|
|
|
|
|
Yard Ornaments Galore!The decorating industry has exploded into the great suburban outdoors! Sprinting all across America disguised as gnomes, gargoyles, wooden reindeers and Martha Stewart scarecrows, yard ornaments have found an outdoor niche’. This special article will focus on yard artifacts, trends, the products available on today’s market, where to purchase them and will also provide you with some suggestions that will put a little fairy dust in your own yard. So if your yard is in disarray and you need to get back in line with the Smiths’ and the Jones’ this story is for you. Don't be intimidated by your neighbors’ white plastic geese; this story will lead you to mega outdoor ideas that will blow those feathers completely away!
GROOVY CAVE DUDES These dudes were like ‘way cool’. Much of our modern day culture spiraled from this groovy primitive clan of our past. Think about it: fire, graffiti, spear fishing, the fur coat industry – wolf! Allow if you will, to let your mind drift back to this era, to centuries gone by, a time when cavemen pulled women around by the hair of their head rather than pulling sleek overpriced campers behind sporty SUV’s. In those days there wasn’t very much around to inspire yard décor; perhaps some dinosaur bones and dismembered branches from unlucky trees that failed the test of lightening. There were also some very big boulders and sheep. Perhaps the frugal and smart cave woman began with a ring of small rocks. Inside she planted colorful plants, such as poison ivy. We must remember that everything back then was done through trial and error. At that time we had no idea just how much misery one little plant could cause; all this without Benadryl. Whelps and swelling aren’t pretty, especially without the advantage of makeup. As the cave people progressed to advanced tools, such as the knife, creativity once again nestled in the portholes of success for yard décor. Mammoths were carved and placed lovingly outside the cave as were reindeer, geese and yes, flamingos – though they weren’t yet pink or orange. Cave people were still experimenting with plants, learning about colors. In the beginning, it would be logical to assume that the flamingos were displayed in one of the primary colors; red, blue or green. Flamingos looked so primitive in those days. YARD DÉCOR LOST IN THE 50’s MARKET Again if you will, drift back in your mind thirty years ago and visit the standard neighborhood yard. It consisted of a clothesline, a sprinkler with one rotating bar that shot out a good 4 feet (if you were lucky), edged sidewalks with a discarded pair of kid’s skates resting in the middle of the line that you’d never step on (because if you did then you’d break your mother’s back) and one flamingo. Did you ever wonder why there was generally one flamingo per yard? You'd think it would have gotten lonely and tried to fly away. Nonetheless, it’s just not about flamingos anymore. THE NEW MILLENIUM OF YARD DÉCOR Garden and hobby shops are taking root and branching out all over America. Retail stores are cashing in on outdoor crafts that are fun to make and downright adorable! Tackling an outdoor craft can bring out the Norman Rockwell artist in the most-Picasso of men. There are patterns galore – and you thought Butterick and McCall’s were hot! Wooden reindeer, bunnies, geese, windmills – the list is endless. These wooden soldiers have character and are guaranteed to bring a smile. That crooked reindeer might wind up in the kid’s attic one day but it’s forever tagged, “Grandpa’s Reindeer”. It’s special; it’s handmade and those uneven antlers have a lot more character than anything mass-produced on today’s retail market. Click Here to Continue to part 2 OR Navigate Yard Ornaments Here:: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Click Here to Return to American Outback |
|
|
    |
|||
