- Author: Sharon L. Rico
I love garden art and our small garden is always changing as I add and delete items that add character. For 25 years a whispering garden angel has followed us from garden to garden as we've relocated.
Garden angels make me think of ruins, Botanical gardens and even cemeteries. The Metairie and Lafayette Cemeteries in New Orleans have the “Weeping Angel “, with many other unusual angel statues. These angels are guarding the grounds and adding a link from the ancient to the modern.
If angels are not your interest, faces are another garden accent that enhances collections of plants. A garden that was on a home tour five years ago had a huge face of a goddess that a tree branch had fallen on and broken. Half of the face remained, telling a story of life and change, man's struggles with weather and nature. The broken clay became a different garden decoration, a ruin.
In the 18th century, ruins were fashionably popular in the garden. Broken columns, moss or ivy covered statues or crumbling brick walls were a sign of the gardener's worldliness. Ruins added drama and focal points to the garden. In Europe most gardens from huge Botanical gardens to private gardens have ruins that evoke nostalgia and history. In England, a mock tower was designed to look old by building it with old broken bricks and planting vines to climb upwards. A family and their guests would have an impressive place to view the garden and surrounding countryside.
It's enjoyable to tour regional and Botanical gardens to view “real” ruins. One does not have to go to Europe as we have many gardens in North America that have ruins although medieval ruins are rare.
Looking around Northern California, you can locate stone, cement and clay architecture elements such as pediments, statuary, columns and obelisks. These can be found new or recycled.
If your desired piece is new and you want to make it look old there are several easy methods to age it. Or if you like the look of moss, you can create your own faux moss by several different techniques located on the Internet.
By being creative and aging your piece plus planting several ferns around it, you can create your own “ruin” to enjoy for years to come.