I was going to suggest George Clooney but he's too tall...

LOL, adriennemb!

I saw an ornamental tortoise that I really wanted for the garden. I think kids would like it, and it's low to the ground. I'll see if I can post a link to it:

Here is a link that might be useful: tortoise

-adriennemb, LOL!!!

-LL, would a sundial work? Perhaps some large neat looking pot in the center with a stand out annual could be a focal point? Fred Meyer has had a lot of cool pots, mostly glazed.
CMK

Something I have wanted for a long time and will yet acquire, a solar gazing ball. My neighbour has solar globes that change color at night. They are very beautiful.
Check out this page.

http://www.teakwickerandmore.com/Smart-Solar-3560MRM1-XSM1026.html

I like the idea of the sundial. The large turtle would make a fun ornament, but I wonder if the kids would find it irresistible to sit on (I would-ha). Not a bad thing unless you planted the bed with flowers that would get trampled. Perhaps large white gravel or a similar colored stone instead of plantings?

That turtle is so cute!

Can you do anything like a smaller glazed pot turned into a bubbling fountain? Might attract the birds/butterflies and the kids could have fun with it and still it would be safe.

I just added a bird bath this year to mine. It's not pretty, I just whacked together something at the right height to hold water for the birds, but they have really appreciated it. In return they eat all the bugs except for the overly large grasshoppers and stink bugs.
Great tradeoff! Functional focal point!!

Thank you all, for the excellent ideas!

Adrienne- George Clooney is not really my type, but he is too tall, for the space. LOL

Oldgardener- The tortoise is adorable.

CMK- I was thinking about a sundial, too. I've seen some cute ones online, but not much IRL. Maybe I need to do more shopping!

Honalee- A solar gazing ball is a neat idea, but probably more for the fairy garden :)

Schoolhouse- I do like the idea of a sundial...and I'd want to play on the turtle, too!

Thyme- A bubbling fountain is such a cute idea, but no power out in that area. Maybe closer to the house would be a fun idea.

GGG- A bird bath is so classic and I love them! I already have three in the gardens, but I'm tempted to get another one. If I can't find a nice sundial, that might be my next choice. They do bring in lots of good bugs...and they even keep the yellow jackets happier :)

Some great suggestions here, another idea although you wouldn't see over it sitting down but you could see through it is an obelisk, I have several made of wrought iron. Another idea, a plant pole with several arms for baskets.

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Obelisks

Annette- Thanks, those are good ideas :)

I was out measuring today...and there's not quite enough room for four beds with paths, at least not very large paths...so instead, I'm thinking of a round bed with some stepping stone paths. For the focal point, it would be great to use a rose bush...but the deer would love that, too. LOL

Now, I need to do a little research and decide if I want veggies, flowers or herbs (or a combination) in the beds. It can be anywhere from 8' to 11' across and the paths will make an X pattern, rather than a cross pattern...so the beds (not the paths) line up with the other views. I'm going to have to take some pictures of all this, to really explain it :)

Late to the party, but I would add the birdbath. I have six on my little half-acre and the birds use them all! Two are large, classic ones in the back yard. They are heavy enough that they won't topple and the height is around 30-36" and the bowl diameters are at least 25" with a three/four inch depth(it is raining or I would go out to meausre).

The ones out front are smaller (one is simply a large blue saucer that would normally go under a pot) and hidden among perennials and shrubs.

I don't think you can go wrong with a bird bath and it would be lovely in the middle of a round garden!

I'm a sucker for obelisks. I have on old wire one (it's tall but you see right thru it) and I have a wooden one

Here is a link that might be useful: i never get tired of this ...

hi all
how about a wishing well? my dh made one out of scrap lumber about 10yrs ago. It was adorable but didn't last long. I'm gonna ask him to make one out of real materials this Spring. Very kid friendly and fit right in with my cottage garden theme.
:) Laura

Oh...and I will be happy to trade one of my bird baths for your George Clooney. I will even pay for shipping. ;)

Auntyara- Oh, a wishing well is a wonderful idea! Do you have any pictures of yours?

Cyn- I do like birdbaths, but I already have one under one of the arches, in this garden.

