I hazard a guess that garden ornament has been around as long as gardens themselves. The ornaments can serve to enhance a garden's beauty and add interest.
Just about anything goes, from formal, classical statuary on a grand and magnificent scale, to tiniest found object; from vast extravagent neo-classical grottos carved from the side of hillsides to old rusted tools from a by-gone age.
 |
| Classical Statuary on a grand scale. Here's a formidable guardian of the garden. Boldt Castle, 1000 Islands |
 |
| Another example of classical statuary on a grand scale. Though not to everyone's taste, there's no denying how tasteful these three beauties are. From a veritable mansion in Toronto. |
 |
| And a third example, of classical statuary on a grand scale. Once again, a truly magnificent example of garden ornament, this time incorporating the statuary with a water feature. How envious I am! IBID |
 |
| This beautiful little statue, sitting quitely amongst the wisteria and sweet woodruff, is proof that you don't have to go big to have an impact. From a private oasis on Ward's Island, Toronto. |
 |
| OK, perhaps a little too large and strange for an your ordinary garden, but you've got to admit it does add interest! From the grounds of the now defunct Fifth Town Cheesery, Prince Edward County |
 |
| Simple and extremely tasteful. From an estate in Etobicoke. |
 |
| One of my favorites. The juxaposition of this pendulous spruce against the verticles of the fencing is enhanced by the circular "window" cut in it. The circular form is echoed by one round ball nestled amongst a plethora of irregular stones at its base, which serves to punctuate and complete the composition. An exquisite work of art. From another garden in Etobicoke. |
I've tried to gain inspiration for garden ornaments for Kelly Gardens from magazines, garden centres and gardens that I have visited over the year. I'm a fan of natural ornament myself. I don't think you will be seeing garden gnomes or pink flamingoes at Kelly Gardens. But natural looking doesn't mean it has to be boring. Have a look at these metal mushrooms we bought this year in Merrickvile at a yarn store (go figure!).
 |
| At a distance they look very realistic. But you could give your toe a nasty stub on them if you're not careful. |
Last year at the Montreal Botanical garden in their gorgeous catus/succulent house, we spotted a wonderful use of a natural object which was probably placed to add verisimilitude, but it sure did turn out to be decorative too.
Take a look at this.
 |
| This bovine skull is playful, and at the same time very fitting. You can almost believe you are in the desert rather than a green house! |
When we visited again this Spring, we noticed someone had added a plant in a very clever way.
 |
| OK, so it isn't exactly the same skull, but you must admit it's an improvement from the earlier incarnation. Adding the succulent just adds to the playfulness. Bravo! |
Wow, I just had to get me one of those!
 |
| Meet Geraldine... |
Photo op time. We put her under the Sedge just for fun, but I think you'll agree that she looks a lot better with the driftwood in this garden. She comes in for the winter, as our boys think she's really cool, and we wouldn't want her to go astray. (That's a bit of a non-sequiter. Let me explain - Teenage boys think Geraldine is cool, therefore may wish to liberate her. As we visit so rarely, we aren't around to make sure she doesn't get "appropriated". Therefore, she's being taken in for the winter.) When we move up eventually, we will keep her out. After all, I'm looking forward to taking her photo when she's covered with snow.
 |
| Geraldine in the foreground and the lovely piece of found wood in the background. This bed is planted with echinacea, and blue fescue with some thyme and sage in the corners. I think the driftwood fits perfectly here with Geraldine. |
I must admit I find it amusing (which is better than being outraged) at the price of drift wood you can purchase at garden centres. Luckily we have many dead trees at Kelly Gardens, and the ones that have been standing for a long time are oaks. that's an added bonus as the wood is hard and doesn't decay as fast as other woods do.
So, take a piece of dead tree and put it artistically in the garden, and Voila.
I haven't even touched on the whole world of Japanese Garden ornament, which I must admit we have started to acquire, but I'm very pleased with how our first foray into garden ornament has turned out, and the Lanterns will be featured in another post.
P.S. If anyone knows where we can get a pair of Temple Dogs, we would love to know as they would certainly be spectacular guarding the entrance to Kelly Gardens.
