A: For some people, plants aren't enough; they feel the need to populate their gardens with concrete puppies, fiddle-playing frogs, stones with Zen inscriptions and cutesy planters. The result can be an eyesore.

Installing decorative elements in a garden can be tricky, but objects like birdbaths, sundials and fountains -- especially of the mossy antique variety -- have a time-honored place in landscape design and can give a new garden a dignified air. Even these old favorites can seem boring and unimaginative, though, when they are overused.

Some gardeners take a creative tack by using found objects as quirky ornaments. At the garden of Marcia Donahue, an artist in Berkeley, Calif., half-buried bowling balls provide a strange kind of ground decor for a stand of bamboo. And in a nearby garden created by Bob Clark, an Oakland designer, broken teacups and bottles are embedded in a wall.

Other gardeners use seashells or pieces of recycled glass to divide pathways and flowerbeds. But this individualistic approach requires a masterful hand to keep the result from turning into kitsch.

A safer and subtler approach can be found in nature. A sculptural stone, a piece of wood or a rustic twig trellis will fit effortlessly into most gardens and can set off a planting nicely.

Manufactured pieces that are not too ornate also work well. A carefully placed granite globe, a fragment of rusted metalwork, even a broken piece of architectural salvage will add an appealing organic quality to a garden.

When deciding where to put your ornaments, keep in mind that they should be used, as they have been for centuries, as focal points: at the end of a path, to punctuate a hedge or to draw the eye to a particular area.

Even in a very lushly planted yard, a visitor's eye usually will go straight to any non-plant feature. It's best not to have several ornaments visible at a glance, competing with each other, since the most interesting landscapes have a little mystery. Place one object half-hidden in a leafy shrub and position another around a corner, so that its discovery is a surprise.

Finally, remember that ornaments should always direct attention back to the main star of your garden -- the plants. Go on tchotchke patrol around the yard once in a while and edit knickknacks, as you might indoors. Ornaments have a way of multiplying along with outdoor furniture and potted plants, creating visual cacophony.

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