When our search for garden ornaments began, we discovered they fell into two categories: fat plaster ducks and crouching dwarfs, or marble fountains and pieces of statuary with high price tags.

The first group didnt appeal, the second was far too expensive. It was a case of getting along without ornaments or joining the “do it yourselves” we chose the latter.

Our first effort was a table made from a large tree stump and a piece of flagstone. The stump was cut off at ground level and placed under a tree, then the flagstone was cemented to its top. It proved to be a “conversation piece” when friends gathered around it during the hot summer evenings and doubles as a bird feeder all winter.

Later on two big wagon wheels came our way via a farm auction. These were set upright between rose beds and an old-fashioned rose planted in front of each. If you try this, dont use climbers, in less than two years they will be a tangled mass with nowhere to go but out on the lawn and the wheels will be invisible.

In the center of the garden we made a round bed for about eight bushes and some ground covers where we “feature” plants off and on. I think now planting some more permanent ground covers would have been a better choice, something with a more continuous and abundant bloom.

A heavy piece of driftwood was set upright in the middle of the bed and a sundial screwed to its top. Several years ago sundials were advertised in quite a few magazines. I havent noticed any for sale lately and its too bad, every garden should have one.

When father made a “wishing well,” using weathered boards for the base and old shakes for the top for a non profit group he once belonged to. It was carefully hauled to their BBQ’s and events like that, and set up near the entrance with a note tacked to its side asking visitors to “drop a coin and make a wish.”

The resulting nickels, dimes and quarters, went into the organization’s treasury. Two years was all the wishing well could take, so its sagging top was straightened, loose boards nailed back in place and it now stands proudly in his old-fashioned garden.

A birdbath was put close enough to a crepe myrtle bush/tree. The birds flock to the area all summer long. I think they feel sheltered and protected by the tree. Birdbaths can be purchased very reasonably at most garden centers and big box stores.