What has become of our gardens? If you ever visit an old house that’s gone relatively untouched for like a hundred years or more, and you take a look in the garden, you’re probably going to see some pretty cool stuff.
Even if it was a relatively small place owned by a modest earner, back in the day, people always made sure that they had a little bit of art to show off to anyone who came to visit. Things have changed now of course.
Most of the time we don’t bother with any of that stuff, our gardens are just for practical purposes. In fact they don’t even get the distinction of being called ‘gardens’ anymore. Now they are just referred to, in rather less elegant fashion, as backyards.
And of course a big part of that has to do with money. In 2020, yard art that looks good is generally antique stuff and it can get a little bit pricey. Still though, a piece of antique art can add a lot to a backyard and if you’re interested, there’s a good variety of different kinds.
For example, a shade garden is a perfect place for antique yard art. Creating it is not very difficult and doesn’t require a ton of work. On the one hand, you can buy some extremely old pieces at garage sales for a reasonable price and it can be just one or two of them to give the whole new meaning to your nice little spot. On the other hand, you’ll incorporate them easily in your calming shade garden and spend days and months enjoying it with a good book in your hands.
So, let’s take a look at the best kinds of yard art:
Statues & Ornaments
In terms of antique yard art, this is the most common kind that you will see. There are a ton of different kinds of antique statues and ornaments from various different points in history which you’ve probably seen adorning some gardens.
You will commonly see statues of Buddha, oftentimes very small ones but they can vary in size. These are massively significant in terms of Asian iconography because Buddhism is a very old and widely practiced religion in Asia.
A statue of Buddha is always a good place to start, but you can also aim for other historical regions too. An Italian themed garden will also have a lot of statues as a significant part of the decor.
Oftentimes expensive due to being made from materials such as marble and alabaster, what you would often expect are sculptures in the style of Renaissance era artists and were typically religious influenced, whether they were Christian or the mythological Roman Gods.
And then you’ve got the Ancient Greeks who were also fond of statues that replicated the Gods they worshipped. So you can get a lot of sculptures in this vein but antique animal statues also look great.
Dogs and lions were always popular because they were intended to represent property that was protected.
Fountains
Have you ever thought about what a fountain actually is? I mean I’m sure you know what they look like and how aesthetically pleasing they are to look at, but isn’t it strange that we would use water as a decoration?
It does kind of make sense when you really think about it though. Fountains have dated back to ancient Greek and Roman times, and their original purpose wasn’t for show, they were in fact just used to supply drinking water.
Even the designs that we think of as being decorative were for this purpose too. The Roman’s were always very complex and elaborate with their designs, even back when the fountains were just to supply water for drinking and for the bathhouses.
With that in mind, what does a fountain symbolize now? It’s a symbol of life really, water is the most essential element of our survival and to display something which can provide that, implies prosperity.
Evolution has conditioned us to feel a profound sense of calm and serenity at the sight of flowing water or that notoriously pleasant trickling sound and that’s what a garden fountain can give us.
Considering the fact that our personal fountains no longer serve any practical purposes, they can be designed however we want and the creativity that can be seen in some antique fountains is pretty incredible.
Flower Pots
For us in 2020, the statues and the fountains are primarily just for show, but you can adapt your yard art into something a little bit more functional. Antique flower pots are a good way to add a flavour of art while also serving as a way to display your plant life.
The great thing about antique flower pots is that the design can be basically anything. It’s just a pot, it’s an entirely unspecific thing and so you can have pots of a number of different sizes with different patterns on them.
Whether it’s Celtic, Asian, Renaissance, whatever you want. It’s an interesting addition to your backyard and it can symbolize growth. Some new life, growing from something ancient and antique.
Antique yard art will add a lot to your garden, and as you can see, there are many different options to choose from when deciding on what art you want to decorate your garden with.
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