## Making Your Yard An Artful Garden# by: Charlie Thigpen## Charlie Thigpen’s Garden Gallery## at Pepper Place
**Your yard should be an extension of your home.** When you buy a house you are also paying for the yard so why not utilize it? A yard is just the property surrounding your house, but a garden can be made within these boundaries, making your home more valuable and usable. Create a landscape that will enhance your home’s appearance but will also make functional outdoor spaces or rooms. These could be play areas for the children, outdoor dining areas or resting spots like an outdoor “den” where you can go outside to unplug, read or relax.
**clockwise from top:** Fountains are always a luxurious touch and have an immediate calming effect. These unique concrete seats are an inviting element to guests. This funky chartreuse colored bistro table set is both unique and practical, and perfect for outdoor entertaining.
### *Front and Center*Strategically set out flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials for bright spots of color around your front entrance. Colorful pots next to your front door will draw guests up to your entryway and will show that your home is cared for. Change these plants throughout the year to embrace the seasons or holidays. Also, make sure whenever possible that your planters are located close to a water source so you wont have to drag a hose too far.### *Focus*With specific plantings, you can create focal points or enhance views within the landscape. For instance, if you have an attractive birdbath outside your kitchen window, plant a few flowers around it to enhance the site. When using flowering plants try to restrain yourself and don’t plant too many colors, which might look chaotic. Use the same few colors throughout the landscape for repetition.### *Enjoying the Great Outdoors*When the weather is right, there is nothing better than enjoying a fine dinner alfresco. An outdoor dining table may be placed on a deck, patio or a shrub-walled, outdoor room with a pea-gravel floor. This area might be enhanced by the sound of a babbling water feature or beautiful tones of a wind chime. In more rural or wooded areas you can enjoy hearing nature’s symphony of singing birds, crickets or frogs. To brighten these starlit areas set out torches or candles to create a flickering ambiance. ### *A Garden that Reflects You*Inject your personality or look into the landscape. This might be by using items such as architectural artifacts, statuary, garden art or the style or type of planters you select. If you are artsy and like color, you might want brightly glazed pottery. If you are more formal you’ll probably chose classic concrete or cast iron urns. If you are looking for a more modern look you might select cube or clean looking bowl-shaped planters. For a whimsical or shabby chic look you might use an old wheelbarrow or a galvanized pale as a planter. Be bold and go for the look you want. It’s your yard and garden you should feel free to do with it what you please. ### *A Little Maintenance Goes a Long Way*It’s one thing to plant or create a garden, but it’s another thing to maintain it. If you don’t take care of your plantings they will quickly get out of hand. Try to walk through and around your landscape daily or as often as possible and pick up fallen sticks or pull a few weeds. A few minutes of grooming here and there can make a big difference, so working on your landscape isn’t just a Saturday morning burden.
