The attitude to the summer cottage has changed in our time. If earlier it was a place for growing garden crops and fruit trees, today an increasing number of cottage owners want to equip a comfortable and beautiful place for recreation at their site. Hence the huge interest in a variety of areas in landscape design. There are a huge number of ways to decorate the garden, some of them are complex and time-consuming, others are simple. The latter include garden sculptures.
History and Modernity
The sculpture can be called one of the most ancient forms of art. Most ancient civilizations used statues and various images on marble and other materials to decorate palaces and parks.
The perfection and beauty of antique forms captivate man today, so lovers of the classics choose antique colonnades, fountains, flowerpots and sculptures to decorate their garden. Today, there are many gypsum forms and sculptures in the antique style on sale. Plaster products are inexpensive, a great way to decorate the garden. But in this case, it is not recommended to use another garden decor, strict classics and antiquity are perfect, but do not fit well with other landscape elements. Any element of decor should be located correctly, so if there is an opportunity, it is always better to consult a designer. Sculptures must correspond to the style of the garden, each of them carries its own semantic load.
Of great importance is the observance of proportions - large antique forms require a large garden, while small garden figures can be used on any site.
Perfection and ideal proportions of ancient forms attract many. Such an angel in a quiet corner of the garden will create a peaceful atmosphere for reflection and contemplation. Each sculpture has its own mood - do not forget about it, choosing them for garden areas
Even if your garden is unremarkable, it has little vegetation and flowers, garden sculptures can significantly enliven its appearance. With them, the garden will sparkle with bright colors, will cheer you up even on a gloomy day. You can create an original garden landscape by yourself. At the summer cottage you can use any attributes of landscape design - flowerpots, flower pots, columns, fountains, statues and figures of animals, birds, fairy-tale characters. It is very interesting to try yourself as a designer and try to create interesting compositions in separate areas and corners of the garden.
Varieties of garden sculptures
Consider the varieties of garden sculptures. Specialty stores today offer a huge selection, but if you feel a craving for creativity, you can do a lot with your own hands.
The most common type of sculpture is a three-dimensional image of a living creature (human, animal, fairy-tale character). The figures can be either small or life-size or significantly exceeding the natural dimensions.
Full-sized ceramic three-dimensional figure of a cat forms a funny group in the company of a living fellow
Today, garden design also uses steles - slabs with various images that are installed in an upright position. The steles were established by the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians. A stele will be appropriate in a nook.
The stele goes well with antique sculptures, such as flowerpots and columns. It will be appropriate to stele on the wall at the entrance to the grotto, if your garden has shady corners and complex shapes
Monument - it can be a bust, a statue, an arch, a ground plate. The function of the monument is to remind about something or about someone. Often on the monuments you can see the inscription.
The monument - in this case, a bust of a charming antique girl, does not have to remind of anything, it creates a pleasant corner surrounded by flowers and climbing plants
Garden figures can be singled out in a special group - not only familiar, but the most diverse materials that you have at hand are used to make them. It can be wood, metal, plastic, ceramics, gypsum, pebbles. Figures can be of any size and depict anyone. They can be three-dimensional or two-dimensional, flat.
Hedgehog figures made of cement mortar and pebbles, pebble spines as an unconventional material especially attract attention
The sculpture of which materials is better?
If you want to install a very beautiful and durable sculpture or composition in the garden, pay attention to bronze. Sculptures from this material look elegant, rich, impressive, a bronze figure will decorate any corner. The material allows you to work out the smallest details, so the figures look like alive.
Figurines of children work especially well from bronze - the material perfectly conveys the fineness and clarity of lines, the proportions of the body, they look just alive
Stone, ceramic and wooden sculptures are very popular. Wood products are good, but short-lived. Therefore, it is recommended to treat the tree with various protective impregnations that extend the life of the material, or paint with paints.
Wooden farmyard - animal figurines are specially polished, painted, forming a single amusing ensemble. With such a composition, the yard will not only not seem empty, it will attract attention and cheer up both adults and children
Topiary (green sculpture) is very popular today. In general, topiary is a curly, artistic haircut of trees or shrubs, when a plant is given the shape of a ball, cube, pyramid or even some kind of living creature. Topiary is an ancient art, originating in ancient Rome.
The figure of a fantastic creature in the park of Canadian Montreal, a festival of modern topiary of huge sizes was held here. In your garden, you can start by creating simple haircut forms or grow topiary forms using a frame
Not so long ago, Americans invented a woven topiary frame filled with seeds and soil. With proper care, plants fill the framework as they grow. The result is various green sculptures. If you want to decorate the garden with a topiary sculpture - buy a frame or plant a tree or shrub that is convenient for cutting - thuja, barberry, yew, cotoneaster.
Kettle - frame topiary figure. To grow such a miracle is not so difficult, the main thing is to water the contents of the frame on time and periodically remove too long blades of grass
The principles of arrangement of figures on the site
Garden sculptures draw attention to various corners of the site. Antique forms look beautiful both in an environment of lush greenery and in open space, a rose is the best flower that sets off the nobility of classical forms. Small figures of gnomes and other funny creatures will decorate a zone for children or a path, a flower bed.
If you have a rather large ceremonial part of the garden, decorate it with figures of elegant animals or ancient deities, place a fountain or beautiful flowerpots here.
Figures of animals need to be placed, taking into account their natural features. Near the water you can "settle" ducks, frogs, herons, swans; on a rock or boulder - birds; in the sand - lizards or crocodile; anyone can look at you from the lush green grass - a funny dog, a kitten, a tiger or a fantastic creature. However, the arrangement of several sculptures in the garden should be done taking into account the following rule - they should not be visible all at once.
A new trend in the art of creating a garden landscape is sculptures called eco-jokes. This is a joint creation of nature and human hands. Suppose you have a small hill on the plot, surrounded by greenery. The embankment can be made by yourself. If you include the imagination, the hill can turn into a human head - the types of reeds will be hair, moss - skin. The surface can also be polished, especially if there is an admixture of clay in the soil. Such figures are located in the shadow of nooks.
It is much more interesting to discover sculptures and their groups, walking around the garden when they suddenly appear in front of your eyes. Guests will appreciate every song, and you will enjoy the fruits of your imagination.
To create such a composition, you need to cut dry birch. Thinner branches will be the limbs of the figures, the trunk will be the body, you can dream up with faces
Figures of animals and characters of fairy tales, placed in the garden - this is a constant positive, uplifting. They spiritualize the garden, make it vibrant, unique, unique.
Two charming couples made of plastic pots and metal barrels, flowers instead of hair, funny faces, a successful combination of colors - they will make anyone smile
The design of the site with garden sculptures has a significant plus - almost any sculpture can be moved to another zone if you do not like how it looks in the territory chosen for it.
