Garden statues and ornaments: Designing your dream space from the ground up with artful landscaping | NJ.com

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Garden statues and ornaments: Designing your dream space from the ground up with artful landscaping

Published: Thursday, November 04, 2010, 9:58 AM Updated: Monday, November 08, 2010, 6:12 PM

Kimberly L. Jackson/The Star-Ledger
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Courtesy of Grounds for Sculpture Paths, such as this one at Grounds for Sculpture, are among the many options for landscape ornamentation

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Roaming through a place like Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton Township can bring on a longing for a personal space that combines impressive art with dramatic landscaping.

Even if you don’t have 35 acres of grounds or the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical inheritance of the sculpture park’s artist founder, J. Seward Johnson Jr., there are ways to make it happen.

The first step, according to landscape designers and others who deal in garden ornamentation, is get your dreams down to scale. And in this case, scaling down does not have to mean settling for less. The range in size, style and type for
garden ornaments offers infinite outdoor design possibilities.

For the budget-conscious, cast bronze or cement pieces shaped by molds can be easily reproduced and present options ranging from whimsical garden gnomes to hulking statues. Smaller artist-carved pieces from emerging artists are another way to go.

For the more avant-garde, think quirky displays of architectural salvage such as doors, trim work or fixtures. Salvage also is being crafted into planters, outdoor furniture and other uncommon garden accessories, says Rich Ellis, a New Jersey native who publishes Architectural Salvage News, a Virginia-based magazine and website.

Joel Koyama/Minneapolis Star TribuneArchitectural salvage, , such as this bright blue door, can make stunning landscape accents.

“A lot of people look at this as artwork,” he says. “You can’t go to a big-box store and buy beautiful old stained-glass windows. I’ve seen them hanging in a garden, and it’s beautiful, particularly when the sunlight hits and it’s positioned properly.”

Whatever the chosen ornament, what matters most is that it amuses you or signifies some particular interest, says architect Brian Carey, who designed Grounds For Sculpture some 25 years ago.

“As soon as you enter your property, you should sense that it is your property — that it’s what you want to see when you come home,” Carey says. He encourages gardeners, especially those incorporating ornaments, to make their yards and gardens a reflection of themselves. “The idea about a landscape is to make it personal,” he says. Put something you want out there. But stop short of the ’57 Chevy; if you put the Chevy out, then you need a refrigerator and a sofa on your porch to go with it.”

Echoing the notion of a personalized garden is Chris Young, the British author of “Best Garden Design” (Firefly Books, $35).

“Gardening should be about the personality of the gardener coming through, representing unique journeys or historical endeavours,” Young writes. “By combining sculpture and art with garden-making, a really personal space can be created.”

CLC Landscape Design A smiling Buddha statue is placed joyfully among hostas and other garden plants.

And as to the question of which comes first, the object or the plants, that depends on who you are and whom you ask. You’ll get different answers from designers, but whether the planting is designed around an object or the object is selected to enhance existing plants will likely depend on whether you consider yourself more of a collector or more gardener.

Rich Cording Jr. is plants-first in his designs, but the Columbia University-trained landscaper frequently suggests the inclusion of an “unchanging object.”
“Whether that is simply a fence, a rockery of ornamental boulders or an antique statue, I enjoy the contrast between the unchanging object and the ever-changing garden plants,” says Cording, who owns CLC Landscape Design of Ringwood with his father, Richard Sr. “I think such contrast highlights how much a garden changes throughout the season.”

And this time of year, when garden thoughts are on planning and last-minute fall planting, end-of-season sales make it a great time to save money on garden ornaments and plants, Cording says.

“All you need is a little bit of imagination to anticipate how those plants and that statue are going to look in the spring.”

DESIGN GUIDE

The following tips from Ellis, Carey, Cording and other sources are for do-it-yourselfers as well as those planning to hire a designer.

Use what you’ve got: If your landscape needs an overhaul, it might help to consider that before Grounds For Sculpture became a park, it was a flat tract of land that had been home to the state fairgrounds. Even the park’s sizable lake is man-made, the result of moving earth from the fairground’s former racetrack to create the various elevations that help showcase more than 250 sculptures outdoors and in the park’s galleries.

Some of the same design techniques that created Grounds For Sculpture can be translated into a home landscape, says Bruce Daniels, the park’s facilities director and project manager.

Make room for art: Daniels, part of the team that began developing the sculpture park in 1989, suggests creating garden niches or “rooms” within a backyard landscape. Such smaller environments within one yard help highlight key pieces and keep them separate, he says.

The Los Angeles TimesA bronze statue of children crossing a stream is among dozens of Jane DeDecker sculptures displayed at the 240-acre Na ‘Āina Kai’s Botanical Gardens in Hawaii.

Garden rooms can be walled by hedges, trees, structures and varied planting height, he says. “Moving soil around will give you some elevation changes.”
And if you’ve always wanted a backyard pond, the soil removed to create one can be used to build up height in other areas.

Shop for ideas: Anyone who has ever planned a kitchen or bathroom remodel has likely clipped inspirational photos. The same practice is useful for understanding how to incorporate garden ornaments. Look at garden magazines and books for ideas, and take a camera when visiting public gardens.

