If you ever get to visit Bristol during the pre-Independence Day season you’ll notice that Bristolians take this holiday very seriously. On my walks around town lately I’ve been absolutely amazed all over again at how many houses and gardens are dressed in flags and stars and lights and red, white and blue everything. I can actually count on one hand and some toes the number of houses NOT dressed for the party (mine, alas, is one — we’re considering shopping the bunting blowout sales and draping our house in time for Bastille Day).

The writers over at Gardening Gone Wild host a monthly Garden Design Workshop and this month’s theme, proposed by Nan Ondra, is perfectly timely for us in Bristol – it’s all about garden whimsy. Many of the gardens I walk by in town have regimental impatiens marching among the foundation sentries but some Bristol gardeners are exhibiting their quirky personalities and their senses of humor along with their patriotism – they’re showing all kinds of “flair”.

Even though I think it’s possible to go overboard in the flair and whimsy department (a little goes a long way) I really enjoy seeing something unexpected and even giggle inducing in the garden. I know a gardener who has a demonic looking blue plastic bear/dog poking out of his delphinium and another with a bronze cast of her own hand emerging from a pond – sometimes the hand grasps a bottle of beer; other times a trowel. And I like to think that the mail carrier gets a kick out of Floyd, the plastic flamingo who guards our mail box. Here at Blithewold we keep the whimsy understated and even our Independence Day rah!-rah! is on the quiet side (Thanks to Sue McC. there is always a flag flying over the front door).

Do you enjoy glimpses of personality and humor in other people’s gardens? At Gardening Gone Wild they’ve asked: Do you have anything whimsical or personal in yours? A pair of wooden geese, perhaps? A train set? A statue of St. Francis? And I also wonder, do you decorate for the holidays?

*title phrase borrowed from the cult classic film Office Space by Mike Judge.