Mtnrdredux- Obelisks are nice, but it would be hard to see through one, when the plants are growing on it.

just this one pic of the wishing well. lol I should have taken some of the summer but I never got around to it and now it's gone :(

Oh, your well is wonderful! I look forward to seeing pictures of the new one, too :)

Sunday, I went out and moved some of the arches and my husband helped me move the new arbor/bench...so now there's enough room for four beds and a small focal point. I really need more beds for vegetables, but I like the idea of a wishing well. Maybe in another part of the garden...

I like all the above ideas, but some that haven't been mentioned is a very elegant urn, filled with seasonal flowers and/or herbs, on a plinth (stand) for height. Or an urn or very nice container with a pyramidal trellis and climbing plant, either a climbing vegetable or flower, or even ivy.

Rita- An urn is an excellent idea. I would have to find one that can stand up to three feet of snow, or light weight enough I can move it into storage, in the fall. I like the idea, though :)

A large terra cotta urn would look groovy!
At one time, I had a half whiskey barrel made into a fish pond in the center of my herb garden. I planted white, hardy Water lilies in it, some Parrot Fern, and floated Water Lettuce for shading the water. The little goldfish kept the mosquitoes down and the water attracted birds, butterflies and dragonflies to the herb garden. I planted Lavender around the barrel with chamomile and thyme in front of that. It smelled wonderful and looked lovely too.

Since I live in Florida I don't have to worry so much about freezes, although it does freeze here, last year we got down to 15 degrees one morning. But I believe they make pots out of fiberglass that aren't supposed to freeze and they look like real terra-cotta, cast-iron, cement, etc. At least they wouldn't be so heavy if you still wanted to move them around.

Annie- A fish pond would be so neat! I wish we could do that, but between the barn kitties and the cold...but it would be great :)

I think a terra cotta urn would look good...and I do have four plastic 'terra cotta' pots (from Lowe's) in the garden, by each post of the arbor and two big square pots, by the front porch. They're wonderful for petunias and the big ones also have the star jasmine. Maybe something similar for the focal point would be a nice choice.

Rita- I think the urn is a winner! Thank you for the idea and it will look very nice in a version of the garden that Merilia posted on the other thread. Here's a picture...and also a picture of the pots, by the arbor. (The Lowe's buckets belong to my nephew and will be in another one of the gardens, next year. LOL) Thanks, again! {{gwi:761504}}From Lavender's Garden
{{gwi:761507}}From Lavender's Garden

Another suggestion. I have three tall urns filled with cascading perennial succulents in my garden which tend to lose prominence as the summer garden grows or in deep snow. I added a wire obelisk to each one for height without opacity. Actually looks good, like that was what I meant to do that all along :)

By the way, George says hi.

By the way, instead of spending buckets of money on an expensive stand - (some of the garden stuff is beautiful but so pricey) - you can use one of the inexpensive plain containers in the same color as the decorative pot as a stand, just flip it upside down and put the nicer one on top for added height. I've done this to make birdbaths, use the pot flipped over as the bottom and then using a pot saucer on top for the birdbath. Also, if you find one that you really like but it's heavy and prone to break during freezes, instead of planting directly in it, you can find a cheap plastic one that fits right inside and plant whatever you want in it and then drop it down inside the more decorative one, that way all you have to do in winter is remove the inner pot, plant and all, and move it to a sheltered area for the winter. You could also fix up several different ones and interchange them without having to replant the outer pot all the time. The other ones can be buried somewhere else in the ground for variety in the garden beds.

I found a great deal on a plastic pot...but it looks like a ceramic urn and it fits, perfectly! Then, today...I just ordered a little bunny sundial for the 'Peter Rabbit' potager. I wanted to add some cute bunny accents in the new garden, since the nieces/nephews like the frog accents in the fairy garden. I think I'm having too much fun, with 'toys' in the garden! :)

I was just going to say that a large terracotta urn would not last in our cold climate. However if you have your DIY mode on, you can craft a hypertufa urn and just add a little colorant to the mix.

Ianna- Hi! This is a cement colored urn (made of plastic) that I can put away, in the winter. It was the last one at Lowe's and I got it for the clearance price!

I'll try to take some pictures, when it quits raining...it's supposed to rain all week. By the time it's nice weather, my sundial should be here, so I'll take pictures of both.

How's your garden plan? I know you're really busy with everything, but once the weather warms up, I'm hoping you'll find some much needed escape/happiness, out in your garden :)