Garden Ornaments And Statues

While we tend to fall in love with something when we see it in a showroom or store, that doesn't necessarily mean it will fit optimally into the garden or outdoor space. For example, if your garden has hedges or bushes, they'll serve as a beautiful complement to a garden statue. However, lack of these elements may make the statue appear stark because nothing is available to soften the rough edges.

One of the most significant mistakes gardeners make is selecting garden ornaments and statues that are the wrong dimensions for the space. In doing so, they're creating uncomplimentary compositions. Therefore, small garden spaces should have small ornaments and statues.

It's tempting to purchase every garden ornament and statue you like. However, this is a common mistake. Overdecorating gardens creates clutter and an uninviting space. Instead, select a statue as a focal point and a few garden ornaments as complementary pieces. Experiment with the placement of the pieces to determine balance and symmetry. If your eye is moving around too much, begin removing pieces.

The garden ornaments and statues you select should complement not only your garden but also your home. For example, if you have a Cape Cod style home, choosing styles depicting modern and contemporary styles may not be a good match. On the other hand, if you’re working with a contemporary style home, you could feature a transitional style garden. In these gardens, you can mix traditional and contemporary styles successfully without it becoming a negative contrast against your home.

Giving your statues and ornaments proper care will ensure they'll last as long as possible. If garden ornaments and statues have a painted surface, you should keep them in an enclosed area. In doing so, you'll be protecting them from the elements and prevent paint chipping from occurring. If you decide to keep them in an exposed area, coat them with liquid car wax.

Marble garden ornaments and statues last the longest and will keep their beauty throughout the years. Those that are made from bronze and other metals are an excellent second choice. However, as they age, they will develop a patina. Another superb option is concrete as this material will last for years and is less resistant to weathering. Use a water sealant to help preserve concrete pieces.

The idea of statues and sculptures decorating gardens is trendy, though it is far from new. In fact, excavations have determined that the Neanderthals had sculpture gardens. Every ancient culture had gardens with ornamental installations, from Mesopotamian to Egyptian to Far Eastern to Mesoamerican. It appears that decorating a garden with statues and sculptures may be inherently human.

Homeowners today are taking a more sophisticated approach to their outdoor spaces. They want them to be an extension of the living spaces in the home, and they are designing them as such. It certainly uplifts a garden, makes it more welcoming and more entertaining, to install beautiful or whimsical or simply unexpected statues and sculptures.

Just about anything that you can imagine! And some you would never have dreamed of. Here we have broken down some of the more popular into categories. 

Animals

You can get a statue that looks like your dog or cat. There are beautiful butterflies, dragonflies and praying mantises - small ones for accents, some up to two feet in height. Maybe something more exotic appeals to you, such as an elephant or alligator. Is a safari on your bucket list? There are lions and tigers and giraffes. Do you collect everything to do with Jurassic Park? Look in the dinosaur section. For those into the literary scene, a raven will evoke Edgar Allan Poe.

People

Children are popular - children playing, working in the garden, fishing, reading. Adults may be folks from other eras or cultures, historical heroes, elderly couples still in love. Replicas of ancient Roman, Greek, French and Italian statuary bestow a touch of classicism to the garden.

Religious Figures

Angels; Buddha; Confucius; St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment; Moses with his Ten Commandments; ornate Hindu gods and goddesses, such as Ganesha and Lakshmi; and Japanese Jizo, intriguing figures who pray for us and who will surely start a conversation.

Mystical Creatures

Gnomes have been protecting gardens throughout European history. Gargoyles, sometimes scary looking, sometimes cute - either way they ward off evil. Fairies make lovely statues, and, if you include a fairy house in your garden and shiny objects and chimes, the kind of fairies you cannot see will visit your garden and bring you blessings.

Sculptures

There are too many different types of sculptures to describe here. They tend to be abstract or geometric or both. Whimsical sculptures tend to turn one thing into another, such as a wooden fence carved at the top to symbolize a row of people!

• For an artistic and ultra-modern garden, use elegant and graceful stylized cranes created with red and yellow blown glass. Or a sleek and graceful contemporary sculpture of a couple will memorialize the love between you and your loved one.
• For those who prefer primitive or folk art, carved wooden totem poles come in all sizes and all colors or bare wood. You have your choice of cultures represented and your choice of facial expressions, some of which are very amusing, some of which you can take some time interpreting.
• If you like to make people laugh, you can scatter throughout the garden playful gnomes that whistle as a person walks by them. There are all different kinds of humor; maybe you would prefer the gnomes that moon your guests. If Snow White was your favorite fairy tale, the seven dwarfs will be glad to live in your garden.
• For a Zen garden or simply a contemplative spot in your garden, have a water feature, a small bridge or pebbled path and a stone Japanese lantern or statue of a Japanese goddess.
• If your style is classical, there are replicas of the ancient Greek and Roman statues, as well as urns on pedestals spilling over with greenery stationed at corners or regal lions standing watch at the entrance.