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Wrought Iron Inspirations for Your Spring Garden

You have probably already starting planning the lavish and distinctive elements for your landscape this year. As you all are well aware, at Marvin Gardens we value the uniqueness of each and every landscape element. Whether a piece is of personal value for you or if it something you handpicked from our shop, distinctive landscape elements enable each of us to unleash a new appreciation for creativity!

One garden element that has always been a favorite of ours is the use of wrought iron in driveways, garden gates, fencing, and other features. The look promotes a bold style that is as classic as it is elegant. Just take a look at these images for some wrought iron inspiration.

What do you think you could do with some of these pieces?

As always, our inventory at Marvin Gardens is constantly changing so be sure to stop to see what unique garden items we currently have available!

Inspired by the Garden Rooms of the Northeast

Here in the Northeastern United States, we have some of the finest, most romantic gardens in all of the country. Our incredible climate gives us the ability to experience each season thoroughly and enjoy its many benefits. As the year continues, we’ve had our eye on some of these beautiful gardens rooms found in the northeast. These “rooms” offer a beautiful garden retreat for its owners while also being able to take in the outdoors surroundings.

As you know, Marvin Gardens provides the garden accessories and landscaping materials to make garden rooms of this nature perfectly unique. If you’d like to recreate your garden into a private garden room, just visit Marvin Gardens for inspiration! We have devised innovative and creative ways to create this sort of environment right in your back yard.

Images via BHG (1-3), Marvin Gardens (4)

Draw Your Interior Inspiration From the Beauty of the Season

Have you already begun dreaming about your holiday décor? When the shops begin stocking their shelves and the temperatures begin to drop (and they certainly have been!) then it’s usually time to start making your plans for holiday decorations that you’d like to use in your home this year. But where will you start? Should you incorporate some kind of theme or just throw it together? Better yet, instead of following a trending theme, consider drawing your interior inspiration from the beauty of the season!

Throughout the winter months, we want your home to continue looking its best, so at Marvin Gardens we offer winter wonderland styled décor that keeps your home stunning well through February. Rather than decorating solely for the holidays, instead decorate for the entire season. This way, you can enjoy the seasonal look even after the holidays have passed.

To take advantage of our fabulous winter décor, hurry in to Marvin Gardens today! Visit Marvin Gardens on Facebook to take a look at our newest pieces of décor.

Preparing Container Plants for Winter

Now that September is here, it’s time again to start preparing our gardens for winter; this includes moving outdoor container plants indoors for the chilly season. While preparing to bring in the container plant, it is critical to make sure your plants are not bringing in any unvisited guests. Outdoors can carry pests and diseases that spread through indoor plants faster than outdoor plants, so don’t convince yourself that you’ll quarantine the plant will treat the problem. The good news is that plants can be easily treatd for pests with natural home remedies.

The simplest way to fill a basin or water with a natural, non-detergent liquid soap, then take the potted plant and fully immerse it into the soapy water. You can leave the plant sitting in the water for up to 3 hours, the soapy solution should force any bugs living out of the soil. Don’t worry this solutions is actually quite good for the plants roots and will the roots nicely hydrated.

Now all you have left is to clean the lefts and flowers; using the same soap solution, mist the plants (you can purchase a new spray bottle from the local dollar or grocery store, but recycling an old spray bottle will just fine too).

Now that you have treated your container plants, you are safe to bring them indoors without fear of bringing any pests as well.

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Beachy Fairfield Bungalow all Greyed Up

Okay, okay. We know we’ve been writing about our favorite color quite a bit lately but we just can’t help it. We love it and we just keep coming across inspiring designs that employ this fabulously chic shade. While perusing Cococozy this morning, we stumbled upon an absolute pearl of a place right here in Fairfield CT that’s accented sweetly with none other than—you guessed it—grey! The home is a quaint seaside cottage designed by Lynn Morgan and is actually a sprawling 5,000 square feet. Filled with white lacquer beadboard and pale bleached furniture, this shingle-style home is a touch beachy, a touch preppy with a hint of modern rolled in as well.

Take a look at some of the images below by photographer Jeff McNamara.

Marvin Gardens would love to hear from you. What do you think about this charming little place? Is your ideas home a quaint cottage or a spacious mansion?

Rooms Inspired by Coco Chanel

In case you missed it, last week was the 128th birthday of French designer, Coco Chanel and while Coco is first and foremost an icon of fashion who revolutionized the little black dress, she has also left her imprint on the interior design world with her famously chic designs. Her own style was more reserved, she tended to pair simple outfits, such as her trademark black suites with great accessories, like pearls. Whether she was designing for the Paris runway or herself, she always designed with real women in mind and made each outfit comfortable and easy to move in, Coco was once quoted as saying, “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Her sophisticated style continues to inspire the fashion and interior design world, so we wanted to demonstrate this by showcasing a few interiors that reflect her impeccable style.

