There are a myriad ways to express yourself in your garden, from your plant choices to your patio furniture. Consider adding contemplative or comical messages to your outdoor spaces– a great way to individualize your garden and show off your personal style.
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Garden signs run the gamut of human emotion, from humor to humility. Share moments of reflection or humor with a garden guest by placing garden signs along your garden paths or other areas of your garden.
You can purchase signs or make your own signs. In the course of making Mother Meres Mural we developed personalized blocks by pressing letters into cement and grout. We perfected this technique in the course of making dozens of blocked messages and started making small signs. One sign was made to commemorate years of work Jim Charlier has done as president of Garden Walk Buffalo. We made Jim a special mosaic sign that reads “Ring Bell, if no answer, pull weeds”. See what Jim wrote about the sign.
If you have a garden full of unusual plants and lots of visitors, you can make simple laminated signs. Jim Charlier, a talented graphic designer, made personalized signs for his Harry Potter themed garden using plastic laminated color prints. He also made up id tags for plants. After years of answering the “What is that plant” question from his visitors on the Garden Walk, he started adding signs.
Gardens aren’t the only outdoor spaces that can be transformed. Patios can be personalized or themed with the addition of signs. Humor is used as a thematic cord at Gordon and Brian’s tiki bar, focusing on drinking, with a swipe at Republicans.
Democrats are featured in a sign we saw up in Innerness, FL proclaiming “Jesus was a Democrat”. Hippies take a hit on the “Hippies use side door” sign at the entrance gate of another garden. I guess anything is fair game when it comes to your garden.
Some signs can get your attention for their oddness, like one in my neighborhood. This sign takes a couple of times driving by it before you can get through the long message. It’s hard to read it and keep your eyes on the road!
“PLEASE!
SHOW SOME
RESPECT AND
SLOW DOWN WE
HAVE LITTLE
KIDS PLAYING!”.
LOVE the garden signs. The pull weeds one should be made for national distribution!
Love the pics and comments Siobhan! We have a few new ones for this year! Look forward to seeing you again!
Love the “weed” sign–how about a get-together to teach and learn how to make for those of us who joined the fairies post-Mother M.?
Stop by this weekend and see where I hung the “…pull weeds” sign. I just have to find the right bell for it. Lots of people get a kick out of it on the garden tours that have come through.