30+ Eye-catching Garden Ornament Ideas & Projects To Enhance Your Backyard

A successful garden is one that is easy to look at and full of points of interest. Garden ornaments are a low cost way to improve visual appeal.

A single, well-positioned small ornamental planter, statue or figure can transform the appearance of a domestic garden or back yard. It creates a feature or point of interest, which catches and holds the attention.

Garden decoration comes in all shapes and sizes. At one extreme are unique pieces of outdoor art, commissioned for a specific location and costing hundreds if not thousands. At the other end of the scale are very affordable coloured containers and figurines that add life and humour to gardens across the country.

Using Containers as Garden Ornaments

There is an almost unlimited variety of planters and other vessels available to today’s gardener. Traditional red clay flower pots have long since been joined by an array of richly coloured and highly decorated urns, troughs and other plant holders. They are made from a variety of materials including plastic, resin, clay, wood, stone or metal.

There is no need for every container to hold a plant or shrub. The container itself can become a point of interest if positioned in such as way as to attract the gaze of passersby.

Using unusual or surprising materials or textures adds another layer of interest that blends with the seasonal changes in the garden. Glass or vases with smooth or highly reflective surfaces can create an exciting contrast to the matte textures usually found in nature.

Garden Decoration with Statues and Figures

Some might regard it as slightly cliché to have the form of a partially undressed Venus standing in the middle of a closely-cropped lawn. Fortunately there are now many alternatives to this very classical style of garden ornament.

Most garden centres offer their customers a huge selection of different statues and figures in varying sizes and materials. Some are lifelike representations of small animals such as hedgehogs or a cat while others are miniatures, either people or animals.

Deliberately humorous figures are common, such as the head of a mole appearing to poke out of the ground, or the rear end of a small dog disappearing into an apparent burrow.

A statue or figure forms a garden ornament in its own right, wherever it is placed. However, it is more effective when positioned in an appropriate context, such as a quiet corner where it is unexpectedly revealed as the visitor follows a path.

There is no limit to the imaginative use of planters, vases and statues in the domestic garden. With a little thought and limited cost they can be used to add new dimensions to an otherwise quiet patch of ground.