Welcome to our zone 6A upstate New York garden on a gorgeous September day where we're tackling something we've been thinking about all season - adding the structural elements that were missing from our spring-installed west border. Sometimes you don't realize what a garden space needs until you live with it for a while, and we've finally figured out the missing piece.

The Power of Focal Points in Garden Design

When we installed this mixed border this past spring, we created a beautiful curving path that flows around our waterfall feature. The plantings are thriving, the colors are working, but something was missing. What we needed was structure - something to draw the eye and create a visual anchor point in all that flowing, organic plant material.

The solution? Strategic concrete elements that add substance and weight without competing with our plantings. These aren't just decorative additions - they're functional pieces that will serve as seasonal planting opportunities while providing year-round structural interest.

Our Concrete Installation Day: Multiple Projects

Today we're installing several pieces, some familiar and some completely new to our garden vocabulary. All of our concrete pieces are in Alpine Stone from Campania International - a color choice that ties perfectly with our existing terrace and looks naturally at home in the garden setting.

The Litchfield Urn: Proven Success

We're adding another Litchfield urn, a smaller piece that we already know works well in our garden. We've successfully run drip irrigation through these before, and they've housed everything from sedums to a Tater Tot arborvitae (which remains a personal favorite look). This urn will help anchor one end of our annual display area, with the possibility of adding a second one to create matching end caps.

The Pascal Urn: Replacing What Didn't Work

Our third small Pascal urn is going where we had a failed climbing rose attempt. Sometimes garden experiments don't work out - the drip irrigation didn't perform as expected, something went wrong, and the Malvern Hills rose got so unhappy that we ended up cutting it to ground level. Rather than leaving an awkward empty space, this Pascal urn will match our two existing elevated bed containers with cascade hydrangeas and create visual continuity.

The Game-Changer: 100-Pound Finials

The most dramatic addition - and the one that initially made us skeptical - are these spherical concrete finials. At over 100 pounds each, they're substantial pieces that bring an incredible sense of weight and substance to the space. These gentle, spherical concrete elements add something that's hard to describe - they're formal but not stuffy, cottagey but clean, British garden-inspired but thoroughly modern.

What's remarkable about these finials is how they affect the perception of space. Our terrace walls are quite far apart, but these pieces seem to bring the walls in visually, creating a more intimate sense of scale.

The Technical Challenge: Installing the Barnett Pedestal and Jensen Urn

The most complex installation of the day is our Barnett pedestal topped with a small Jensen urn - a 337-pound combination that requires careful planning for both placement and irrigation integration.

Learning from Past Experience

We've installed large concrete pieces before, including a big Katarina fountain and our large Jensen urn on the other side of the garden. Previously, we used solid concrete square pavers as bases, but we've been learning better techniques for getting drip irrigation up through the center of pedestals.

Our new approach uses pea gravel as the base instead of solid pavers. This method offers several advantages: easier leveling, better drainage, and most importantly, much simpler irrigation routing without kinks or awkward angles.

The Installation Process

Step 1: Site PreparationWe removed the unnecessary stepping stones that were originally placed to access the At Last roses. These stones served their purpose early in the season but were no longer needed.

Step 2: Base PreparationInstead of digging a deep foundation, we excavated just an inch to inch and a half of soil and filled the area with pea gravel. This allows for fine-tuning of level and provides a stable, well-draining base.

Step 3: Irrigation PlanningBefore placing the pedestal, we connected into the existing drip system and ran the distribution line up through the gravel base. The key is making the elbow connection first and making the vertical line too long - you can always cut it shorter once the concrete is in place, but you can't make it longer.

Step 4: Placement and LevelingWith 337 pounds of concrete to manage, having the pea gravel base made leveling much more manageable. Instead of trying to shim solid pavers, we could add or remove gravel to achieve perfect level in all directions.

Fall Planting in Containers: Packing Them Full

With our Jensen urn properly installed and irrigated, it was time for fall planting - and fall container planting follows different rules than spring installations.

Our Plant Selection

Centerpiece: A pink aster picked up at the big box store - unnamed variety but substantial size and beautiful color. The tiny root ball on an enormous plant suggests it's been pushed with fertilizer and hormones to create maximum immediate impact.

Texture Elements: Yokohama white curly kale for that distinctive texture that complements the frilly genetics of our pansies.

Color Workhorses: The Twilight collection pansies from Incredible Genetics - featuring "moody hues" in four distinct colors that mix beautifully. These aren't your grandmother's pansies - they're incredibly frilly with complex color patterns.

Fall Container Strategy: Pack Them Full

Unlike spring containers where you plant for growth, fall containers should be packed full from day one. We're not looking for these plants to spread and develop - we want immediate impact to carry us through the short fall season and into winter.

The aster needed a support obelisk right away since it's top-heavy with that enormous flower load on a tiny root system. The black metal Decor obelisk comes packaged flat and assembles around the plant - perfect for providing support while adding another layer of structure.

The Subtle Art of Garden Accessories

Our concrete cat sculptures deserve mention - these charming pieces add personality without being overwhelming. Positioned in shadier areas where they create bright spots, they've become "everyone's garden cats" and add a whimsical touch that complements the more formal concrete elements.

The key to successful garden accessories is restraint and placement. These cats work because they're not competing for attention with the main structural elements - they're delightful discoveries rather than dominant features.

Why September is Perfect for This Work

Installing heavy concrete elements in September gives us the best of both worlds. The weather is comfortable for moving 100+ pound pieces around, but we still have weeks of good weather ahead to plant and establish fall displays.

The timing also allows us to see exactly how these pieces interact with our late-season garden. Plants have reached their mature size, we understand the garden's flow patterns, and we can make informed decisions about placement and scale.

The Irrigation Investment

Running drip irrigation to container plantings might seem like overkill, but it's one of the best investments we've made in our garden's infrastructure. Consistent moisture makes the difference between containers that struggle and those that thrive, especially during temperature swings and irregular rainfall patterns.

The technical challenge of getting irrigation lines through heavy concrete bases is worth solving once and doing right. That pea gravel base innovation is definitely going into our permanent technique toolkit.

The Big Picture: Structure and Softness

What we've created with these installations is a perfect balance between hard structure and soft plantings. The concrete elements provide visual anchors and year-round interest, while the seasonal plantings keep things fresh and changing.

The west border now has that missing focal point - when you approach from the west side of the yard, your eye is immediately drawn to the elegant Jensen urn on its pedestal, perfectly positioned to anchor the entire planting scheme.

Looking Forward: Seasonal Flexibility

These concrete installations aren't just about this fall's display. They provide the infrastructure for countless seasonal arrangements throughout the year. Spring bulbs, summer annuals, fall mums and asters, even winter arrangements with evergreen branches - the possibilities are endless.

The key is having the right structural bones in place so that seasonal changes enhance rather than overwhelm the garden's fundamental design.

Have you added hardscape elements to established garden areas? What structural pieces have made the biggest impact in your garden's design?

Thanks for growing with us!