GARDEN FEATURE G

Standing guard in the yard have a long, proud history for adding stately elegance – and surprise – to a garden photos and story By David Hobson I tried to interpret their expressions, to only caught a glimpse of the couple as I imagine their thoughts. I wanted to hear entered the garden. I followed the path them speak, but the silence continued. around the lawn, past the pergola that But then, why would five feet of inanimate gave shade to the bench below. The pair have words for me? Iwere in a corner, almost hidden in foliage. The pair had been lovingly placed there As I approached, I felt I was intruding on when the garden was young; so many years an intense conversation between lovers that ago that bright yellow lichen now adorned had fallen silent at that very moment. Had his jacket. The quiet presence of this piece they declared their love? Had they quar- of statuary enhanced the garden, perhaps relled? What had she asked of him? Had he evoking pleasant memories in the one who TOP PHOTO: “The Moon” is in the Yorkshire answered? tended it throughout the seasons. Park. LEFT: “River of Time,” by Ukrainian sculptor ABOVE: This pair appear to be having a private conversation in a garden in Portsmouth, U.K. Victoria Chichinadze, celebrates lace making. RIGHT: Glenn G. Smith’s works are displayed in a small sculpture garden at the Homer Watson House ABOVE: A sculpture sets off Peter Beales roses & Gallery at 1754 Old Mill Rd. in Kitchener. at the Chelsea Flower Show.

66 GRAND MARCH I APRIL 2017 MARCH I APRIL 2017 GRAND 67 an enterprising businesswoman named for plants and trees of the natural world. At invented a unique material in London, his work was once to be used for moulding neoclassical statues exhibited both in the gardens and inside the and garden ornaments. It was of such high majestic palm house because, as he said, he quality it was virtually impervious to the always wanted to show his glasswork in a eroding effect of weather. It outperformed glasshouse. natural stone, but by the 1840s other arti- His pieces have also appeared at the ficial materials using Portland cement came Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Ariz. on the market and the more expensive On my visit, I could easily have mistaken Coade stone was largely phased out. his spiky, chartreus cactus for a rare saguaro Lost over time, the original secret recipe, if it hadn’t been sparkling so in the bright a form of ceramic using crushed flint, fine desert light. quartz and crushed glass, was rediscovered I’d much rather wander a park or garden and further refined by sculptor and stone than a gallery or museum, and it was in carver Stephen Pettifer. In 2000 he founded those large stately gardens of Britain where I the Coade company in London, England, first kindled a love of sculpture. which continues to produce all forms of Renishaw Hall and Gardens in the north ABOVE: Bronze girl, at the Chelsea statuary. These days what may appear to be of England is typical of the 19th-century Flower Show in London. an original piece carved from stone could style with its stunning Italianate gardens. LEFT: Artist Dale Chihuly depicts well be made from Coade stone. Statuary graces the pathways, stairs, plants and trees in blown glass. By the start of the 20th century, the between garden rooms and within them, where popularity of classical sculpture waned they stand in the shade of topiary hedges five somewhat with the advent of modern metres high. Sometimes the topiary works are sculpture, beginning with the work of sculptures in their own right. philosophical or religious motifs and set on Auguste Rodin, who exhibited at the In the south of England at Hever Castle, pedestals to be gazed at in awe. Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the During the Italian Renaissance in the 14th Following this explosion of imagination, American millionaire and philanthropist century, when gardens became larger with every form of abstract artistic expression William Waldorf Astor added a magnificent a symmetrical design, there was always produced in every possible medium has Italian garden. Beginning in 1906, he filled classical statuary. The Italianate style found appeared in galleries, public installations it with a collection of statuary from his its way to Britain, particularly during the and in gardens. European travels. 19th century when travellers returning from Just as the Greeks and Romans created More a park than a garden, the Yorkshire a Grand Tour of Europe developed their places to display their sculptures, there are Sculpture Park was developed specifically own Renaissance gardens and filled them parks today created specifically to display for the display of sculpture, including with statuary. sculptural works. Somehow, the placing of a number of Henry Moore pieces. Not Travel to the great gardens of Britain today, sculptures in a natural setting enhances the sure how Moore would feel about sheep built long ago by the aristocracy or early in- moment and is a way of introducing such wandering around his art, although the For me, a casual visitor to this garden near dustrialists, and it’s soon apparent statuary works to the public. park does honour his commitment to Portsmouth, U.K., on a sunny day in 2005, was big business in the 18th and 19th Locally, Cambridge has its lovely Sculpture having his work placed in the open air. it caused me to pause and to ponder, just centuries. Materials had been traditional Garden on Grand Avenue South alongside It was in a more formal part of the park I one of the reasons artwork is created. marble, stone or bronze, but now all garden the Grand River. At the Homer Watson discovered the “Moon,” a piece I’d perhaps Artworks in the form of statuary and owners of note wanted to enhance their Gallery in Kitchener, there are whimsical unfairly describe as a large-scale version of sculptures have long been used to elevate estates. The need was met by the introduc- works by local artist Glenn G. Smith on a Victorian gazing ball. Hand-blown glass the sometimes prosaic nature of gardens. tion of composite materials, though often of display in the small garden there. garden accents were first recorded as being The ancient Greeks and Romans had their inferior quality — parts of Michelangelo’s The Seattle-based blown-glass artist produced in Venice in the 13th century. In peristyle courts – enclosed gardens where David crumbling away would be unlikely to Dale Chihuly exhibits his revolutionary the 16th century, the English philosopher classical sculptures of heroes and gods inspire or impress anyone. work in gardens around the world with Francis Bacon commented that a proper would be displayed, typically reflecting This was resolved about 1770 when multicoloured pieces that can be mistaken garden would have round coloured balls for

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ON THE HOME FRONT ...

