Landscape Design - Using Garden Art

Including art in your garden Design can be loads of fun and bring a unique quality to your outdoor spaces. Whether your selections are flamboyant or subtle, a small decorative piece or a major work, artwork of any kind in your garden can create a major point of interest for visitors and an ongoing source of inspiration for you.

For many people the idea of selecting garden art can be quite daunting so they hurry the process or avoid all together. Art has been closely linked with garden Design since early civilisations and still today has an integral garden Design function to play. With the right state of mind you can find the perfect piece of art to complement the mood of your outdoor world, no matter its size or layout, that will bring you pleasure for many years to come.

The choice of garden art available to Designers now is greater than ever before. From Iron and copper sculptures to marble figures, mosaic balls to plated tables, modern garden art encompasses all cultures and styles. Even for the most experienced Designers the choice can be overwhelming, so where do you start?

Be Passionate

The first step in selecting garden art is to trust your instincts. Chose something that you feel passionate about - not what is in style at the time or what you've been told to buy. Your own confidence in what you like is the starting point for selecting any artwork. If you aren't certain what you like be patient and find a piece that stands out or one you 'keep coming back to'.

Frame The Art

When deciding on a location for your new piece of garden art consider these points:

Think about where you will view the work from - the view from inside your home is just as important as from the garden.

Framing is equally about blocking details out as it is highlighting the piece - distracting elements must be blocked out to provide maximum impact.

Framing with plants will subtly blend the artwork into the garden.

Try an overhead frame like an arch or arbour - try framing your art with a pattern around the base such as paving, stones or a hedge.

Introduce a reverse frame by growing vines on a wall - place a sculpture in front of the wall and trim the leaves behind it.

Create A Statement

Always have a vision of the kind of presence you expect the artwork to have in your garden. Is it going to be a focal point or a finishing touch? Whatever piece you decide on it must draw your attention.

Consider what kind of lifestyle your garden is tailored to. Is your garden Designed for entertaining, relaxation, activity or aesthetics? Your selected artwork must blend and suit the 'lifestyle' of your garden. If it doesn't suit it will not work. For example, slate and stone sculptures will create a sense of oasis and relaxation, particularly when combined with water. Murals with colour incorporated or glazed ceramics will be more stimulating and better suited to entertaining areas.

Know your Garden Style

You must know and understand the 'style' of your garden. Japanese, urban, formal, cottage, Tuscan, country or other - you must consider your garden style to chose your artwork correctly. The art must compliment the style. Any individual piece can look terrific given the right setting. What is important is that the opposite is also true - any art can look awful if it clashes with the rest of your garden. Rustic farm style artwork will not suit a Tuscan themed garden. Likewise an abstract sculpture will look out of place in a country-style garden.

Also consider the association between materials and garden styles. Unglazed terracotta works for instance are associated with Tuscan gardens, marble pieces with formal gardens, timber and iron with country gardens. While your artwork should stand out in the garden, it should serve to highlight your chosen style, not detract from it.

Key To Success

The key is to keep the perspective of your entire garden in mind when choosing garden artworks. If you have a style already firmly fixed try taking some photos of your garden with you when shopping for pieces to compliment it. If you intend for the artwork to be a focal point of your garden, it is best for it to be part of the gardens original Design.
Try sketching your garden to scale and include the intended locations for your garden art. This will help to ensure that the pieces you purchase are the correct size for the locations. The most common error made when selecting artworks for the garden is purchasing items that are too small. To get a feel for how the artwork will impact your garden try placing an object of similar size in the location.

Be Practical

To conclude I will stress the importance of practicalities. These few tips will help ensure wise decisions:

Consider children in the garden - if they use the space for physical activity chose artwork that is not easily broken.

Avoid placing pieces on walls or steps where they may be easily knocked off.

Concrete pieces may crack if subjected to locations that are likely to have dramatic changes in temperature.

Water sculptures made from concrete should be treated with a proprietary sealing agent to prevent lime from leaching out.

Sedimentary stone based artworks such as limestone and sandstone are porous and can attract mosses and lichens.

Glazed finishes on artworks will ensure they don't fade or rust.

This practical advice should help you to choose artwork for your garden that blends in and creates interest as a focal point. If you have any further advice about selecting pieces for the garden let us know your ideas in the comments section below. Happy gardening!