Then ask why: When a particular display pleases you, Daniels suggests studying the sculpture or garden ornament in relationship to its setting. “There’s a really important interplay between the type of background you’d want to create and the appearance of the sculpture,” he says. “Each sculpture has unique features that should be considered when incorporating it into a landscape.”

Also, consider the form of a larger piece. Is it a solid mass, open work, or something tall and narrow, more linear? Next, observe what’s behind the object. “If it is a piece you can see through, you don’t want to create something where the sculpture disappears against the backdrop,” Daniels says. “A solid stone carving or a heavy metal sculpture might look good against bamboo, some pieces might look good against a stone wall rather than plant material.”

CLC Landscape DesignA large metal butterfly ornament mirrors the texture of the ferns below it.

Pick interesting neighbors: Cording suggests placing garden ornaments near plants that have a long season of attractive foliage or consistent blooming. “The ornament is going to be attractive for the entire year,” he says. “It would be a shame if the plants nearby only looked great for a week.”

Add a little history: Cording and other landscape designers are encountering more requests to incorporate antique pieces into the garden, and these pieces have gone beyond classic statues to the use of architectural salvage. In one jaw-dropping example, Ramsey-based landscape designer Chris Cipriano created an opulent polished concrete fountain, incorporating a massive pale terra cotta medallion from the facade of a 1920s New York hotel. (See it at plantnj.com.)

Smaller salvaged landscape items have included cobblestones, foundation blocks, bricks, seating, birdbaths and even such fixtures such as bathtubs and toilets, says Ellis, of Architectural Salvage News.

Much of the recent interest in architectural salvage has been linked to eco-friendly design and the appeal of recycled materials, Ellis says. But most buyers also enjoy using materials with a past.

“Probably the most common items are iron works such as old iron gates and balcony railings,” he says. “People will use them for their intended purpose as a garden gate or they just use them as decoration in the garden.
“Almost any object that can stand up to weather can become a garden accent.

Really, it’s limited only by the user’s imagination and creativity.”
Seeking sculpture: Daniels suggests contacting artists at their studios, which could be more affordable than going through a gallery. “There are lots of local artists who would be more than happy to show you their work,” he adds.

Sculpture.org, the website of the International Sculpture Center, also in Hamilton Township, includes a Sculptor’s Portfolio that allows an international search for sculptors. The site’s resources directory also offers a worldwide search for sculpture parks, museums and galleries.

Care and maintenance: If you plan to place a piece outdoors, it’s obviously important to know that it won’t gradually melt away in rain or oxidize to an unacceptable color. Even so, experts say cleaning, and sometimes indoor winter storage, is necessary. While stone, bronze, marble, aluminum and cedar are among materials that can take the weather changes, ornaments of these materials still risk being stained or damaged by tree sap, bird droppings and other acidic substances.

With investment-price pieces, Daniels says a buyer should always consult the artist or gallery for outdoor care instructions.

Know when to say when: If you love Victorian gazing balls, religious icons, wrought-iron gates and trolls, how do you know how much is too much for one yard? “Best Garden Design” advises against having so many ornaments that they compete for a viewer’s attention. A garden ornament should act as a focal point from which to begin observing the landscape, and having too many would defeat the purpose.

For collectors, an option is to cluster similar pieces as a garden scene. But in the end, it’s your yard, and as Cording notes: “Personal taste will be the final judge.”

SHOPPING SOURCES

Depending on your taste, you can find garden accents anywhere from boutique gift shops to larger discount retailers and home improvement chains.
To help those whose search for garden goods includes architectural salvage, Ellis offers a national directory of companies that sell antique garden appointments as well as other architectural salvage and old lumber. The directory is $9.99 at architecturalsalvagenews.com or $3.99 for a download.
If your preference runs toward antiques, imports and the unusual, here are a few of our favorite sources:

Chicago Botanic Garden Antiques and Garden Fair: Take a vacation and shop for garden goodies at this 10-year-old show run by Fairfield-based Stella Show Management. The 2011 show is April 15-17. Learn more at stellashows.com.

Two Buttons: Yes, the retail love child of “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert and her fellow-traveler husband José Nunes. Among the assorted imports at the 7,000-square-foot showroom at 62A Trenton Ave. in Frenchtown is an impressive selection of statues, mostly from the Bali area. They range in price from about $65 for a 14-inch-tall meditating Buddha of cast cement to well into the thousands for larger-than-life Buddhist deities of carved limestone. The statues continue to be brought back to New Jersey as an outgrowth of the “Pray” part of Gilbert’s travels in Asia. Visit twobuttons.com to see how customers have used the store’s statues in their own gardens.

Recyclingthepast.com: Search inventory online with this Barnegat architectural salvage dealer at 381 North Main St. Call (609) 660-9790.

Hobensack & Keller: This indoor-outdoor shop at 57 West Bridge St. in New Hope, Pa., is literally just across the bridge from Lambertville. So if you’re out antiquing, it’s worth crossing the state line to browse the vast selection of vintage and antique English and American ironwork, and antique and reproduction statuary. We found many unusual pieces and got exceptional service at this shop owned by the town’s four-term mayor, Larry Keller. Call (215) 862-2406 for information and hours.

E-mail Kimberly L. Jackson

Garden statues and ornaments: Designing your dream space from the ground up with artful landscaping | NJ.com