Whimsy in the Garden-Design Workshop

I love whimsy in my garden. Some might call it the 'redneck' or 'tacky' factor in my garden, but all will without a doubt get a kick out of the little touches. There is nothing more pleasant than someone laughing in a garden, even if it is at themselves because I have fooled them in some small way such as what happened with the yucca tulips. The following pictures show a bit of whimsy and all have stories associated with them in one way or another; which makes the whimsy even more whimsical!

My mother got me a bunch of these ceramic signs to place in my garden. I strategically placed this one next to my front door as a hint. Though no one has gotten the hint yet!
Bottle trees are the funnest. Here is a close up of mine. It is in a visible location from the house and I love looking at it all times of the day. A few folks think bottle trees are the best-no watering required!

This sign was found for a mere $10 at the Nashville Flea Market. Mr. Fix-it kindly mounted it above his garage door. I love the color and the wording and the history it must have behind it. I have been to New Orleans a few times and Bourbon Street in particular. All trips have been special and I have good memories of Bourbon Street, so its wording is ideal in my garden. This sign is also visible from the house.

And even I will admit this could be construed as a bit rednecky, right up there with toliets in the yard-shhhh-you didn't hear me say that! My goldfish pond is doing well though I did lose five huge goldfish to an unknown predator, I still have two left.

Lastly, I will leave you with some bowling whimsy. And no! I never owned a bowling alley but used to be an EXCELLENT bowler as a teenager. I still love to bowl, but that is not why bowling gear is in my garden. I like the bowling balls, shoes and pins because they wear well and fit in well with my garden-and they are colorful! Here you see three green bowling balls suspended. They have withstood all sorts of weather for about one year and look great.

Here is my bowling ball garden. These bowling balls serve a functional purpose more than just a decorative purpose, though the decoration of the great color is what I love. They actually line this garden and help slow down water run off into this little rain garden and further down the slope to a natural stream on my neighbor's property. A local bowling alley kindly gave me these balls. Sure helps the landfills, don't you think? All I had to do was haul them off.

I found this bowling pin fella at a flea market. I like him mainly because he ties in with my bowling balls and the bowling shoes. The bowling shoes were given to me by the same local bowling alley. I have filled the three pairs with different types of sedum.

There is more whimsy in my garden, but this is taste and probably about all I want to show right now. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks to Gardening Gone Wild for coming up with these design workshops. They really make me think and help give a direction for a monthly post. I also must add in a link and thanks to Aunt Debbi/Kurt's Mom in Texas for encouraging bloggers to share some whimsy in their gardens.

in the garden....smiling but not bowling-yet.