Garden Statues

Garden statues have been a central theme for upscale gardens for thousands of years. From traditional sculptures with definable real world imagery to abstract modern art with fanciful abstract designs, garden statues run the gauntlet of the art world. Statues are one of the most striking additions you can make to your garden, and they are eminently scalable. You can sprinkle your beds with garden gnomes and plastic flamingos for a minimal cost, or you can put in a massive fountain to center a landscape around. In between these two extremes are countless opportunities for you to create a garden unique to you. There are options for any budget; all it takes is a little creativity.
One of the traditional types of garden is a European walking garden. These gardens feature ornate garden statues, often as the centerpieces of ‘rooms’ of the garden. The rooms are comprised of a bed of flowers surrounded by some walking and sitting space. The ‘walls’ were normally trimmed hedges. Some of the most famous gardens in history are built in this way, including most of the palatial gardens in Europe.
A stark contrast to the formal, almost rigid feeling that is given off by European walking gardens is provided by the tradition of oriental gardening. The root of the difference comes in on a very fundamental level. The Chinese and European ways of looking at the world are fundamentally different. European thought is egocentric. This means that each person is the focus of their own thoughts, and individuality is an important part of how we see the world. The Chinese by and large embrace a school of thought known as holism. Holism makes the individual less of a focus than egocentric thought. Instead it focuses on the part each individual component plays in an interconnected whole.
So how does holism play into garden statues and garden planning? Well, in an Asian styled garden, the idea is less to create an order imposed box of plants, and more to create the illusion of walking through a well-kept countryside. The most famous examples of Chinese walking gardens even create hills to cover where the walls would be, creating the illusion that the garden is much bigger than it is. Garden statues are sprinkled along a walking path, used as accent points rather than the focal point of the entire garden.
While a palatial European garden and a monumental Chinese walking garden are probably equally out of your reach as a homeowner, adding things like garden statues to the garden space you do have goes a long way towards making your garden a more enjoyable place to relax. And while caring for the plants brings its own joy, strolling through and admiring the beauty, or just sitting and letting it all wash over you are some of the most rewarding things you can do in your garden.