Garden sculpture in the design of the site

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Funny animals and gnomes, classical antique sculpture, beautiful feeding troughs or sundials, stone lanterns and houses - all this garden sculpture provides today an unlimited choice. And even in its most modest incarnation, it becomes a crowning accent in any composition. With the help of garden sculpture, they reveal the style of design, give the greatest depth and meaningfulness, lift the mood, and place accents that attract eye-catching. And, of course, make the garden unique and individual.

First of all, it should reveal the tastes and character of the owners of the garden, but when choosing sculptures to decorate the site, it is not enough to be guided only by one's own preferences. There are many important factors, from style to a sense of proportion, which should not be forgotten.

The tradition of using stone sculptures and marble statues in the design of gardens is rooted in the Hellenic and Roman eras. The fashion for garden sculpture does not change and does not fade for more than two thousand years, it is no coincidence. There is no in the arsenal of gardeners and landscape designers the means of emphasizing more expressive and perfect than objects of this type of small architecture.

Stone, ceramic, concrete - sculptures and today remain the best way to place accents and finishing touches in the design of any garden object. But they also remain the most insidious of means: no matter how beautiful the sculpture is, it will look good not always and not against the background of any environment. This is one of the most difficult types of decor and accessories to choose, which requires an impeccable sense of proportion and style.

Sculpture selection for the garden

To understand how much you need accents from the number of sculptures and whether they are needed at all, carefully examine the garden and the specific objects with which you want to decorate it, always conduct such an assessment on the ground. Garden sculpture is designed to harmonize, crown ensembles and compositions. And so that she really played the role of the crowning accent that completes the whole design, became a “highlight” that makes the garden unique, it must be remembered that from each point of view, only one piece of garden sculpture can catch your eye.

Walk along the garden paths, take a walk through the garden and make sure that your plans coincide with the need: a sense of proportion is very important. If even you really like the sculpture, but the flower bed already has one focal point, refuse to buy it. Even one mistake will turn the sculpture into a stupidly placed and useless decor. Harmony is not easy to create, but you can lose it in a matter of seconds. The only exception is the symmetrical placement of identical sculptures, which are designed to emphasize the rhythm and geometry in the design. Statues placed in pairs opposite each other or three sculptures placed in a row from the same series will preserve harmony and even add order to those ensembles that are desperately lacking.

Style is the first and most important thing to remember when choosing a garden sculpture for your site. A family of funny geese or already become legendary gnomes will be more than inappropriate in the French classical style, and the statue of Venus is unlikely to fit into the image of a hi-tech garden (from high technology - high technology). Each sculpture must accurately match the concept of garden design, its structure, dominant forms, materials, the nature of design, color palette. Style is the basis of aesthetics not only in the design of flower beds, but also in the selection of objects of small architecture and accessories.

Garden sculpture styles

Of course, it would be very difficult to consider each sculpture as “tied” to any particular design style. After all, besides the fact that there are dozens of trends in landscape design, many more sculptures are suitable for several garden styles at once.

For the convenience of choice and to prevent major mistakes in choosing, the entire garden sculpture is divided into only three categories:

Antique and classical sculpture - appeals to ancient and ancient Roman art. These include statues of Greek goddesses, and the beloved by many cupids, and amphorae, and stylized wall fountains or stone bowls. Such a sculpture is for regular styles of landscape design, a garden with dominant geometry or landscape styles with elements of topiary art (the so-called art of cutting plants). For classical sculpture, a stone or chamotte imitating it with special firing and anti-corrosion treatment, an artificial stone is preferable.
The sculpture with a pronounced national character - eastern, Mediterranean, etc. The objects of small architecture that are easy to identify at first glance belong to this category. The wall-mounted fountain in the shape of a lion’s head, amphora and jugs imitating antique or chipped, Roman-Italian model nymphs and angels, products and containers made of terracotta or clay imitating it unmistakably give out the Italian style. Stone pagodas, pagoda-style lanterns, Buddha figurines are an integral part of Asian styles. Stone lions as if transferred from the English estates. And miniature mills scream about Dutch gardens. About which garden such sculptures are more suitable for, no one doubts.
Pastoral sculpture. A romantic, funny, touching garden in a landscape or peasant style, projects with a touch of the legendary country or classic romantic receptions deserve the most expressive and no less touching accents. Such a sculpture is often called sentimental, and perhaps this term gives it the best definition. The sculpture from among the pastoral models should evoke pleasant memories, awaken a child in us, cause a smile and, as it were, flirt with the viewer. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about natural stone, ceramics, plastic models, concrete imitations - the sculpture should be expressive and create a special cosiness. Elves, gnomes, mermaids, fairies, leprechauns (magic creatures from the folklore of Ireland), funny animals, stylized household or kitchen utensils, fabulous houses and castles - these are the best optimistic accents for the garden, where the game with mood is appropriate.

To make the right choice, it is enough to examine your garden from a distance - and the understanding of what kind of sculpture he (the garden) needs will become obvious. Choosing a specific model is far from an easy task. From hundreds of models you need to find the one that fits perfectly into the specific landscape.

Having decided on the style, objectively evaluate each model for compliance with its composition, as well as the relevance of the latter. Sculptures should be proportional to the house, buildings, size of the site and a specific object. Massive, tall statues on a small islet flower garden look overwhelming, and a tiny animal on a huge front flower bed is simply lost. Everything in the ensemble, including the emphasis in the form of a statue, should be proportionate to the composition itself, not to suppress the surrounding space, but harmoniously fit into the design. Remember that you can give great expressiveness to small objects of garden sculpture with the help of pedestals, socles, stairs, coasters, games with multi-level platforms.

Garden sculpture placement

The proper placement of garden sculpture is a completely different issue and much simpler. As a rule, the placement itself dictates the points where you need to put the statue or object. The easiest way to navigate in regular gardens: a garden sculpture is always placed in the center of flower beds and flower beds, at the intersection of a series of flower beds and paths, at the corners of platforms and lawns, at the end of long alleys and paths.

In the landscape garden, the sculpture is placed at the point where the first glance falls in the panorama - in the most advantageous, visually important place. There is a difference in the "presentation": if classical garden sculptures in a regular garden can be placed on their own, then it is better to use them in gardens in their natural or romantic style, "immersing" them in flowers and greens, placing them so that the environment harmoniously conceals the foundation created a feeling of naturalness, symbiosis, inextricable union. For expressiveness, sculptures are often decorated with vines, specially planted plants that mask the foot, use techniques of artistic aging.

Remember that when choosing a garden sculpture and placing it in the garden, you should never forget about safety measures:

Give preference to materials resistant to corrosion, moisture and frost, and if you really like models made of terracotta or fireclay - resort to their additional processing.
Do not forget that the garden sculpture and stands under it must be firmly fixed and fixed.
Do not place the garden sculpture directly on the ground, avoid contact with the ground, placing reliable supports, concrete or stone slabs underneath.

When buying, be sure to find out if your sculpture needs additional protection for the winter, whether it is necessary to periodically treat it with protective compounds (and if such measures are necessary, then be sure to specify when and how to better carry them out).