Home décor adds personality and liveliness to our interior spaces, from rugs to furnishings to artwork on the walls. Outside, however, Mother Nature has already created a living landscape, with carpets of greenery and seasonal splashes of color. Though lacking in "walls" like the interior of your home, the yard lends itself to all manner of décor, from garden gnomes to vibrantly colored planters to metal silhouettes placed atop slender stakes.
Using metal objects he buys in odd lots from auctions or sources from such spots as Pacific Steel and Recycling, Twisted Booze founder Jon Booze makes both sculptural works like his popular sea creatures and fanciful garden stakes.
Booze's artworks range in size and complexity and are priced accordingly. One of his 3-foot-tall "flowers" using spoons for the petals, for example, might sell for under $100. A 6-foot-tall sunflower with petals from colorful screwdrivers might sell for six or seven times that.
Booze started Twisted Booze in May 2019 as a sideline to his day job as operations manager at Skils'kin.
"I had some parts, and I was just goofing around in the shop," says Booze, who has a background in horticulture but no formal art training. "I tell everyone I'm an artist that welds; I'm not a welder."
Booze has participated in Terrain's Brrzaar, Custer's arts and craft shows, and regional garden shows. Look for his booth at Pend Oreille Arts Council's 50th annual arts and crafts fair in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Aug. 13-14. Or find Twisted Booze online at facebook.com/twistedbooze.
Forever Flowers also makes flowers but from repurposed glass, china and crystal, ranging in price from $40 to several hundred dollars. They can even create a "heritage" flower from your beloved heirloom china or dishware.
Carol Baxter and her sister Louise Baxter are the talent behind the lustrous compositions, which can be hung on a fence, placed on a garden stake — delightful to have in the garden before the "real" blooms come up — or displayed indoors. Find them at foreverflowersbycarol.com.
Your regional garden centers can be another ideal source for finding all-weather artworks to add visual interest, create a focal point or enhance your outdoor environs.
Westwood Gardens Nursery & Garden Art works with a rotating selection of local hobbyists, with ever-changing inventory of unique, all-weather items: a driftwood trellis, metal silhouettes to dress up a fence area, weathered wood signage with cutouts revealing glass inserts for a little sparkle in your 'scape.
Westwood is also a showroom for national brands, such as outdoor products online retailer H.Potter, which allows customers to see the real product versus buying from a photo.
"You can look at them and buy them here and not have to wait," says Westwood founder Jodee Fyfe, who started Westwood 22 years ago in a spot tucked behind the Super One Foods in Rathdrum.
Sourcing materials to make it through the region's harsh winters is important, says Fyfe, who gets durable fountains and birdbaths from Campania in Pennsylvania, which has a similar climate. Also look for durable wrought iron seating, benches and garden flags for any occasion.
"One of the things we're kind of known for is our containers," says. Whatever your style, says Fyfe, Westwood Gardens has a container for it, from rustic to galvanized metal and from wall baskets to vibrant ceramics.
And if you don't have a yard or a garden in which to put artwork, no problem. Create a mobile garden with portable containers, including fabric-based Smart Pots that let you and Mother Nature collaborate to grow anything, anywhere.
Judy's Garden Center
2628 W Northwest Blvd.Facebook: Judys-Enchanted-Garden
Northwest Seed & Pet
7302 N Division St.2422 E. Sprague Ave.nwseed.com
Ritters Garden & Gift
10120 N. Division St.4ritter.com
River Ridge Hardware
2803 W. Garland Ave. Spokaneriverridgehardware.com
Sculptured Gardens
15614 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane
Vanhoff's Garden Center
1844 N. Government Way, Coeur d'Alenefacebook.com/vanhoffgc
Westwood Gardens Nursery & Garden Art
15825 N. Westwood Dr., Rathdrumwestwoodgardensid.com
