Placing a New Sculpture

I purchased a sculpture from Lotus Lien a few months ago and finally placed it. Placement of sculpture in a garden can be trickier than placing it in your home. The backdrop is constantly changing.

I always think of what my favorite garden writer, Henry Mitchell, said about sculpture in the garden- "It is not a team player." It can easily dominate the planting or even worse- it looks like gilding the lily. Sometimes too much is just too much.


I had a spot in mind but it quickly became apparent how wrong it was. There was no mystery to the placement. It just looked plonked down and didn't relate to any of the plants around it. So I looked for a spot where there was low growing plants. It also seemed to fare better with smaller leaved plants- so that the large orbs contrasted with their delicacy.

This is the sculpture's final spot. It is a little hidden behind a spirea so that you have to sneak up on the sculpture. Its large round forms in shades of gray and terracotta provide relief from all the green and flowers without overwhelming them. It makes me smile every time I see it.

For those who might be wondering- this sculpture cannot stay out year round. It will be moved inside once the weather drops to freezing.