Sunday, July 1, 2012

Garden Buddhas, Sundials and Other Garden Accents


If garden accents such as garden Buddhas, garden sundials or even clocks and thermometers interest you, then you can choose from a wide range of garden products online that are designed not just to be functional, but also decorative. It doesn't matter what kind of backyard or garden you have, you are sure to find something that suits you.

Most gardens are fairly standard with respect to design and content, with grass, flowers and occasionally vegetables, but without a great deal of thought put into its design. However, just a small amount of imagination can convert a plain garden or backyard into something special. Lighting, for example, cam transform the most ordinary garden into a fairy wonderland at night if add a few small statues, and even an ordinary garden gnome looks fabulous when highlighted with a spotlight.

Here are some ideas you can use to brighten up your garden, and make it more of a conversation or talking point than just another garden in your neighborhood. Do it right and your barbecue evenings will become the most popular in town!

Garden Sundials
Garden sundials look good simply because of what they are: they work, if you know how to use them, but they can also be decorative by crafting the gnomon (the blade that makes the shadow) in the form of a dragonfly, frog, sailboat or even a crescent moon. Even a 12 inch standard design garden sundial, made in the USA of cast aluminum and available in bronze, green moss or verdigris shades, looks great, and will remind you of bygone days when this was how time was recorded, by the position of the shadow on the dial.

There are many different designs of sundials you can use as garden accents, and each one will delight children and even adults as they compare their watches with the sundial time. It has to be aligned correctly and set horizontally, of course, so the time of the shadow corresponds with the time on the clock, but once set then it will record time forever.

Garden Buddhas
Garden Buddhas are becoming more popular, particularly in Japanese gardens or ordinary domestic gardens structured in a Japanese or oriental style. There are many different types and sizes of Buddha sculptures, although a 21 inch model would be good for a garden. Most Buddhas are depicted in contemplation and in spite of what many may tell you, he can face in any direction. His head should strictly be above yours, but if you are not a Buddhist it shouldn't matter too much.

Garden Planters
Garden planters are popular garden accents for those gardens that are not planted with flowers. Perhaps the bulk of your garden or yard is paved for parking, or devoted to a barbecue area. In such cases planters are ideal garden accents for introducing the color of flowers, and also of the planter itself.

Planters can be in the form of colorful tubs, pots set in pedestals or wire frameworks, or free-standing aluminum boxes, Greek jars or even copper jars and tubs. They can be as plain or decorative as you like, and many people use square planters dug randomly into the ground among the paving of a paved area.

Garden Gnomes
Garden gnomes are the universal garden accents that some people spend their lives collecting. There is a virtually unlimited number of different types of garden gnomes, but you don't need many to brighten up a dull backyard or garden in winter. Statues of gnomes playing in baskets or tires make a change from the ubiquitous fishing gnome.

Bird Feeders
Many people have bird feeders in their garden, partially to attract birds and partially because they can be very decorative garden accents. Again there are unlimited designs, one idea being to combine a sundial with a bird feeder or to combine a feeder with a bird bath.

They can be free-standing or hanging, and if you have a Japanese or oriental style of garden, bird feeders are available in the shape of lanterns that can be hung from a pole or washing line. Speaking of birds, a pair of metal cranes at 52 and 53 inches tall would also be a great addition to most gardens,
It doesn't matter what size your garden is - massive or tiny - you can find garden accents online to make it much more attractive than it is. All it takes is a little imagination and the right website offering the right products.

Summary: Garden accents can be used to decorate and brighten up any type of garden, and among the accents available are garden gnomes, garden sundials, planters, bird feeders and so on. By choosing the appropriate garden products online and using your imagination, you will soon have a garden that is the envy of your neighborhood.