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Forget the pink flamingos and tacky lawn gnomes. Savvy gardeners are looking across the big pond to Europe for the latest trends in garden architecture.
Shawn Gibson says garden accessories are big business.
Decorative items have always had a place in the garden -- everything from wooden wishing wells to concrete fountains, from ceramic frogs to copper butterflies.
However, today's homeowner wants something a little more sophisticated -- a cutting-edge item that echoes their lifestyle.
"People are getting serious about their lives and it reflects in their homes and gardens," says Shawn Gibson, owner of Teatro Verde, an upscale garden boutique in Toronto.
"We're staying home more and want to make it better," adds Gibson, whose stock reflects a global sensibility.
"Obelisks and armillaries (celestial globes) are hot. They make a spectacular focal point in the garden," says Gibson.
"Another trend is faux bois (fake wood). These pieces of furniture and garden accessories look like nature grew them, explains Gibson, who travels to southeast Asia and to the Middle East in search of his store's signature style.
Wrought iron is gaining in popularity and is used in everything from formal dining sets to garden sculptures.
Artist Steve Cooper has been making large-scale wrought iron sculptures for six years.
The former engineer and welder looks to nature for inspiration and actually dreams about a piece before creating it.
"I work with wrought iron, copper and brass," says the 40-year-old Guelph-based artist. Many customers bring a picture of a piece they like and I will hammer it together for them."
Cooper's pieces are free-standing, mounted to the wall or grounded with a spike. "It's not a difficult process once you know how the metal works -- how it feels and how it cuts. I hammer it into shape and often use vinegar to oxidize the metal, which adds pizzazz and texture. The metal's patina shines through once we clear-coat the sculpture," he adds.
Another artist working exclusively on large pieces suitable for the garden is Mark Clark. The 33-year-old artist has been using found objects as a basis for his kinetic sculptures that twirl, tip and teeter in the wind.
"Some forms I shape or create with recycled objects," says Clark.
"I've used farm implements, old bricks, stones, waste glass from industrial furnaces. Once I have a piece or object I like, it is incorporated into a sculpture," adds Clark, who has been building these movable pieces of art for 10 years.