Garden art and sculpture creates year-round atmosphere and interest in your garden.
A sculpture will look as beautiful in the winter as in the summer.
It can create a focal point or define a part of the garden. Or it can add contrast or highlight a theme.
And when you buy an individual piece of art, it reflects your personal style in your garden.
Garden art in the Savill Garden in Windsor. Clockwise from top: Encircled Core 1 by Julie Simpson, English Native Woodland Creatures by Katie Netley and Goddess by Friedel Buecking.
Ideas from the Savill Garden ‘Art in the Garden’
So I visited the Savill Garden, where they have an annual ‘Art in the Garden’ exhibition with the Surrey Sculpture Society.
Art and sculpture from a range of artists is displayed around the beautiful gardens. It’s a great way of seeing ideas on how and where you could use art in your own garden.
The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park is 35 acres of gardens. There is a bog garden, a dry garden, a lake, woodland, a rose garden and some magnificent herbaceous borders, so whether your garden is wilder or more formal, there is something for you to enjoy. This year’s ‘Art in the Garden’ runs from 11th September to 29th October.
How to choose garden art or sculpture
I asked four of the artists exhibiting at the Savill Garden, along with Savill Garden horticulturalist Heather King to suggest tips on choosing garden art or sculpture. They were Caroline Wheaton, Nicci Fairbank, Julie Simpson and Marie Boyle.
Heather King helps to choose the sculptures for the exhibition and decide where they will go.
She starts by looking at the submissions from the Surrey Sculpture Society artists.
If you’re looking for your garden, the equivalent is to look at as much garden art as you can in. Make an effort to see art and sculpture in gardens by visiting a sculpture garden or a special exhibition.
Classical sculpture ‘Galatea’ by Malcolm West. Looking at art in gardens will help you decide whether you want a classical or figurative piece or whether your style is more modern. Heather King chose classical pieces to go in the formal areas, such as the Rose Garden.
As well as the Savill Garden, the Surrey Sculpture Society also does an exhibition at Leonardslee Gardens. The International Sculpture Center in the US lists sculpture gardens around the world.
And put ‘sculpture garden near me’ into a search engine.
Voyage by Friedel Buecking. Contemporary and colourful – it adds interest to what would otherwise be an overlooked corner.
Consider the theme or style of your garden
While there are no rules about what sort of sculpture goes into which style of garden, there are some helpful starter points.
What is your garden style? Contemporary, colourful, traditional, ‘English country’ or cottage garden? If you’re still planning your garden, read Garden Style Ideas and How to Choose a Garden Style.
You can link your garden art to the style of your garden, such as a classical figure next to a rose garden.
Or you can contrast it. The Savill Garden has some spectacular traditional herbaceous borders. It has married them with two contemporary pieces.
They are, however, visually linked to the borders in other ways. Goddess by Friedel Buecking reflects the pinks and purples of one herbaceous border. And Trio of Pyramids reflects the planting of the other borders in its mirrored sides. It’s spectacular.
Goddess by Friedel Buecking shows how a contemporary work can look good in a traditional environment. Consider how the colours or material of your sculpture will look against the planting. The colours of this herbaceous border work well with the Goddess.
Trio of Pyramids Tribute to Life by Richard Heron. The mirrored sides of these pyramids reflect the planting. It’s stunning.
Trio of Pyramids – Tribute to Life by Richard Heron. The three pyramids stand in the open space between two herbaceous borders, reflecting the planting from different angles.
Talk to the artists
All the sculptors said that once you’ve found a style you like, talk to the artist about where and how you want to place the sculpture.
Consider the space – do you want to place a larger work in an open space, for example on a lawn? It can add focus and distinction.
Cherish Those Who Hold Us Up by Marie Boyle. This is a life size work and was placed in an area of lawn between two paths in the Savill Garden. Marie says that you don’t have to have a large garden to have large sculptures, but that it’s essential to talk to the artist about how a large sculpture will be secured. You don’t want children to swing from it or people to knock it over!
Encircled Core 1 by Julie Simpson. This is a smaller work, raised on a plinth to create a focal point at the bottom of steps. Julie says you could place it on the ground to punctuate a path or border. It’s made of jesmonite, in different sizes: ‘You could play with perspective by placing a series of them stretching away from the house, with the biggest nearest to you and the smallest furthest away,’ she says. That could make your garden seem longer.
The Strawberry Thief by Alison Catchlove. This is another smaller sculpture, used to add interest to a boring shrub or hedge.
Garden art for sun or shade?
Think about how the light will impact on your garden art or sculpture. Will it reflect? Can you make the most of a shady spot by giving it art with a woodland feel?
What about the wind? Make the most of any movement by choosing and positioning a sculpture that will interact with your garden.
Two very different spots for sculpture at the Savill Garden. The Enoki Dot Mushrooms by Abby Martin add interest to a shady area where nothing much grows. And the Trio of Pyramids by Richard Heron reflects the planting.
Wisp by Nick Baker. The long poles wave gently in the breeze. So consider where the wind blows in your garden to take advantage of a sculpture that moves.
Consider the practicalities
It’s important to think about how your sculpture or art will be fixed. The Savill Garden is open to the public, so there are always people walking past. Even in a private garden, you may get children playing or dogs running past. You don’t want the sculpture falling over.
Caroline Wheaton of the Surrey Sculpture Society advises you to discuss this with the artist. Many works are pinned securely deeply into the soil. If you place the sculpture on a plinth, make sure the plinth and the sculpture won’t fall over if someone bumps into it.
English Native Woodland Creatures by Katie Netley. A tall work of art like this will need to be pinned securely with hidden pins, so that it doesn’t fall over.
You also need to know how to care for your work of art. Garden art will be made of resilient materials, but it will need cleaning. The artist should be able to advise you.
Elegance by Caroline Wheaton. Caroline says that some works – such as this one – should be polished with a wax approximately once every six months.
Sculptor Nicci Fairbank with ‘Williams Pear’. Some works of garden art are made of materials that naturally weather and rust, adding to their patina. This is made from recycled scaffolding poles, cut up and it will rust beautifully.
How much does garden art and sculpture cost?
There is a difference between buying a mass-produced ornament in a garden centre and an individual piece of art created by someone.
Generally art created at an individual level will be more expensive. Caroline Wheaton of the Surrey Sculpture Society equates the prices of most of their sculptors’ work at an ‘Affordable Art Fair’ level.
The Affordable Art Fair is an exhibition in ten cities around the world, including London, New York, Melbourne and Hong Kong) which focuses on affordable art and sculpture. There are no exact price ranges given on their website, but it’s generally understood to be selling art between around £100 and £5,000.
More garden art and sculpture ideas
There are more ideas and tips on how to place garden ornaments and sculpture in this post.
And find more garden sculpture tips and ideas in this post.
Pin to remember choosing garden art
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