Two titmice in the bird bath (7274236008)

Gebouw voorstellende een boot in de Chinese tuin Het Verborgen Rijk van Ming in de Hortus Haren 02

A garden ornament is an item used for

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

, and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

enhancement and decoration. Garden ornaments include: * bench *

bird bath A bird bath (or birdbath) is an artificial puddle or small shallow pond, created with a water-filled basin, in which birds may drink, bathe, and cool themselves. A bird bath can be a garden ornament, small reflecting pool, outdoor sculpture, a ...

s * bird feeders * birdhouses *

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

s – cast stone *

fire basket A fire basket is an iron basket in which wood can be burned to make a bonfire. Background During the Middle Ages fire baskets filled with sulfur were used to repel the Black Death. Currently the fire basket is used for enjoyment. In some countries ...

* flower box ** window box *

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

s *

jardiniere ''Jardinière'' is a French word, from the feminine form of "gardener". In English it means a decorative flower box or "planter", a receptacle (usually a ceramic pot or urn) or a stand upon which, or into which, plants (often in pots) may be pla ...

kugel fountain A kugel fountain (also called a "floating" sphere fountain or by the pleonasmic name kugel ball) is a water feature or sculpture where a sphere sits in a fitted hollow in a pedestal, and is supported by aquaplaning on a thin film of water. Pres ...

garden furniture Garden furniture, also called patio furniture or outdoor furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather-resistant materials such as aluminium which is rust-proof. History The oldes ...

* gazing spheres *

hanging basket A hanging basket is a suspended container used for growing decorative plants. Typically they are hung from buildings, where garden space is at a premium, and from street furniture for environmental enhancement. They may also be suspended from fr ...

s *

landscape lighting Landscape lighting or garden lighting refers to the use of outdoor illumination of private gardens and public landscapes; for the enhancement and purposes of safety, nighttime aesthetics, accessibility, security, recreation and sports, and s ...

– decorative fixtures * lawn ornaments ** bathtub madonnas ** concrete geese ** garden gnomes **

lawn jockey A lawn jockey is a statue depicting a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in front yards as hitching posts, similar to those of footmen bearing lanterns near entrances and gnomes in gardens. Because of the prevalence of black lawn jo ...

s ** yard globe ** plastic pink flamingos *

outdoor candle An outdoor candle, which is also known a pitch torch or a garden candle (, , fi, soihtukynttilä) is a large (usually 10 cm wide) tealight-like candle that are lit outside. They are commonly found in Scandinavia, and are used as an out ...

outdoor fireplace Outdoor(s) may refer to: *Wilderness * Natural environment * Outdoor cooking * Outdoor education * Outdoor equipment * Outdoor fitness * Outdoor literature *Outdoor recreation * Outdoor Channel, an American pay television channel focused on the ou ...

outdoor sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

** sculpture trail ** found objects such as recycled

bowling ball A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling. Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowl ...

s, toilet planters, antique

farm equipment Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that the ...

** kinetic sculpture **

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

s **

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

s ** renewable energy sculpture *

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

– small versions *

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

s – e.g.

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

, cast stone *

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...

– rocks and boulders with basins * pots ** urns **

ceramic art Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. ...

vases *

rain chain Rain chains ( ja, 鎖樋, or ', See rendaku for why multiple pronunciations. literally "chain-gutter") are alternatives to a downspout. They are widely used in Japan. Their purpose is largely decorative, to make a water feature out of the transp ...

s *

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a f ...

s *

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

specimens *

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

s – small prefabricated type * weathervanes * wind chimes

History

Early examples of the use of garden ornaments in western culture were seen in Ancient Roman gardens such as those excavated at

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was burie ...

and

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the n ...

. The

Italian Renaissance garden The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the lan ...

and

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

styles were the peak of using created forms in the garden and landscape, with high art and

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...

interpretations ever since. The

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

expanded the scale of some garden ornaments to temple

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

The Asian tradition of making garden ornaments, often functioning in association with Feng Shui principles, has a nearly timeless history.

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

s with Chinese scholar's rocks, Korean stone art, and

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden des ...

s with

Suiseki In traditional Japanese culture, are small naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are appreciated for their aesthetic or decorative value. They are similar to Chinese scholar's rocks.Cousins, Craig. (2006) ''Bonsai Master Class,'' p. 244 ...

and Zen rock gardens have and symbolic meaning and natural ornamental qualities.

External links

Guide to garden ornaments
{{Lawn and garden ornaments 01 Garden features Gardening lists Design-related lists

History

See also

External links