Spurce Up your Outdoor with Garden Sculpture

Decorating with sculpture is an easy and sometimes inexpensive way to dress up your patio or garden. In between the trees and shrubs or in the middle of a space of grass, you can add a sculpture or two and add so much more interest and elegance to a garden or patio. Sculptures in the garden can be either focal points in prominent places or they can be along the sides of spaces so they add a little decoration.   

You can spend as little or as much on patio sculptures as you want. Some and metal are expensive of course. However, many discount stores can resin cast or plastic cast sculptures that are weather resistant or you can collect authentic art sculptures and use those in your garden. The only limit is your imagination.  

Here are some simple ideas to use sculptures to decorate your garden or patio.

Sculpture benches

Adding a sculpted stone bench or a beautiful hand carved wooden bench is a beautiful way to add visual interest and additional seating to your patio or garden. Some are more comfortable than others to actually sit on, so consider when choosing one if your thought is to have the bench as a focal point or a place to sit. Most garden stores now sell sculpture benches. To find great deals on antique sculpted benches try hitting some local estate auctions or yard sales. 

Bird baths

Usually these are sculpted from stone or metal but you could also choose a resin or plaster cast bird bath to keep the price down. Bird baths are a lovely way to attract more natural wildlife to your yard and dress up your yard or garden. Sculpture bird baths come in many styles from Greek, to Victorian, to modern. Combining a bird bath with a bird feed – which can also be a sculpture – can attract songbirds to your yard. Attracting birds is also a great way to keep down the mosquito population near you. 

Fountains

Fountains are a very popular way to make your yard or garden more peaceful. The soothing sound of falling water from an artistically sculpted stone fountain gives any garden or yard a classic, comfortable, welcoming feel. Sit and have your morning cup of coffee or your evening cup of tea and listen to the fountain and you can’t help but relax. Putting some sculpture benches near a fountain is an excellent way to create a gathering spot in your garden that is also very stylish and elegant. 

Wind chimes

Think wind chimes are really sculpture? They are! Wind chimes are kinetic sculptures. They move in the wind and thus create visual interest and the movement causes the wind chimes to play sounds which are pleasing to the ear. Hand-carved wind chimes are a beautiful piece of folk art that add a lot of ambiance to an outdoor space.  

Planters

Garden planters hand carved from beautiful wood or carved from stone, or even cast in fine bronze can really add a lot to your garden. Arrange some brightly colored plants or some overflowing greenery in a sculpted planter and your garden will look a lot richer and more elegant. Planters can also make your gardening a lot easier and help keep small animals out of your plants and flowers.  

Statues

Statues are very popular for decorating in the garden. You can add classical stone statutes done in Greek style or you can add pretty Victorian wrought iron statutes that have images of cherubs and angels. How about some small stone hand carved gargoyles to complete the Victorian look?  

Hand carved or hand chiseled statues of wild animals always look nice in a garden. To add a touch of whimsy you can add cast statutes of small animals that have been painted to look lifelike. And who doesn’t love some small carved garden gnomes artistically placed in the garden?  

If you are a devout follower of a religion placing some religious statues in the garden will give you a lovely outdoor prayer space and will give you a sanctuary of peace and tranquility to enjoy after a hard day. Garden stores sell outdoor statues from the most popular religions. Be sure that the statues are made of materials that will survive being outdoors. 

The possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating your garden with statues. You can even change the look of your garden every year by changing the statues that you have in the garden.

Furniture

Sculpted furniture goes far beyond just stone or wooden accent benches. If you’re willing to spend some money you can get gorgeous hand carved wooden chairs and tables, sculpted marble or stone tables, and/or beautiful wrought iron table and chair sets that are great for patios and gardens because they are beautiful and weather resistant. Large items of furniture can be rather expensive and so are not for everyone. If you can and want to though, buying these are a long-term investment in functional art that will last for decades. 

Gazing Balls

Gazing Balls are very popular pieces of garden decoration. Sometimes called Victorian gazing balls these sculptures originally were multi-faceted glass balls set on a hand carved base of stone or wrought iron. These days many gazing balls are sculpted from steel or bronze, and the bases are machine-sculpted instead of hand-sculpted but they still add a lot of personality to your garden. The gazing balls come in a variety of colors so you can express your own personality. 

Architectural elements

You might not have ever thought about using some common architectural elements to change the look of your patio or garden but you can use sculpted arches, trellises, brackets, niches, columns and pedestals to place outdoor art on or to create a particular look for your garden. You can also use these elements to clearly mark the entrance to the garden or garden paths. A sculpture trellis or column can be further enhanced by planting climbing plants at the base of the sculpture. Roses and ivy are especially popular for this purpose. Having flowers and leaves draping a column or trellis is a sure way to add elegance and flair to your garden. 

Stepping stones

Custom made, hand carved stepping stones are great unique pieces of sculpture that can really set your garden apart from others. You can have custom made stepping stones carved with your favorite design, family initials, inspirational words, special dates or other meaningful things. Or you can let the artist create their own design.

Updating the exterior of your home is very important. Not only will it make you home look beautiful but it will also add value. If you need suggestions on your homes exterior, I would speak with a team like Jayhawk Exteriors. Companies like this will be able to give you professional advice.