Each of these rooms are simple and tailored without any fuss or mess. What do you think of these Chanel inspired interior designs?

Eleven Shades of Brown!

If you’re a regular reader of the Marvin Gardens blog, you’re probably already familiar with the fact that we have a category called, “Eleven Shades of Grey.” Why, you may ask? Well that’s a completely separate story for another time. But one of the main things that prompted the category’s name was the fact that within every color’s index is an expansive catalog of hues or “shades”. Shades of red. Shades of yellow. Shades of grey. Aside from grey – which, as you can tell, we love – there are so many beautiful neutral and earthy colors that are adequately representative of both the garden and the home. Blues and beiges are great examples. Another wonderful example is the color brown, which also seems to be making a strong comeback in the design world.

From Canadian House & Home:

Brown tones are just so darn classic and versatile, and their earthiness brings warmth to a farmhouse or lends a posh feeling to a penthouse. And yes, I know for many of you classic sophisticates, brown has never left.

London Clay (244) from Farrow & Ball is a muddy brown favorite of mine.

Durango (2137-30) from Benjamin Moore is nice, too.

Above is Michael Penney’s fave: Bittersweet Chocolate (2114-10) from Benjamin Moore.

And how about a timeless fabric?

Photo credits via Canadian House & Home:

1. London Clay (244), Farrow & Ball
2. Durango (2137-30), Benjamin Moore
3. Bittersweet Chocolate (2114-10), Benjamin Moore
4. Imperial Trellis II in Java/Cream (174413), Schumacher

Get on the Ball with a Marvin Gardens Subscription!

Do you like us? Like really, really like us? Well then you should subscribe to our blog if you haven’t done so already! Join the many that already have and opt in to receive our every update in your e-mail inbox! As a subscriber, here’s how it will work: every time we update our blog with a new post, you’ll receive a notification directly in your e-mail with the option to either read the entire post there (great if you’re on the go and just want easy access the blog information) or go to our blog and read that post as well as browse ass Marvin Gardens posts, past and present. It’s as simple as that!

Here’s how to get started:

In the upper right corner of the blog’s homepage is an area that says “Get Posts in E-mail”. Enter your e-mail address in the box right below. One you’ve done so, you’ll receive a verification e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription. After you’ve confirmed, you’re all set and on your way to staying up-to-date on all things Marvin Gardens! So hop to it!

Arrange Containers to Maximize Landscapes

Interested in adding some variety to your landscape this summer? Then consider incorporating an assortment of planters of different shapes and sizes! Whether they’re rustic and weathered or polished and chic, they will add depth and flavor to your garden.

Marvin Gardens has a handful of tips for you from container gardener Steve Silk to get started. Take a look below:

Even unfilled pots can be useful in the garden: Even though it wouldn’t seem like it right off the bat, it can become a fine focal point or seating area.

Use containers as a means of traffic regulation: Nothing slows a group down in their tracks like a narrow passageway. Group some containers together closing up a walkway to naturally slow visitors down.

Use pots to describe garden spaces: Things like hallways, enclosures and corners can all be created by with containers. This gives a unique “space” feel to any garden.

Arrange fragrant container plants to freshen walkways: The fragrance of varieties like pineapple sage, scented geraniums, rosemary, lavender and other herbs are wonderful container species that can be grouped in front of an entrance way for a nice burst of luxurious fragrances.

Contact Marvin Gardens today form more information on our wide variety of unique vintage garden containers!

Photo Credit: Pompeii

Summer Croquet in New England

Aaaah, summertime. There’s nothing quite like it—and definitely nothing like a New England summer. While those Florida folks have their palm trees, water parks and flop flops, oh my, those of us here in good old Wilton have our sun dresses, Sperry’s boat shoes and light evening jackets. And when it comes to Connecticut pastimes, there’s got to be croquet on the lawn. The age-old game has been around since the early 1800s and involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.

Marvin Gardens recently came across some fun photos on Habitually Chic chronicling the game being played by pop culture greats throughout history on a variety of breathtaking lawns. Take a look at a few of our favorites! What’s your favorite summer pastime?

Louis Jourdan and friends by Slim Aarons

Darryl Zanuck at Howard Hawks house by Slim Aarons 1955

The croquet lawn at Winston Churchill's old home.

Photo Credit: Habitually Chic