Working with Landscaping Statues

Sirena Van Schaik — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:29:12 +0000

As I drove past the local statue center, a large number of garden statues covering the lawn in front of it, I turned to my husband and said, “I really hate garden statues.”

He, of course, just nodded since this is the same conversation that I have every time I pass by the statue center and I have passed by it at least 20 times in the last summer.

So why my aversion to landscaping statues? I think it comes down to the fact that most of them remind me of a tombstone and the rest are usually so cheaply made that it seems like a travesty to see them in a garden. Of course, that’s just me on a bad day, and I recently found out that my aversion to landscaping statues has less to do with the previously mentioned reasons and more to do with the fact that all the landscaping statues I like fall in the 200,000 dollars range.

If you haven’t guessed, writing doesn’t pay well enough for that type of expense on anything, let alone a statue.

Still, landscaping statues (ones that are much cheaper) can be used to really complete a landscape. When you are using a statue, it is better to look at the overall feeling you are trying to express. Is the landscape a quiet place for reflection? Or a busy area for guests and children? Will it have a lot of traffic or barely any?

Once you understand what the feeling is behind the space, you can usually find a perfect piece. Surprisingly, it isn’t always like your usual taste in statues but this is where the most success comes out of using landscaping statues. They fit the space and ultimately, even if they seem a little boring at first, they will fit you.

A landscaping statue should continue the flow of the area. If it provides contrast, it should not be a jarring contrast that leaves the viewer uneasy. (One example of this would be a life sized Jessica Rabbit statue in a Japanese rock garden, the flow would be horrible.)

Another point to make is that landscaping statues don’t need to focus on just the garden or the landscaping. A friend of mine, who is a Labrador Retriever breeder and a lover of the breed has a beautiful door that has Labs worked into it. It is very simple and you can barely notice it but when you do, all the various statues of Labs that she has in her garden, in front of the door make complete sense and compliment not only the garden but the entire house.

So, despite my earlier comments about landscaping statues, they really can be a compliment to any landscaped space.

Sirena Van Schaik

Savvy Landscaping: Landscape Design, Ideas, Photography, and More » landscaping statues

Working with Landscaping Statues