Paint Your Garden Western
Photography: Timothy Thimmes
After many hours spent planning, seeding, and tilling a mountain yard, my thoughts turn toward the challenge of decorating it. Adding one’s own personal signature—be it with an old bench, a bird bath or colorful pots—can dress up even a postage-stamp size garden. While classic urns and formal sculpture don’t seem to fit into the Utah landscape, there are unlimited numbers of relics, found objects and sculptures that will truly paint your garden “Western.”
Whether it’s a rescued wooden chair, a battered wheelbarrow spilling a profusion of plants or a uniquely shaped piece of wood found on a mountain hike, a simple garden ornament tells a story. When planning a mountain garden, landscape designers like to include garden ornaments to add interest to what is often lamented as a short growing season. Catherine Blais of Mountainscape Design notes that while Park City’s native plants and wildflowers are uniquely spectacular with an intensity of color rarely experienced at lower altitudes, the right prop, such as a mining cart filled with flowers, crowns the end result. A cast iron bird bath, a bronze deer or elk, or a life-sized artist’s moose from Park City’s famous arts auction a few years ago also sets the mood for a Western garden, signaling the owner’s love of wildlife.
Chairs made of branches or rustic wood and hollowed-out tree trunks can serve as seating or places to set plants. The patina of old painted wood might bear little resemblance to its original state, but its weathered condition adds charm to its rough appearance. While old trellises are hard to find, new ones can be aged by applying a wash of concentrated colorless wood preservative in water mixed with paint (recipes can be found in various garden books).
Gardens are forgiving … a great concept to remember when you don’t quite know what to do with that less than first-class carved decoy or bronze figure that somehow made its way into your living room. Such indoor ‘mistakes’ can appear absolutely inspired in the right nook of the garden.
“Utility, utility, utility” can be thought of as a useful phrase to remember when decorating a Western garden. There is nothing as eye-catching as a group of watering cans—both new and old—lined up against a shed (vintage examples abound in local flea markets, and a growing number of manufacturers produce new designs with an old-fashioned look). The same can be said for old farm implements, homemade brooms and mining relics. While colorful pots are always welcome additions to patios and gardens, odd objects such as an old bathtub, a milk can or a pair of worn cowboy boots add a sense of whimsy. Other creative containers include whiskey barrels sliced in half, old metal fire buckets and wooden fruit boxes that were once shipped with their wares to grocery shops and wholesalers. Even old mining lanterns can illuminate the evening garden while at the same time evoking Park City’s mining heritage. Since most objects can easily be carried to a sunnier or shadier spot at a moment’s notice, you don’t have to wait for a new season to change the look of your garden.
Remember, a garden accent can be large, too. A greenhouse, gazebo, chicken coop or potting shed anchors a garden to the landscape. A modest garden shed can be given new life with a color wash paint finish.
For a vegetable garden, a scarecrow is a must—whether he’s dressed in faded overalls or chaps and cowboy hat—this jaunty watchman of the summer not only performs a job but also imparts an old-fashioned ambience. Step back in time with large wagon wheels planted with herbs, separating varieties by the spokes of the wheel. Don’t forget garden markers to designate which variety of vegetable is planted where! Rather than using a seed packet stuck on top of a stick, look for the many attractive markers available at our town farmers’ market or create your own from any number of materials that will stand up to wind and rain. Many vegetable gardens are bordered by rough-hewn fences, creating boundaries and privacy. When used to support sunflowers and hollyhocks, weathered gray wood fences that might have surrounded pioneer gardens are as Western as their barbed wire counterparts.
The best garden ornaments imbue a sense of place. As Jolie McTavish, president of the Park City Garden Club, notes, “What sets Park City gardens apart is the way relics from our mining and skiing history are lovingly incorporated as landscape features.”
Wendy Lavitt tends her garden in Park City.When she is not obsessing over seed catalogues, she lectures and writes for various magazines.
Where to find decorative relics
• Architectural salvage yards
• Flea markets – such as the bi-summer antiques shows outside Park City’s Radisson Hotel
• Farm auctions – look in newspaper Classified sections
• Country antique shops – such as Midway’s Mercantile (99 East Main Street, Midway)
• Garden nurseries such as Park City Nursery (Corner of Bear HollowDrive and Hwy. 224)
• Art Galleries — in Park City’s historic district, try the Phoenix Gallery (508 Main Street) for fine sculpture and whimsical garden pieces.
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