Sculptures for the garden: garden statues in the landscape design of the site

Garden sculptures will make any garden unique, individual, cheer up and attract the envious glances of passers-by.

When decorating a garden plot, it is necessary to pay due attention not only to plants, but also to decorative elements.

Features of the use of sculptures in garden landscaping

For more than two thousand years, the fashion for garden and park statues has not passed, but remains unchanged. Small architectural forms are the most effective means of conveying the expressiveness of character and accents in landscape design.

Manufacturers offer an extensive range of decorative statues for a summer cottage or park.

Almost all figures are created by sculptors in an upright position, so the best option for placing them is horizontal planes, made in the form of flower beds, lawns, reservoirs, fountains, waterfalls or on the sides and at intersections park alleys.

Garden sculptures form the basis of the style and decorate the site.

First of all, sculptures should reveal the tastes and character of the owner, but at the same time correspond to the general style of the garden. They give it the greatest depth and fullness of meaning. Today sculpture for landscape design is represented by a huge variety.

Modern garden sculptures come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Advantages and disadvantages of decorating a garden with sculptures and statues

The statues in the landscape are not only used as decoration. They help to solve several issues at once in the correct, stylish and effective design of a park or garden:

1. Avoid monotony and monotony, as well as maintain the beauty and uniqueness of compositions throughout the year. Thanks to them, the garden is beautiful both in summer surrounded by lush greenery and in snowy winter.
2. Sculptures highlight important elements, highlight accents and attract attention. Even single elements are able to direct the eye to the best parts of the garden. And if there are several of them, they will create a special atmosphere.
3. With their help, you can change the proportions of small gardens and plots. Contemporary statues made of polished metal, glass or mirrors will bring light and enlarge the space. The imbalance in the layout will be corrected by the sculptures on the pedestals.
4. They will help to form walking routes: garden paths can bend around sculptures in a circle or end in a dead end. At the end of which a decorative composition or pedestal is installed.
5. Small architectural forms do an excellent job with zoning, divide attention and help to see the landscape part of the territory, hide the outbuildings and unaesthetic areas of the site.
6. Enhances the stylization of the garden. A certain orientation of sculptures helps to create features and elements inherent in any culture, to form the right mood.

If you want something monumental that will catch your grandchildren, try to get durable accessories.

However, with all the advantages listed above, sculptures can become insidious means of disharmony. Even the most beautiful composition or a single element should be selected in a competent combination with the environment and background. Choosing the right kind of decor and accessories requires impeccable taste from the garden creator, as well as a sense of style and measure.

Statues are in the form of animals, people, geometric shapes, abstract objects.

It is very important to remember the basic rule when planning landscape design: from any point in the garden, a unique view should open to only one composition or sculpture. Harmony is not easy to create, and you can lose it very quickly by placing the sculpture in the wrong place and creating goofy decor.

When choosing a wooden, metal or plaster figure, focus on the general style of the garden, and then on the budget.

Varieties of garden sculptures and statues

Garden sculptures come in a variety of styles, shapes, sizes and designs. Such architectural forms should be chosen taking into account the general style of landscape design:

• For eco-style, you can pick up figures of birds and animals that will look as natural as possible in thickets of grass or shrubs. Turtles, fish, ducks or herons can be an excellent decoration for waterfalls, cascades or ponds. Huts and huts are perfectly arranged on lawns under branchy branches of trees, as part of multi-tiered compositions and in combination with figures of dogs, sheep, horses and other animals.

Art sculpture made from modern and sustainable materials.

• The classics are distinguished by traditional statues of gods, people, mythical characters or animals. They are most often installed on pedestals located along paths and hedges, near water bodies, on parterre lawns, surrounded by flower beds, in the center of flower beds. Decorative cornices and columns, overlays, fragments and fragments of sculptural compositions are used to complement the main figures. All this helps to create a solemn and at the same time romantic mood for a classic garden.

Park sculptures made of noble natural stone or metal, demonstrating a special status.

• Abstraction implies three-dimensional geometric shapes: a cube, a trapezoid or a ball. More modern garden designs in the spirit of Art Nouveau or minimalism represent wind figures with elements moving under the influence of air currents. They can be associated with the outlines of people, animals or mystical creatures.

It can be various abstract shapes and shocking compositions.

• Ethnic style includes bright and effective mosaic compositions of colored stones. They help to enhance the stylization and correctly place accents. This also includes abstract sculptures, lanterns and deities for the Japanese and Chinese gardens, as well as figurines and bowls for Provence.

Ethnic sculpture in the form of a Chinese dragon.

What material is better to choose a sculpture and a statue from?

Various materials are used to make garden and park sculptures. What material to choose statues from depends on several factors:

• first of all - from the financial capabilities of the owners. The more durable and unpretentious the material, the higher its cost;
• size, shape and detail are of great importance;
• it is important to consider the style of the garden and the location of the figures.

Today, garden sculptures are made from a variety of raw materials.

Types of materials used for making sculptures:

1. The most popular and cheapest is gypsum. It allows you to create any shape, very lightweight. Such statues can be made on your own using improvised means. Figures cast from a plaster mix are painted with paint. They are a wonderful decoration of the park and landscape alleys. These sculptures are frequent guests of landscapes decorated in ethnic or eco-style. But plaster statues for the garden need to be cleaned or covered in winter - this is their main drawback.
   

