I have been fascinated with garden ornaments for a long time – especially those fabricated in cement to resemble wood and referred to as “faux bois,” the French term for “imitation wood.”

It was sometime in the 1980s when I started to realize the beauty of decorating the garden with things other than plant material.

Of course, I had seen many great gardens by that time – in England, France, Italy and Japan, and across the United States – and I had become enamored of the fabulous urns and follies and walls and gateways that many of those gardens incorporated into the landscape.

I started accumulating, slowly at first, certain objects that I found pleasing as well as affordable: fine early American cast-iron benches at a tag sale; a metal urn or two from J. W. Fiske, the famed New York City foundry, at country auctions; an enormous, ancient Chinese bronze bowl discovered at a consignment shop; and a pair of massive cast-cement pots made by Kenneth Lynch and Sons in Wilton, Conn.

My prize find was a pair of Italian terra-cotta pots made in the 19th century in Venice, Italy. They were a bargain at $75 for the set at an estate sale in New Canaan, Conn.

As my gardens were “decorated,” I also started putting other great objects indoors, very much liking the contrast of cement and bronze and lead and clay against upholstered furniture and wooden tables. At my house in Maine, I think I have more faux-bois objects indoors than out, and I continue to look for more at antiques shows and in shops everywhere.

In fact, in New York City there are a couple of garden antique shows that I try very hard not to miss – one of my favorites is the spring show at the New York Botanical Garden. (This year it will take place April 27-29.) I always try to leave work a bit early to rush to the Bronx to find a treasure or two.

Dealers come from as far away as Florida, Maine and even London with incredibly wonderful things. I always have a good time seeing what they’ve found and brought for all of us to collect and reposition in places that will definitely benefit from their beauty.

Where to buy ornaments

• The Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale at the New York Botanical Garden runs April 27 to 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., (718) 817-8700 or www.nybg.org.

• Similar faux-bois basket from Fleur, (914) 241-3400 or www.fleur-newyork.com.

• Similar urns available at Linda and Howard Stein, (631) 537-8848 or www.lindahowardstein.com.

• Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10036. Questions may also be sent to mslletters@marthastewart.com.

source : www.nwherald.com