How to Incorporate Art In the Garden

About 20 years ago when my husband and I were new to Pasadena we went to see the newly renovated gardens of the Norton Simon Museum. If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend a visit. Nancy Goslee Power designed it to reflect the essence of Monet’s garden in Giverny, and it was spectacular. It still is. Her elegant use of sculptural art throughout the garden is masterful and adds a depth and magnificence to what might otherwise be simply a beautiful garden.

It made me think. While it makes obvious sense to incorporate art in the garden of a museum, would it not be as powerful to do so in the garden at home? It may seem out of reach and something for only the wealthiest clientele. But shouldn’t art be accessible to the average homeowner as well?

I would say yes. But rather than hearing from me, I thought it might be more meaningful to read about art and it’s place in the garden from one of my longest clients, a dear friend and accomplished Ceramic artist based in Pasadena, Joan G. Aebi.

Joan G. Aebi

interview with the artist

NCR: Joan, how did it happen that you first began to bring your pottery into the garden?

JGA: The first thing I did was the “chard pile” which, if you make a lot of ceramics, you have a lot of things that don’t turn out very well. You get a nice sense of satisfaction when you have a piece that you thought was going to be great and it turned out Ucky instead—you take it and slam it into the ground and it breaks apart. You get a real charge out of that!

From the beginning, long before we worked together on her design, Joan began throwing her discarded sculptures into a pile in the front yard of her house at the base of a massive and ancient Deodar Cedar. Thousands of broken pieces of pottery stretched out in a 15′ radius beyond the base of the tree making a fascinating understory—a uniquely artful yet accidental interpretation of mulch.

One of the hands you can find near the chard pile

JGA: The other thing is that at that time I was doing a lot of people and casting people in clay. So I had chests, backs, and hands and faces, and I would throw them in there. Then the neighborhood kids started going through and and say “Oh my god! There’s a hand!” so they started going through and looking for treasures.

The other thing is that’s amazing about it is the stuff sinks into the ground. With as much stuff as I’ve put in there you’d think that the pile would be really high but it just sinks in.

Deodars can grow in a variety of soils as long as they have good drainage. In this case, with so much clay going into the soil water from the irrigation and rains goes into the pile and becomes absorbed by the clay. Slowly, over time, the moisture is released into the soil below creating an unlikely symbiotic relationship with the tree.

NCR: You also had some totem poles out there before we worked together on your design.

JGA: I had a friend who was making some outdoor sculptures and I got the idea of making totem poles and I really liked the idea of, you know, sort of staking up the different types of pots that you could stack and make these totem poles.

NCR: Did you those pieces start with the intention of being used for the totem poles or did you select ones that you had already made and thought they would work for this application?

JGA: Both. I started by using pieces that I had made and stacking them and then I would say I need a top to this and how am I gonna do it? After a while it really became that I was making a totem pole.

NCR: When I saw your artwork I just knew that it had a place in the garden and as much as we could use we should incorporate it in there. I don’t know if that was your intention for your sculptures.

One of many “people pots” placed throughout the garden

JGA: It really wasn’t. But as with some of my ceramics you end up with so many more pieces than you know what to do with so this was a great way of dealing with it. And they work. They belong. I hadn’t really used any of the people pots outside. That was you. That was great. I mean I love it that they’re out there. They’re not real refined so they really work well in the feeling of a garden where things happen in a free flowing sort of way.

NCR: It seems like art in the garden is a really personal choice. What do you think about how others might be able to incorporate art in the garden?

JGA: It depends on the person and what they want to do. I think that the garden is a great place to display art. Especially ceramics because ceramics can stand up to being outside. Particularly things that are high fired will work well. Metal also works. I think it’s wonderful to have these unique pieces in the garden.

Also, if you have something that can take the weather, put treasures in the garden! That can be art for the garden! Whatever! But treasures should go in the garden, just like artwork. It makes it personal. These bits of who you are make a personal statement rather than standard “garden art”. And your garden is so much more special with it.

Check out our post Garden Art: Found Items for more ideas on this!

Finding your own art

One of the main take-aways from our conversation is that art, however you define it, gives you a means of expressing your own true self. And this applies even in the garden.
Joan is an artist, so she has a wealth of opportunity to use her own pieces to enhance her outdoor spaces. But you don’t have to be the artist to bring art into the garden. You only need to know what you love. Here are some suggestions on how to find something magical while incorporating art in the garden.

Resources

. Contact your local Arts Organization. In Pasadena, Armory Center for the Arts is a great resource for you to discover and connect with the local art community.
. Contact your local matal’s guild, or pottery studio where you might also discover an artist you love
. Consider using treasures you have or one’s you’ve found and bring them into the garden in an artful way (Contact us if you need help with that)
. For art in the garden, you will want to stick with durable materials that can withstand the elements: metal, pottery, concrete, and glass are the four best choices.
. Stay away from plastics at all costs!
. Wood can be amazing but it weathers and rots. To keep it looking good it should be sealed and never placed directly in or on soil

San Francisco episode of HGTV’s The Outdoor Room – with Jamie Durie. Jamie along with the other contractors all added their own custom art pieces to the garden.

GARDEN ART: Found Items

Do you find that there are some things in your life that you just can’t let go of? I’m not being esoteric here. I mean “things”. Like “stuff”. Maybe it’s an old chair with busted springs or a jewelry box you’ve had as long as you can remember. Maybe it’s even jewelry. We all have treasures that aren’t so much treasures as much as they are objects that have inspired and created memories for us.

