Imagine a garden filled with beauty and unexpected treasures!  Many SCV gardens that I visit have lovely plants and flowers, but they lack character.  There is a way to bring the beauty and design style from inside the home, to the outdoor space.  In fact I encourage you to do so!

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Flea market finds make the perfect accent for garden decorating.  Flea market shopping has become the number one pastime in the United States. Not only can you find better prices than in retail stores,but you have a wonderful opportunity to add history and patina to a new garden.  Here are items I regularly find at the Rose Bowl Flea market for my design projects.

Antiques in the Garden

1. Old Wood Ladder -Possibly bring my ladder from the garden
2. Old iron gate
3. Shutters mounted onto the wall or set in the dirt
4. Column to hold potted plant
5. Statuary
6. Sundials
7. Armillary
8. Birdbaths
9. Architectural elements such as finials and obelisks

The orange shutters in my garden (photo left) create a lovely vignette.  I placed the shutters propped against the stone wall surrounding my property, and dug a ditch in the dirt to anchor them.

In front of the shutters, I placed a lovely garden statuary and a potted plant.  On the shutters, hanging from a rope is the lovely tin “Life” piece of art.  This creates a nice focal point in the garden and draws the eye upward from the plants, emphasizing the vertical element in the garden.

Use your imagination, choose items that inspire you and reflect your design style.

Don’t want to go it alone?  Call me to create it for you!

Tami Smight Interiors, a full-service interior design firm, has been gracing southern California homes with warm, accessible designs since 2004.

As a certified professional interior designer, Tami Smight shares expert design tips, tricks and trends in her column. Check out her articles in our SCV “Your Home Inside And Out” section.