Gardeners can be divided into two categories, according to Graham Rose in his book, The Classic Garden (Summit Books, Simon & Schuster Inc., 1989). First are those who see only the plants. These gardeners are the collectors and enthusiasts for
whom the built garden is but a frame for anything and
everything containing chlorophyll. Rose acknowledges the importance of these plant fanatics in preserving and furthering the rare and unusual species for future gardeners.
He also notes, “But, in truth, their gardens are frequently a mess.” These “just one more” gardens soon outgrow orderly planting plans and bed arrangements. Pathways get narrower and eventually disappear completely
until the only effective garden tools are a chainsaw and flamethrower.
The second group are those gardeners who see plants as one important garden element, equal to such features as pots and containers, exterior furniture, pathways and paving, outdoors structures (including fences) and
sculpture. They follow in the tradition of centuries past when imported plant materials were simply not available.
The exterior environment relied on manmade
objects to catch the eye’s attention as much as on the limited plant pallet of a few native species. Western garden history has an extensive tradition supporting this second set of gardener.
The age-old urge of garden creators to borrow, commandeer and steal antique objects tempers our gardens with allusions to past glories and decorative triumphs. Roman villas, European renaissance gardens and industrial age English estates (those dizzy pack rat nests of garden collectors) have forged the garden templates for our use in the 21st century.
BRINGING THEM HOME
We incorporate artifacts from other times and cultures with passion. J. Paul Getty recreated a Pompeian villa and garden overlooking the Pacific Ocean to house his collections of art, antiques and sculpture. Similarly, the Gulf Coast gardener might have a clipped bay tree planted in an antique oil jar to remind him or her of a vacation in Provence. The vast sheared parterres of a languid chateau in the Loire could be condensed and reinterpreted as a square of finetextured boxwood surrounding an antique bronze sundial.
Each garden has a spot for a carefully chosen garden ornament. Also to be considered is the existing context when making placement decisions and what
amendments may be needed. A segment of antique iron fencing or elaborate wrought-iron gate would be pointless placed at a dead end where no passerby
might enjoy it. Many of the new inner-city townhouses and condominiums have seemingly endless expanses of fencing and masonry walls where such a fanciful hand-forged piece could be suspended. Viewed through a window or when coming through an exterior door would be ideal. Then, look at what might be planted to tie your new addition to its site. Tightly cropped fig ivy or airy climbing asparagus fern reaching for the sunlight provide a frame while visually anchoring such an iron
fragment to the existing garden.
You may fall in love with an antique (or well-executed
reproduction) garden seat. Authentic antique garden furniture is scarce and breathtakingly expensive. New castings, in patinated aluminum, will withstand our humid climate or poolside chlorine vapors longer than the originals.
Also consider that 19th century wrought-iron furniture is not scaled for 20th century bodies. These pieces are really more ornamental, rather than practical. If your find is an iron love seat of more aesthetic than monetary value, it can be sandblasted free of rust and sealed to minimize future oxidization.
Architectural fragments easily are nestled into most garden settings. Column capitols, gas light fixtures, zinc and lead finials, plinths and fragments of imposing pediments allude to their original place and time. (New Orleans has long been a source for these remnants, less so since Katrina. Many antique dealers have since moved to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.) Italian garden designers and architects during the 15th and 16th centuries were famous, or notorious, depending on point of reference, for the incorporation of plundered statuary into their garden rooms. Roman Emperor Hadrian’s ruined villas were gleaned by the de Medici and their minions. Newer villas and palaces around Florence, Rome and the Veneto still are awash in loot from Rome’s golden age.
The Houston gardener is more likely to find garden antiquities of a more recent vintage. A collection of 19th century zinc finials might be placed in front of an awkward fence. After the fence is given a harmonious wash of color, the individual pieces become a unified, more important element in the garden.
The Mediterranean countries still yield fragments to accessorize the Gulf Coast garden. Antique limestone wellheads and fountains can be beautifully integrated into a new or renovated garden. With the addition
of a small recirculating pump, the splash and sparkle of moving water will soothe daily stress, mask the hum of air conditioners and autos and draw birds and wildlife. Most like-minded gardeners enjoy the softening mossy
effect of algae that will cling to stone or lead fountains.
If keeping your fountain pristine is high on your list, treat the water with one of the additives specially made for use in decorative fountains. Swimming pool chlorine will rapidly destroy a pump and any other metal parts. Much of the joy in having these antiques is their aged look; however, it’s often what you are paying for. Consider carefully before scrubbing.
FUTURE FRIENDS
Younger gardeners sometimes have a more lighthearted outlook when pursuing antiques and ornaments, one that gardening veterans may have outgrown. Also, gardeners with conceptual contemporary gardens may grind their teeth at the thought of traditional garden antiques. Solemn antiquities and modern classics can be combined to create the “mellow madness” seen in Jane Owen’s Eccentric Gardens (Villard Books, Random House, 1990). In it are many detailed photographs revealing the serious nature of garden whimsicality.
So, how about the addition of an antique-in-waiting? Mid-century cultural artifacts bring a different, and yet still powerful, depth to these gardens as well as the more traditional suburban landscape. Hamburger wielding Big Boys or stainless steel grids that in a past life punctuated open-concept floor plans are just begging for re-adaptation. The bold modern touch of a future antique can bring a needed jolt of man-made contrast to the boundless horticultural excess of Houston gardens.
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This month’s Exterior Design section is contributed by Mike Gibson and Susan Fischer, A.S.L.A., licensed landscape architects with the design-build firm of Fischer Scalles Inc. Ms. Fischer serves on the board of directors of Urban Harvest, a community garden and orchard program.
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