   Plaster figures are quite cheap and fragile, while they look dignified and beautiful, having a slight shade of antiquity.

2. Wooden figures and structures are more expensive, especially with carvings. The softness and pliability of wood allows you to create sophisticated and unique shapes. When processing wood with a special impregnation, such architectural forms can last for a long time and do not require shelter in winter.
   

   Wood is an environmentally friendly material and more "alive" in comparison with metal or concrete, therefore it harmoniously brings comfort and warmth to the garden.

3. Ceramics are durable - an excellent option for making abstract figures, both natural and colored.
   

   You can make such a decor for a garden plot yourself.

4. Concrete is similar to gypsum, but stronger and heavier. Cement is most suitable for abstract forms, as it is not very flexible. Most often, concrete figures are used in natural colors to create contrast against a vibrant background of vegetation.
   

   To create a stone sculpture with your own hands, you will have to use concrete, which is a mixture of cement and sand.

5. Natural stone is incredibly strong and durable, but very heavy and can cause subsidence of the ground, so such sculptures are installed on a pedestal or foundation. Natural colors are selected. It is very important to create a suitable background against which the stone figures will stand out. Most often, quartz, marble, sandstone, granite are used for manufacturing.
   

   The disadvantage of such monuments or sculptures in the garden is their very heavy weight and high prices.

6. Metal allows you to work in a variety of styles - from abstraction to classic. For the manufacture of sculptures, iron, steel, copper, and brass are used. They can be cast, forged, stamped, or assembled from individual elements.
   

   Figures made of metal and copper are popular, including in city parks.

7. Topiary are living plants from which garden sculptures are created. They are sheared, giving the necessary shapes, or creating special frames for creeping and climbing plants.
   

   If European gardens inspire you, turn your attention to plant sculptures.

Options for the location of sculptures and statues in garden landscaping

Garden statues should not be placed randomly, otherwise you can spoil the overall picture of the landscape design. It is better to adhere to the existing rules, thanks to which you can maintain harmony, balance and proportions, as well as effectively place visual accents in the garden.

The size of the sculpture depends solely on the landscape design, the size of the site and the overall picture.

Placement rules:

It is necessary to set the figures in such a way that there is free space for their view:

• statues reaching a height of 2.5 m and more are more convenient to view from a distance of 6-10 m;
• for small sculptures 2-3 m is enough.

Large and heavy figures are installed on the foundation to avoid subsidence of the earth.

In order to further emphasize the dignity of the sculpture or most successfully fit it into the landscape, additional decoration is used:

• spectacular backlight;
• landscaping space, and sometimes the sculpture itself;
• fountains and ponds are an excellent addition;
• placement of additional small architectural forms;
• considering the vertical arrangement of the figures, they will be an excellent decoration for lawns, alleys, playgrounds and paths.

There shouldn't be many statues. An exception may be the design of hedges, parterres or paths with small architectural forms.

Most often, garden sculptures are performed in calm shades.

When choosing sculptures, it is very important to measure their size with the scale of the garden:

• small figures will get lost in the spacious landscape;
• large sculptures will be inappropriate for a mini-garden in the country;
• massive statues or sculptures are applied in dosage, and it is desirable to place them in the center of large open areas surrounded by trees and bushes.

When distributing, it should be remembered that large objects look gorgeous in the background, and small ones, on the contrary, look more original up close and on small pedestals. If desired, small sculptures hidden in the thickets and complemented by lighting can become a bright accent of the garden.

A backlit composition will look distinct and effective.

Tips and tricks for decorating your garden with sculptures and statues

Experts in creating and decorating a garden advise paying special attention to some important points:

1. The style of sculpting the landscape must necessarily correspond to the style of the garden, otherwise they will look ridiculous or completely ruin the composition of the garden. For example, the garden is decorated in a high-tech style, and the owners have children who adore gnomes, elves, fairies, bunnies or pigs. In this situation, do not spoil the style of the park. The best solution would be to create a separate playground decorated with sculptures of your favorite characters.
2. To understand what kind of figures are needed in the garden, you need to retire some distance and carefully examine it.
3. The whole composition should be in harmony with the house and not overwhelm the surrounding space.
4. Ladders, stands, plinths or multi-level platforms add expressiveness to small garden sculptures.
5. For greater expressiveness of statues and compositions, vines are often used to mask the foot. They also use aging techniques.
6. It is important to remember about safety measures: all figures and stands must be securely fixed.
7. It is not recommended to set the garden sculpture in the ground - this can lead to its destruction. Better to use concrete or stone slabs, coasters.
8. When buying, you should learn about the features of care and additional protection, as well as about safety in the winter.

When choosing a place for a garden sculpture, try to fit it organically into the surrounding atmosphere.

This article can be a good guide to choosing sculptures for decorating a summer cottage or garden. Those wishing to immerse themselves in the features of landscape design can also always find video master classes to consolidate and visualize the information received.

When decorating your garden with sculptures, try to bring art and nature together.

VIDEO: Unusual sculptures for garden decoration.

50 options for sculptures in the landscape design of the site: