Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Whimsy in the Garden...This ain't your Mama's Flower Bed!
Whimsy…the first time I ever heard that word was in a job interview. It was the summer before my son would be going into 2nd grade, and I was applying for the position of "Media Paraprofessional" at his elementary school. Media Paraprofessional is a fancy way of saying I was applying to work as the assistant to the school Librarian, i.e., Media Specialist.
As I was standing up to leave at the close of the interview, the Media Specialist looked at me and said, "I like you, you have whimsy!" I didn’t have a clue what she meant at the time, but I shook her hand and thanked her anyway. Later, after we had been working together for a few weeks, I asked what she meant that day. She said she knew she liked me the moment we met because I was wearing a nice "interview" suit with a belt that was covered in colorful animals. Hey, it was the early 90's and I was styling! Who knew a belt could help you get a job! (LOL)
One of the online dictionaries defines whimsy as:
1. capricious humor or disposition; extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression
2. an odd or fanciful notion
I can't think of a better place for a bit of "capricious humor" or "extravagant, fanciful or excessively playful expression" than in the garden! Here's 12 fabulous ways to add a bit of whimsy to your garden:
As I was standing up to leave at the close of the interview, the Media Specialist looked at me and said, "I like you, you have whimsy!" I didn’t have a clue what she meant at the time, but I shook her hand and thanked her anyway. Later, after we had been working together for a few weeks, I asked what she meant that day. She said she knew she liked me the moment we met because I was wearing a nice "interview" suit with a belt that was covered in colorful animals. Hey, it was the early 90's and I was styling! Who knew a belt could help you get a job! (LOL)
One of the online dictionaries defines whimsy as:
1. capricious humor or disposition; extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression
2. an odd or fanciful notion
I can't think of a better place for a bit of "capricious humor" or "extravagant, fanciful or excessively playful expression" than in the garden! Here's 12 fabulous ways to add a bit of whimsy to your garden:
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "flower bed" doesn't it? Whimsy can sometimes be hard to define, but if you're like me, you know it when you see it. This is what whimsy on steroids looks like...and I LOVE it!
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Whoever said "garden sculpture" had to be serious? Ok, maybe this is more along the lines of garden art, than garden sculpture. Now, tell me a blue cow in the garden doesn't make you smile?! |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
If blue cows just aren't your thing, how about a whimsical collection of birdhouses for your cottage garden? Grouping similar objects/collections together will have a much bigger impact than one standing alone in the garden.
| Dining outdoors under the glow of a candlelier most definitely feels a little "extravagant" and "fanciful." Add a blue/purple picnic table and a colorful floral arrangement and your guest will know this is where fun lives! |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Every garden needs a gargoyle on guard. (Try saying that 3 times fast!) They are said to keep the evil spirits away...although it looks like this guy is sleeping on the job. Did you know that the word, "gargoyle" originally meant any figure of an animal or person that was installed on a building to function as a water spout or rain gutter? It comes from the French word "gargouille", which means "throat." Gargoyle sounds like "gurgle" the sound water makes when rushing through the open mouth of a gargoyle water spout. Pretty neat, huh?
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I can't think of anything more whimisical in the garden than a bottle tree. They are more typically seen in the Southern garden and are really beautiful when the sun sets them ablaze.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Think color when looking for ways to add whimsy to your landscape. Garden seating painted in a bright, cheerful color will brighten up any shady area in need of some fun.
Tempt your guest (and yourself) to an impromptu game of hopscotch. I don't think I could walk down this path on the way to that lovely reflecting pool without reliving childhood memories of hopping on one foot over chalk-covered sidewalks.
Take a walk on the wild side...plant a big, colorful wildflower garden. You'll have cuttings to bring inside all summer long!
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Garden globes are always fanciful, no matter if they are lolling on the ground, floating in a fountain or perched several feet in the air as a gazing globe in a Victorian styled garden. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Don't you just love this fanciful mosaic wall! Placed near a sidewalk or the edge of a front lawn, it will be enjoyed by all who pass by. |
| It may not be "The Masters," but what golfer wouldn't enjoy this bit of fun in their own back yard?! :-) |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| After a day spent golfing, I think it's time to call it a night. Come rest your weary head on a pillow of red petunias, snuggled down under a blanket of 'Homestead Purple' verbena.
Have you incorporated a bit of whimsy into your summer garden? :-) |
Ideabook updated on Nov. 2, 2010.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
Also, I LOVE bottle trees. Some friends of mine just attended Doo-Nanny in Alabama and they had some great pics of one. Let me see if I can find one and share...
I am looking for idea's of a half circle little garden in a cond town bugalow. My husband is ill so he cannot do to much,It is just for puttering about ,but so that it will look nice.
I have little time since when I have a moment free I will be painting( artist).
Thank you,
Lida van Bers
I love the blue cow!!!!!
Brenda