There is nothing funny about having a garden with deep rooted prickly thistles growing amongst your favorite flowers. From my experience, I have found that it is always best to have a good dose of humor to keep oneself motivated and to keep from becoming discouraged during those arduous gardening tasks.
Case in point, my garden is an excellent example of incorporating humor. We spend so much time putting a tremendous amount of effort into making the garden look just right, and sometimes it just does not work out to our expectations. When disappointments may bring me down, humor in the garden can force a smile or even a chuckle, which in turn will lead to increased positivity and kick starts my gardening mojo. How can I be down when there is a couple of plastic pink flamingos prancing through my pansies?
The experience of humor creates an emotion called mirth, which results in an increase in dopamine activity in the pleasure center in the limbic system of the brain, considered the “reward center.” During times of mirth, our pain threshold is raised, and mirth will trigger a relaxation response.
It doesn’t take much effort to incorporate some type of unique, humorous garden decor into your garden.
As most of my family and friends know, I may have a flamingo or two in my garden. These whimsical objects always bring a smile and an exclamation of, “A pink flamingo in your garden!” When I was in college studying landscape architecture, friends would give me flamingos as a joke. Most people get the joke, and if the flamingos are incorporated into the garden artfully, then they become a whimsical focal point for the eye.
Repurposing used or thrown away items can add inspiration to your humorous landscape ideas. An old wheelbarrow or shopping cart can be converted into a planter; you can take a discharged bed frame and make a raised flower bed out of it. I have seen an old compact car parked in someone’s landscape bed with flowers growing out of the engine compartment, trunk and passenger compartment—an unexpected garden accent that draws smiles.
Garage sales and flea markets have enormous potential for finding treasures for your humorous garden ideas. Old silverware strung together to form a wind chime located by your outdoor dining area adds sound and establishes a vignette for the area. A collection of old tools or unusable musical instruments arranged on a wall or made into a garden gate adds a whimsical touch to your garden. At the PHS flower show a few years back, there was a clever design of musical instruments arranged into a splashing fountain. This fountain would have been a nice humorous addition to the garden for a family with a musical background. In your design, try to use consistent elements such as color, shape and texture to provide uniformity to your creation. Arrange your objects in groupings of odd numbers such as threes, fives and sevens, making it look less static and creating visual impact.
I hope that I have given you some ideas about adding humor to your garden and ways of increasing your positive emotions, getting rid of your negativity and putting you on the road to greater happiness.
Craig Dupée is a garden-design consultant. He lives in Ewing with his wife and daughters. Send him your email questions at hort1014u@aol.com.
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