Planning your landscape can be very rewarding. It is even more rewarding to build that landscape. Putting the plan to ground, so to speak, can engender feelings of extraordinary pride. The product is so worth the effort.
Planning your landscape can be very rewarding. It is even more rewarding to build that landscape. Putting the plan to ground, so to speak, can engender feelings of extraordinary pride. The product is so worth the effort.
You could be transforming your garden completely with water features, a patio, decking, or basically anything that you want. However, the thing that can really give it that extra special look is to add some strategically placed accessories to the landscape plan.
Adding accessories to your landscape has many benefits. They can help to lighten up shadowy areas or to add a little bit of extra charm to open space. Without using accessories, the landscape may be missing that vital ingredient to make it look and feel complete. It can turn an open barren space into someplace special, somewhere that you can relax and enjoy a good book, or even entertain guests.
Some of the best-created gardens can be improved upon, with the use of landscape accessories. There are many different types of sculptures to choose from, so you really shouldn’t have any difficulty finding something to suit your garden. If you shop around at several garden centers to see what is available, you can make decisions about what accessories will be best for your landscape plan.
One approach is to think of your garden as a blank wall in your living room. Before choosing what to hang on your living room wall, you take cues from the style of the room and the effect you wish to create. Think of your garden in that same context, from the size of the space available to the arrangement of trees, shrubs, and flowers and the architecture of the home and other buildings. These will be the cues used in choosing and spacing your garden accessories.
Each part of your garden may have a different mood or feeling and can furnish an opportunity to incorporate different types of garden sculpture. Such pieces produce interest year-round and serve to animate and differentiate a space; a strategically planned element can even inspire the theme for the flower plantings.
Be careful not to add too many pieces, gardeners that introduce too many ornaments run the risk of creating so many distractions that the eye can’t absorb or enjoy the garden. The landscape becomes complicated and cluttered. Under the less is more principle, one well-suited sculpture will develop a presence, and a focal point, introducing harmony rather than chaos into the garden. The less is more principle does not mean you are limited to uniform arrangements of statuary in your garden. Multiple pieces and styles can work comfortably together if they are not part of the same grouping.
Lawn ornaments include things such as garden Gnomes and bird baths. They are items that look substantial and add a little extra something to the garden. Statuary is one of the most common and versatile additions. You can purchase lawn ornaments and statues in all different styles and sizes, so you can easily find something to suit your landscaping needs.
Remember to take considerable time deciding what to purchase for your garden. You do not want to bring home something that, either does not fit or simply looks out of place. So, be sure that it will suit the garden, and that you measure it beforehand for size.
Cutting a piece of statuary out of cardboard and placing it in different locations throughout your garden can help you get a feel for where each piece looks its best. It will also give you some time to think about why you want to add that ornament to your garden setting. This may be a time-consuming practice but well worth the effort.
The most imperative thing to keep in mind when choosing the right piece of statuary is the overall style of your home and garden. Whether you have an urban, contemporary, or country garden, the statuary you select should be compatible with the style and feel of your house and garden. Most likely, you wouldn’t place a classical statue in a contemporary-style garden. However, classical statuary makes a wonderful feature for a more traditional home or garden.
Birdbaths are a wonderful way to invite birds into your garden. Whether set into the ground as a small pond or on a pedestal, they can add a touch of old-world elegance to a shrubbery or foliage garden that will benefit from the aesthetics of our feathered friends.
It is best to consider the whole theme of the landscape in order to get accessories that add something special to the space. So, if you want to decorate a secluded surface of the garden you could consider using trees, shrubs, a wooden bench, or anything else you like that can add peaceful surroundings. If you are developing a water feature on your land, you could add extra items such as stones or slabs and some nice plants and flowers to add some extra color to it.
Just like a picture on your wall, garden statuary looks best with some kind of frame. Some choices are using a background of traditional clipped box, yew, or a mixed border of grasses to frame your statuary in the landscape. A stone wall or trellis covered with roses, or even a simple wooden fence may be all you really need.
So make a plan and go shopping, see what you can find. Make your landscape that special garden sanctuary, where you can relax and smell the roses.
| By Luann Hays