With a new home, we have been out hunting for treasures both inside and outside. One of the areas that we have focused upon is garden antiques. This is a complex area to collect because you want to find great looking items that have just enough wear to look good but not so much that they look tatty. You also want to look for items that can be fun and whimsical but not kitschy and tacky. And finally, you want to put out items that will be secure from wandering off. I love great garden ornaments. Two of my favorite home gardens feature really beautiful items well placed. The first was a home in Georgetown that was populated by a flock of Fiske and Company deer. Simple, elegant, classic and absolutely spectacular to see. They showed good taste and wealth in a way that was not ostentatious. The second garden incorporated a wide range of garden sculptures. Some were carved stone while others were old concrete. The latter is important to understand when it comes to garden ornamentation. Concrete figures are in vogue, but they have to be of a style and with appropriate patination to look good. Modern concrete work lacks that patina to appeal to those who like the old or antique look. Now saying that, I do have to reflect on several concrete Chinese pagodas that we owned many years ago. They were part of the small garden that I had at my summer home in Mt. Gretna, Pa. Sitting out in the shade with the moss and acid soil, they aged rather quickly. I moved them twice, and when a third move was on the horizon, I sent them to auction. They brought a crazy price, and later I found out that people thought they were antique concrete--proof that the patina is what sells and not necessarily age. In the last month, we have found a lovely bird bath supported by three sea horses. Here is a case where most readers are probably rolling their eyes at this image, but this is one of the early examples built on a large (and staggeringly heavy) scale with a beautiful bowl and all the right patina. The dealer confessed they had to dig it out of a five-inch hole where it had settled in the sand. This was great proof that it was truly vintage concrete. We removed a not-so-old bird bath and re-used the stand to support a ceramic Buddha head. The head came from one of those co-ops that included large quantities of Chinese container goods. These were popular among southern antique shops back in the 1980s-90s period, and one could tell by the number of sugar molds, wooden shutters, tiles and odd pieces of bric-a-brac that had been loaded into a container and shipped to the dealer who sold it. The head is really nothing but it had a great look. Our hunt continues for more, but we have started that process. And a little secret, be sure and check places like Ollies Bargain Outlets for pieces that can be repurposed for outdoor use. I found some great Chinese garden stools there that have traveled from Virginia to Wyoming and now to New Jersey. And now they are getting the right patina. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.