Garden sculptural forms growing in interest

Press, 10 July 1979, Page 17

Garden sculptural forms growing in interest

Throughout the history of gardens, sculpture and other forms of embellishment have been used to create a focal point in some particular part of the garden design. The Italians Used sculpture ,o perfection during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Italians were later followed by the French and the English, who also favoured the use of carefully selected and placed sculptural features. Pots and urns have also featured in many early gardens — in the ea.'.v Spanish gardens of the thirteenth century, the Chinese and Japanese gardens of the eighth century, who, incidentally, as we are generally ail aware, were masters in the use of rock as a sculptural form in the garden. Sculptural forms today offer exciting possibilities and these have a rightful place in our garden design. When I speak about sculptural form I mean many things, as it can take shape in the form of a natural rock or the contorted shapes of tree trunks and branches, or it might he man-made, a wall with a pattern of

blocks set out to form a relief will create an interesting interplay of light and shadow. It may be a simple wall plaque, an outdoor wall mural, intricately patterned paving, simple bells or wind chimes, a statue or a piece of modern abstract sculpture. Whatever form the sculptural feature takes it should be relatively simple

to be effective and have a strong impact when set against a background of suitably contrasting plant material. Sculptural objects should blend with the house , both in their colour and choice of material as they can help to provide a unifying link between the house and garden. They become an extension, of the house interior. However, they shouldn’t be too large or they will overwhelm the space in which they are placed; nor, on the other '.and, should they be too small or they can be simplv in-

significant and overlooked. Garden sculpture and other objects do, indeed, need to be larger and generally more robust in their forms than those displayed indoors. Sculpture needs to stand at least 60cm in height if it >s to look at all convincing in the garden; and anything above one metre will become a completely independant landscape element. Sculptured figures seem wrong if they are life size. They appear more natural and fitting if threequarters life size or distinctly more than life size. In this respect the work of the sculptors Henrv Moore or Barbara Hepworth would testify to this point. Such ornaments or accents should always be used sparingly and not sprinkled about all over the garden, as they will immediately lose their visual impact and interest. Mass-produced plaster gnomes, statues, silver balls and butterflies rarely do much for the garden and probably are.best forgotten as they detract from the more attractive elements of the garden. Original sculpture is probably a desirable acquisition but, naturally, it can be costly. However, sometimes old decorative items such as statues, pots, and urns can be found and used to advantage in a garden at a considerably low cost. A reasonably plain sculpture form can prove quite pleasing in a garden setting, where, in an art gallery, it would '■ppear somewhat mediocre. The other .alternative is to create your own sculptural forms by using natural materials such as rock groups, or creating a manmade form . from some suitable weather resistant

material. Whatever the results you will enjoy the creative. challenge of arranging simple forms into a unified composition with a character of its own, and this is the aim in using sculptural form in the garden.