Cool Decks

Use small sculptures, grouped collections and interesting found objects to create still-life-type groupings (figure C). Ideally, position your arrangements where you can see and enjoy them from indoors. Display a garden sculpture or old watering can with a group of containers, for example. Or, arrange a collection of favorite items — driftwood, rocks, old garden tools or frog sculptures — to create a still-life display that expresses your interests and personality.

Topiaries also are great for decorating any garden space. Look for ones created with English ivy (Hedera helix), a hardy herb or a clipped evergreen shrub.

Consider decorating chairs or other deck furniture with small bouquets of foliage and seedheads, wreaths of cut greens, ornamental grasses, bunches of herbs or branches of fall leaves. Make table arrangements with small colorful containers planted with sedums or hens-and-chicks, and add other interesting objects, such as blown-glass balls, small sculptures or other collectibles, to create a table decoration that's colorful right into winter (figure D). Tiny white lights strung on deck railings or trellises, as well as over plants in containers, add a festive air to any outdoor space. Or, hang plants with ornaments that attract and feed birds. Candles in hurricanes or lanterns make a deck look magical, even if it's too cold to go outdoors.

(A former publications director for the American Horticultural Society and managing editor of garden books for Rodale Press, Barbara Ellis is the author of Deckscaping (Storey, 2002) and Shady Retreats (Storey, 2003) and is currently completing a book on ground covers. She lives and gardens on Maryland's Eastern Shore.)