Visual treats

Plants are not all that goes into making a garden. A Dyuti has some interesting ideas on decorating it and making it pleasing to the eyes of the onlooker.

The idea is to grow not just more colourful plants but to employ manmade artefacts and accessories too for heightening the appearance of your little patch of paradise! Here are some suggestions. Did you know most ancient civilisations employed art pieces to embellish gardens. You too could follow suit.

Marble figurines of Roman or Greek gods and sculptures, child statues, cherubs and angels besides famous art-pieces reproduced in bronze like Rodin’s ‘Thinker’, are universal favourites. They’re popular in our country too. Now, statues of Indian gods and goddesses are also being promoted as garden decor. Among animal statues, the terracotta Bankura horse finds its way into most Indian lawns.

You can also pick from among terracotta garden art pieces like sculptures, engraved, outdoor wall-hangings, flower-pots, urns, jars, wind chimes and bells. Being water-proof, eco-friendly, relatively inexpensive and portable, they are much sought after today. The usual terracotta colours are in the orange, orangish-red and brownish-orange range. Yellow, gray and pink are possible with glazed, finished products. Metal patina can also be simulated.

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Brightly-painted, awe-inspiring faces, usually placed on buildings or houses to ward off the evil eye, now appear in gardens too. In the West, lifelike gnomes are installed owing to the belief that these tiny, mythical creatures tend the garden at night. Other western favourites include sundials, weathervanes/weathercocks with a cockerel, ship, arrow or horse motif, marble bird-feeders and birdbaths, glazed globes and garden signs inscribed with inspiring or loving messages.

Artistically-crafted pots, planters and window-boxes also add to a garden’s beauty. Made of wood, metal, plastic or fibreglass, these are attractive. Copper ones can be captivating as exposure to the elements makes them patina with a luscious finish. Clay is economical, with a quaint terracotta look. Plastic is inexpensive, but, suffers from a low aesthetic appeal.

Concrete holders are very decorative with an old world charm. However, being too heavy, along with the tendency to crack owing to harsh natural elements, they’re best used as terrestrial planters. Fibreglass is weather-resistant, lightweight, maintenance-free and paintable. The environmentally-conscious can select straw boxes. Resin window-boxes are all-weather-resistant and unbreakable. For a charming, country look, choose the wicker-box or basket. You can also erect a ceiling-to-floor decorative pole with hooks to hang multiple baskets all along.

Artistic lights and tasteful lighting also combine to lend a magical touch to your garden at sundown. Place lights with domes of different shapes strategically to highlight your best plants. For lighting up an entire large space, ambient lighting by means of bright lights mounted on lamp-posts or fixed to walls, besides hanging lamps are helpful.

For hassle-free movement, you need path-lights. Marine lighting involves the use of underwater lights to illuminate water areas like pools and ponds. For boosting aesthetics, go for accent lighting, where you’ll light up a particular attractive feature of your garden with down-lights or up-lights, be it a clump of pretty pots, a huge tree or some garden garnishing like a statue.

You can also position the lights to create either a silhouette or a shadow effect. Wall-lights can also be thrown in. Spike lights are usually scattered around the garden, especially in the flower-beds. Draping twinkle lights around tree-trunks is one of the most popular ideas. Remember, subtlety is the secret of an enchanting ambience.