(Part 2 “Placing your garden sculpture” coming soon)

These days gardens are an expansion of your home. Choosing the right piece of art for your garden or courtyard can make or ruin a space.

You must consider four main things when choosing the right garden sculpture:

  • Style
  • Size and shape
  • Material
  • Feeling

 The type or style of artwork will need to be a good match for your garden. Fountains have a propensity to blend in more naturally on a somewhat formal garden, whereas sculptures, benches, and comparable items will fit in virtually everywhere. Modern art can still work in a heritage home, but be very careful not to mix it too much, if your furniture is modern and contemporary then a modern sculpture will match well. If you have antique furniture in a colonial home it may not match quite as well.

You must also work out what scale that fits best in your garden. Though a large part of art in a little garden may create a focus, generally, you’ll need the scale of your artwork to match the scale and design of your backyard. Then again, if you want your yard to be invigorating and pleasant, use lots of vertical components if you use a large-scale art piece. 
A small intricately detailed statue can work just as well as a larger less detailed piece. For tall vertical trees or plants with narrow branches, choose an equally vertical sculpture such as a figurative marble or bronze standing statue.
Alternatively, you may want the piece to stand out by placing a wider piece in the foreground or centre of your garden.

What separates the outdoor space from the rest of your home design is the height and openness of the ceiling or lack thereof. This allows you to fill more of the horizontal space without creating any claustrophobic feelings, so don’t be as concerned if you are looking at larger pieces that appear big in an image or gallery.

Colour may also play a vital part in creating a mood in your backyard. Selecting a piece with more natural colours and materials such as a bronze sculpture will act like your plants and create a more restful sense while contrasting tones like a stainless steel sculpture will create more excitement. The type of garden art which you choose really can help tie together the components of your garden and make the feeling that you want.

What’s your budget? Sculptures and fountains can be an expensive sort of garden art. But the right piece is timeless and will never lose value.

If you choose the right piece it appears virtually inseparable from its environment. It is the overall feeling that is given when you walk into or sit in the outdoor space that you are trying to satisfy.

A statement can be made in many ways with your garden, we cannot all have something as grand as the local botanical gardens, but every part of art added to a backyard, or front yard for that matter, speaks of the owner’s personality, so always decide with your feelings.

See some of the garden sculptures Sculptura have to offer or talk to one of our designers for help finding the right sculpture.