For me it was some of my grandmother’s old teacups. She was a bold, brassy British woman that stood at a towering 4’9”. She was bossy, and silly, and would break out into a song and dance, whenever the mood struck her—an ‘old ditty’ always at the ready. In her twilight years, as she became more subdued, it seemed that the only thing that brought her comfort was a nice, hot cup of tea. I inherited several of her cups and although I never became much of a tea drinker myself, I simply couldn’t let them go.

One day I was trying in earnest to cull our overflowing boxes of “things”. So many tea cups and not a cupboard to put them in. I noticed that I had a few small succulents that hadn’t been planted yet when it dawned on me. They were just the perfect size! I didn’t need to throw out the memories. I simply needed to redefine them to fit into my world. Now they’re not just Nanna’s old things, they’re a wonderful memory of a great lady, brightening my kitchen window.

And we can do so much more!

THE INSPIRATION

We often think of the garden as a serious place. A proper place. It is a place for well curated plants, clipped just so. There is nice furniture, that belongs on a patio. It is to be enjoyed in the proper way (you can add a stuffy British accent there for effect if you like).

As a professional landscape designer, I will say “Yes, but…” This may all true but if you want to really transform a garden, make it into not only a beautiful horticultural experience, but a deeply personal space to be enjoyed, I’d like to give you permission—no, I’d like to strongly encourage you—to color outside of the lines a little.

Years ago when my son was very small, we used to go to the newly opened Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena, a lively and creative space for children to learn and play. I had started my own landscape design business about 3 or 4 years prior, and was still looking for my voice in the field of design.

One day at the museum, my son and I were playing around in the amphitheater—he was working on climbing from one tier to another as I sat on a curved concrete bench watching. Suddenly and simultaneously, both of our attention became hyper-focused on the concrete itself. He began grasping and prying at what turned out to be little Hot Wheels cars embedded in the concrete.

I was intrigued. I had heard of people using different types of rocks and pebbles in concrete but this was entirely different. And what a great idea! Why not add something unique into the concrete to make it personal? Records, Leggos. How about the favorite dish set that was ruined when a couple were broken? Or, throw in some nails and wood screws. Suddenly, what was plain, dull concrete becomes an element of focus and a personal reflection of the owner. So many possibilities.

Courtesy of Kidspace Children’s Museum

APPLICATION

Even if you’re not working on a project that includes concrete, you can still insert a little something unique—a little “you”—into the garden. A good friend has bowling balls in his garden! When he and his wife bought their house there were a few in the garden, not so much a design choice. Perhaps an, “I don’t know what to do with these things” situation. Rolling forward a few years, they added one or two more, and soon a friend, children’s singer-songwriter Dave Kinnoin became smitten with the idea of it. Soon he was a bowling ball benefactor, even penning a short poem about his contribution and taping it to the ball. They now have 25 in the garden. How great is that?! Bowling balls can be plain or exotic and beautiful, but the story and the memories attached to them add untold depth and enjoyment to their whole garden.

Bowling balls and teacups are a great start and here are more examples to consider:

  • Motorcycle helmets (clear out the foam padding first)
  • An old tube t.v. (convert into a planter by removing the glass screen and innards)
  • A chair where the seat has been replaced with plants
  • An old tool box turned planter
  • A converted vanity
  • A wheelbarrow
  • Empty wine bottles, different colors
  • An old guitar, piano or other hallow musical instrument

Pro-design tips and cautions

Before you start putting stuff out in the garden, willy nilly, let’s go over a few pointers in design and logistics:

DESIGN

  • Place small items in areas along a walking path with very low growing plants so they will be discovered.
  • Larger items have a little more flexibility and can be placed in and amid plants that have varying sizes.
  • If the item is tall or angular it will work nicely with weepy and flowing types of plants.
  • Be judicious on the quantity of items you use. One, odd item in the garden will seem like an accident. Two items, well, I’m sort of opposed to even numbers (too matchy-matchy). Three or five is great when you triangulate them through the garden.
  • Don’t add too many pieces (“too many” will depend on the size of your garden, so use your best judgement). The idea is to have a garden which expresses a playfulness and whimsy, not one that looks like an outside junk yard.

LOGISTICS

  • Plastic will degrade, fade, and turn into powder. Don’t use it!
  • Wood, if you want the object to stay in it’s present condition, should be treated and protected first. Sometimes, however, the process of decay and weathering over time, is part of it’s unique beauty. Just know that wood directly on soil or directly exposed to water, snow or sun will decay more rapidly. You can place wooden objects on some kind of paver to keep it off the soil, just be sure to level and compact the soil first to avoid uneven and unwanted settling.
  • Metal is great but know its properties. Copper looks better and better over time as it patinas (green staining). Steel will rust. Stainless steel will remain unchanged.
  • Ceramic and glass is fine.

Wrapping up

Keep in mind once these found and unique treasures are incorporated into the garden space, they become part of the cacophony of the garden. That is to say they must be cared for, just as you would care for the plants. Make sure to occasionally go out and check in on these items. Look for things like mud splatter, bird droppings or plants that have grown over and obscured them from view. To reiterate, we want them to look intentional, not discarded.

I believe that a garden is an expression of who you are as a person. Whether I’m playing around in my own garden or designing for someone else, part of my “process” is to really get into the head of who’s garden I’m working on and to bring their unique personality and perspective into their outdoor living room. In this way, the garden is a place to feel at home, and a place to share with others a small piece of who you are.