Creatively designed and placed features, derived from whatever sources, add much interest to your garden, especially in the winter and spring. This is a good place to retire certain "treasures" that you no longer have room for in the house -- attic, basement, garage or alley.

A secret hideout! This little bench is tucked away in a shady corner of the front yard. It is accessed by a little stone path and sits on a tiny patio. The entrance is highighted by a small stone wall and a decorative weathered metal trellis.

I use this theme frequently -- a half-buried wooden bucket with pond pebbles and river rocks appearing to be flowing from it. This imparts in the observer a suggestion of flowing water.

A simple rock/stone/pebble feature anchors the tip of the garden bed.

The interesting marble feature highlights an otherwise empty space in the front of the plants.

A dull empty space was transformed into an area of excitement and interest with the proper placing of various objects that were found under the owners' back porch.

This is my finest hour! A rusty metal well-head is secreted away in this hollowed out log section and cascade of assorted rocks. If you look carefully you can see some sort of faucet attachment sticking out from the rocks.

All of these neat objects were found under the owners' porch. The lantern, statue of the Buddha, pagoda and the neat metal windchimes have found a new lease of life.

Mixed media - old weathered logs from the forest, blue stones, sandstone, blue Mexican pebbles, pond pebbles and pea gravel - are combined to create a warm interesting feature at the entranceway of this home.

An interesting bed just waiting to be planted -- just waiting to be planted. An aqua-colored shed, a large buckeye tree, a crystal ball or lamp post-looking thing and a sine curved stone retaining wall -- add a lot of excitement to this area.