Fraser is a Freelance Journalist, Author and CEO of Pro-Content Australia - providing professional online & offline content writing services worldwide.

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5 Useful Tips To Select A Landscape Design Services Company

It is indeed a pleasure to own a beautiful garden. Ask any person who owns a beautiful garden; they'll undeniably love spending time in it, but the envious looks from their neighbors will make them feel even better about their garden. If you wish to have a lovely garden then you should hire a Landscape Design Services company unless you have the necessary talent and the time to spare.

There is more to having a beautiful garden than just putting plants in place. The plants should complement each other and they should also be selected keeping the climate in mind. Further, the garden should be easy and inexpensive to maintain. Therefore, you should select a Landscape Design Services contractor who knows exactly what to do, and that too at a reasonable price. Be sure to use the following Tips when selecting a contractor:

1. Select an experienced landscaper because skill and knowledge are very important in this field. Even if you are considering hiring a lesser known (and therefore more affordable) landscaper, be sure that you only do this after seeing a few examples of gardens done by this person.

2. The landscaper should ideally be a member of industry associations.

3. It is best to avoid an extremely busy landscaper who will not have the time to offer maintenance Services. 4. Have discussions with more than one prospect in order to gauge their responsiveness and eagerness to landscape your garden. This will give you a good idea about whether the landscaper will customize a design for your garden keeping its shape and your needs and budget in mind.

5. A really good landscaper will provide you with a guarantee on the work, with regards to the total cost of the project as well as the time that will be taken to complete it. You can expect a slight degree of deviation from these terms, but there shouldn't ever be a very large deviation.

You'll find it easier to get the best possible work from a Landscape Design Services company if you do a bit of research on exactly what kind of garden you wish to have. You'll be able to communicate your needs correctly to the landscaper you eventually hire and this will ensure that your garden looks absolutely fabulous. Not only will a lovely garden give you immense pleasure but it will also ensure that your property rises in value, should you ever wish to put it on the market.

The right Landscape Design Services company will build a truly lovely garden for you. Get Tips on how to choose the right company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rizvana_Manzoor

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Garden Designs: Effective Ways of Creating a Stunning Landscape

No matter you have employed an amateur or a quality professional for designing your Garden; you have to follow the basic Garden design principles. Effective nursery Designs help the homeowners to create a Landscape as per their requirements, goals or desires.

Garden style elements literally consist of heavy Landscape layouts. These layouts include walls, decking areas, paths, water resources or sitting areas. Moreover, different plants have different set of horticultural needs. Their seasonal appearance, growing habit, growing speed and longevity are all vital nursery design elements.

Moreover, as a homeowner, you should always stress on the Garden's upkeep requirements. You must set a budget for the regular upkeep of the Landscape. Your budget will have a big role behind the plant choice. You must select the plants according to its growing speed, self seeding character, growing season, bloom time and a lot of other things.

Before framing the Garden design, you must focus on its use. The specific class and approach are very important for connecting the Landscape to the home or different structures within the surrounding areas. But, all these factors will heavily depend on your budget allocation.

Now, how will your dream Garden look? Effective Landscape Designs will help you to transform your dreams into reality. Innovative ideas, inspiring Designs for front or backyards will help you create a stunning masterpiece. Garden Designs consist of beautiful leaves, plant combinations, red and yellow flowers, vital interior decoration tips and Landscape aesthetics.

As a homeowner, you should always add plants having contrasting colours. Mixing pink, lavender, blue, purple or orange flowers together will certainly help you create a stunning Landscape. If you wish to add wildlife elements (like birds or butterflies) into your Landscape, you have to find some effective ways of attracting them to your nursery. Building a bird house or bird bath will certainly help you to attract the birds easily.

If you are passionate about Gardening, you will have a pulsating sensation during the growing seasons. It is never late to start your Garden designing work if you have a sound knowledge about plants. Choose the plants according to their climatic behaviour. If you are planning the nursery designing project in summer, it is better to opt for annual vegetables or flowers. But, if you do not have enough time, you must grow the plants in small pots or containers. This will help you to showcase your plants to the visitors.

No matter what you grow, never deviate from the basic Garden designing principles. This will certainly help you create a stunning masterpiece at home.

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