Given the historic association of art and gardens, it may be that a garden is not complete without a sculpture or piece of artwork. But ensuring each complements the other is the challenge. RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Those who design both sculptures and gardens understand the importance of scale, texture and appropriate placement, and it’s no less important in a home garden. I’ve always believed a garden is a personal space, accepting of anything the owner chooses to place there. Garden gnomes, super heroes, WITH OUR PRO AWNINGS, SHUTTERS & RAILINGS well-dressed mannequins and even the many nefarious “Lord of the Rings” characters have all found a place in gardens. A monstrous orc, however, would be more suited to a huge gothic The “Fallen Deodar” on display at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. garden rather than lurching out of a flower bed, unless, of course, it happens to frighten rabbits.

the sun to play upon, and by the Victorian designer Tatyana Goltsova explored the Besides these outliers, an endless supply of decorative, often beautiful accoutrements awaits 1 era they became a popular garden feature complex relationships between Russia, 100 the browser at every garden show and gift store YYEE and still are. They are intriguing, reflecting Ukraine and the U.K., though not in the WA AAR where there’s something to suit anyone’s taste. ARRAN R and shimmering as the light changes, but I’m current political sense. NTY!* s Smaller items are useful for punctuating an il a t happy to gaze at them in someone else’s garden. A work by Ukrainian sculptor Victoria e d entrance or creating particular interest within a r fo The “Moon,” however, by Swiss artist Chichinadze embodied the spirit of the re to planting, but too many are . . . well, too many. * in s Not Vital (a confusing name in English) traditional lace makers of Eastern Europe call or see is something I’d covet if my garden were and was allowed to beautifully dominate the Plonk something in the middle of the front yard and it’s on public display. That group of fake deer large enough to house it. “Moon” is a highly garden. Crafted from 600 kg of aluminum, on a country property viewed through a morning polished sphere in stainless steel replete with the white, lace-like form, in sharp contrast mist can for a moment be delightful – or induce tidy, random dimples representing, I suppose, with the surrounding green, swirled through a moment of panic – but in the harsh light of the more ragged craters of the moon. the garden to skim the surface of a water midday . . . well, they’re still plastic deer. Three metres in diameter, it sits on an feature called “River of Time,” culminating at And massive concrete lions rampant at the foot expanse of lawn, and like the real moon’s a transcendent female figure. of a suburban driveway somehow don’t capture gravitational field, it draws viewers to Also at the 2016 show, a gold medal- the essence of the veldt — they’d be far more touch, to marvel and to observe the winning garden by Chris Beardshaw effective lurking in the shrubbery. distorted reflections of the tree-filled park. prominently featured a haunting, contem- It now has its own Saturn-like ring, formed plative face in verdigris bronze. Named the Many an expanse of green lawn does indeed cry out for a focal point, yet it is so worthwhile to re- by the circling footsteps of a captivated “the Fallen Deodar,” it was one of a limited flect on those masters of design when choosing audience. edition of six by sculptor Jilly Sutton. a sculpture and the way they considered theme, One of the finest, though fleeting, At 1.5 metres across, the original was scale, location — and the garden. exhibitions of garden art can be found at carved from, and inspired by, a massive the Chelsea Flower Show held in London, Deodar tree (Cedrus deodara) that had A graceful figure such as Aphrodite, framed natu- rally in an arch of trees, can be perfect. Position England, in May. Here designers compete fallen on bleak Dartmoor, not far from at a distance point to become a silhouette at sun- Call Gerry MacDonald or Larry McNab Schweitzer's for gold medals in garden design. Sutton’s home in . The original work Plumbing Centre set or sunrise and the effect is magical. When it for your The gardens are imaginative wonders, now resides in a garden somewhere in free in-home estimate! has attained a rich, mossy patina and is revealed 1768 Erbs Rd. W. st. Agatha works of art in their own right, and Tokyo, fittingly owned by one of the tree- only when a breeze stirs foliage, it becomes an typically contain sculptural pieces to leaping Japanese actresses who appeared enchanting dreamscape, and sometimes startling 118 Kent Ave, Kitchener Search for ProAwning 519-747-1819 complement and enhance the experience. in the movie “Crouching Tiger Hidden feature of the garden. on facebook! At the 2016 show, a garden by Russian Dragon.” — David Hobson 519.279.1688 proawning.ca schweitzers.ca

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