Month: June 2013

Add Comfortable Seating That Blends With Your Garden

garden accessories
Source: Marvin Gardens

When designing a relaxing garden space in your yard, one of the most important elements to include is garden seating. Having comfortable seating available in your garden invites friends to spend some time admiring your floral handiwork, and it’s the perfect spot for you to take out a cup of coffee or a glass of lemonade and relax in your own yard.  After all, you worked hard on it; shouldn’t you enjoy it?

When choosing your garden seating, comfort and appearance are the two vital factors to consider.  Rather than choosing cheap plastic or even the pretty-but-conventional iron outdoor furniture, you may want to consider something a little more organic to blend with the natural setting of your garden.

A wood bench that maintains the rustic and organic beauty of old wood is the perfect addition to a garden.  The bench would almost look as though it was grown in the garden, blending in beautifully with the plants surrounding it.  Benches also provide more versatility and comfort, allowing a few people to sit beside each other and enjoy conversation in the garden or inviting you to grab a pillow and sprawl out to read a book.

Come see the organically designed natural wood benches we have at Marvin Gardens, and picture it in a shady spot in your garden.  You may find it’s just the thing to complete your yard!

Beautiful Garden Deer That Won’t Eat Your Plants

garden accessories decor
Source: Marvin Gardens

Deer are beautiful creatures in the wild, walking with graceful steps between the trees.  In your garden, however, their beauty and grace is overshadowed by the frustration of finding your carefully cultivated plants eaten and destroyed.

Deer in the garden can be real pests, but there are some ways to deter them without harming them:

  • Planting certain plants can deter deer as they don’t like the taste of plants with fuzzy or feathery leaves.
  • Smells such as garlic have been known to repel deer, try planting garlic around the borders of your garden beds or use garlic clips.
  • Fencing can keep deer out. Deer can jump really high, however, so the fencing will need to be at least 7 feet tall.

Of course, you can still enjoy the beauty of deer in your yard without risking your plants by decorating with elegant deer statues.  Our carefully crafted wood deer sculptures are a far cry from the plastic imitation deer you see in so many yards, and they will add a delightful element to your garden design.

Visit us at Marvin Gardens to see the deer and our other garden accessories.  We enjoy helping you turn both the inside and outside of your home into a place you’ll love to spend more time enjoying!

Easy and Beautiful Perennials for Your Container Garden

gardening
Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

Container gardens can be a fun and beautiful addition to any home.  Whether you want to spruce up a porch, add layers to your garden, or you just have a container you absolutely love, growing a container garden can be a fun and easy gardening project.

In honor of Perennial Gardening Month, we want to highlight some excellent perennials that thrive well in containers.  As with a regular garden plan, you need to look at the amount of light your containers will receive and choose plants that thrive in that light level.

Perennials that grow best with at least six hours of direct sunlight:

  • Blanketflowers: These plants can withstand some pretty tough conditions, and they produce cheerfully colorful flowers similar to daisies in reds, oranges, yellows, and burgundies.
  • Penstemon: These scrub-like plants reach 2 to 5 feet in height and feature tubular flowers in red, pink, purple, white, and coral.
  • Daylilies: These gorgeous flowers come in a wide variety of colors, sometimes with more than one color on a single flower.  They do need to be kept regularly watered when blooming.

Perennials to use in shady spots:

  • Foxglove: For containers, you can choose between the foxy, excelsior, and gloxiniflora varieties, which only reach 2 to 3 feet.
  • Hellebore: These plants are ideal for bordering windows and walkways with their attractive spring flowers that begin to bloom early in the season.
  • Hosta: Appreciate these plants’ huge oval or heart-shaped leaves that come in a range of tones from deep green to chartreuse.

If you want to find some fun containers and creative ideas for your container garden, come visit us at Marvin Gardens.  We’d love to see you!

Use Skeleton Keys for an Antique Touch Around Your Home

gardening
Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

For people who love antique touches in their home and garden, few antiques have the personality and versatility of skeleton keys.  These small and beautifully designed trinkets have a wide variety of decorative applications that make them absolutely irresistible to collect.  If you want to unlock some antique charm in your home, consider these ideas for decorating with skeleton keys:

Frame skeleton keys to turn them into decorative wall art.  You can either hang the keys on the wall and hang an empty frame around them or you could get a shadow box decorated with parchment or scrapbook paper and arrange keys artfully within it.  Skeleton keys also display nicely hung on a simple piece of wood or arranged between photos or vintage-style artwork.

In addition to hanging beautifully on a wall, skeleton keys can be arranged with other objects to create a centerpiece for a table.  For example, you can tie a few keys around some candles with a pretty ribbon or arrange them on a vintage plate with some flowers or another, larger antique find.

Other great ideas include using skeleton keys in a bouquet or as a way to indicate seating for a dinner party. They can even be hung together in your garden as a fun wind chime.

If you want to get creative with skeleton keys in your home, be sure to stop by Marvin Gardens in Wilton, CT.  We have plenty of skeleton keys from which to choose!

Add a Touch of Woodland Whimsy to Your Garden Design

garden design
Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

Many people are attracted to the tranquility and peace that can be found within the forest.  The dappled light shining through the trees, the rustling sounds of branches, and the glimpses of woodland dwelling creatures create an almost fairy tale environment to enjoy on a warm summer morning.  With some creativity, you can bring this same atmosphere into your own garden. Here are a few garden design accessories ideas to consider:

  • Use woven branches for your fencing rather than the conventional picket fence.
  • Add a bird’s nest, with or without eggs in it. This accent can be placed in a bird bath that is not being used, a young tree that has not developed full foliage, or hidden somewhere in a garden seating area for guests to find.
  • Place vine plants in strategic places such as winding around the trunk of a nearby tree or along fencing. Use flowering vines to add color to the area.
  • Select foliage to space along your garden to enhance the feeling of a woodland floor. Excellent choices are plants that are native to Connecticut, which are low-maintenance and hardy.
  • Choose your trees carefully. This important element can be used to set the tone of your garden as well as providing shade or privacy.
  • Our large wood mushroom carvings can be strategically arranged throughout your garden to add an enchanted atmosphere.

Share your own ideas on how you create your woodland garden retreat on our Facebook page, and be sure to visit us to find whimsical woodland accessories for your own garden.

Our New Store Has Officially Opened!

gardening
Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

June 1 was an exciting day for us at Marvin Gardens. After ten years of serving the Wilton area from our location on Route 7, we opened for business just 300 feet north at our new location on Danbury Road. Our location may have changed but we are still proud to offer the unique home and garden items you’ve come to expect from us.

Regardless of what you are looking for, you’re smart to start at our marketplace. Our owner, Amabel Chan, has been searching high and low for the most special pieces to add to the store’s inventory. Greek garden columns? Check! Reclaimed wood benches? Find it here! Indoor vintage accents? You got it! Our new store provides the space, peaceful surroundings, and eclectic atmosphere that will best highlight these unique offerings. A trip to our marketplace is more than just shopping, it is an opportunity to reconnect with your senses and to become inspired.  If you’re ever feeling in need of a creativity boost, an afternoon browsing our store will leave you full of ideas for your home and garden.

We’d love to see you at our new location on Danbury Road! Come and learn what makes our store so incredibly special.