example, they your garden should reflect that look.  You will want to have horizontal lines in the planting and the garden décor, without a lot of tall, vertical lines.

Adding garden décor can take your home from dull to daring for pennies.  With some imagination and a little time you can have an interesting and effective landscape.