"A garden -- whether classical, traditional, or naturalistic -- needs a focal point, and garden ornaments provide that," says Dallas landscape architect Paul Fields of Lambert Landscape Company. "They tie the landscape back to the house; they give the garden personality; and when the pieces are antique or classically inspired, they invest the garden, however new, with a more mature feeling and give it the aura of being established." Fields and antiques dealer Lynette Proler of Proler Garden Antiques have collaborated on a series of fabulous gardens in Dallas.

Recently Fields was commissioned to create a new terraced entrance for a fantasy-laden Highland Park garden that unfurls around a river walk. Both house and garden are Mediterranean-inspired, so only a classically styled piece would do. Proler found a hand-carved 19th-century Italian urn of Vicenza stone whose rounded forms and acorn finial mimic the shaped boxwood hedge and topiary planted behind it. Perched on a pedestal, the urn is just right for the space.

Fields planted white impatiens at its base and edged it with Granbury limestone and a shaped panel of grass to properly showcase the artifact. As one enters the property, the carefully sited urn beckons -- a fetching focal point that effectively pulls the eye through the garden.

For an Italian Renaissance-style house and garden with more grandiose ambitions, Fields and Proler again collaborated, this time on several tableaux, including a 50-foot-long wall fountain designed by Fields and carved by Proler's artisans. With its classical lion masks and playful spouts, the fountain is reminiscent of the water follies found at the historic Villa d'Este in Tivoli. "Fountains provide great sound effects and movements," says Fields. "They liven up a garden immeasurably."