Tips for Choosing Garden Pieces of Art

Host Rebecca Kolls toured the gardens of two neighbors who take an artist’s approach to designing their gardens. Their passions are planted throughout the pathways.

One neighbor, David, is an antique dealer who had some advice for choosing pieces of art for the garden. He acquired some cobblestone from the streets of Minneapolis to make the whole garden feel like it had been there forever. A gentleman had advertised that he was selling the cobblestone in the newspaper classified ads. Other places to look for treasures include local antique stores, estate sales, flea markets and auctions.

A resounding theme is to buy things you love, not just things to put in the garden. Neighbor Barbara echoes that sentiment. Her garden is heavily influenced by her interest in the Native American medicine wheel. The tradition varies from country to country, but basically it is laid out in four directions. The objects that reside in Barbara’s backyard were discovered during her travels, given as gifts or depict the history of her home.

When asked what her garden means to her, Barbara replied, "It's very much a reflection of home for me, and home is where I've always wanted to be, and there's a sense of safety and being in my natural element when I'm in this place."