Modern DIY Garden Sculpture

I like garden art but not the sort that I used to see out of the Vauxhaull window when I was a child. Concrete gnomes and tyre swans are not for me. Neither are grecian ladies with urns or little boys relieving themselves in a pond. 

My style is much more ecletic. I also was born with the "diy" gene so I spend hours pouring over others ideas trying to convince myself that I too can make them with my very limited skills. But I have to be optimistic and have had some success in the garden art department. I have always had  passion for Japanese lanterns; the stone variety, not the paper ones. When we decided to build a Japanese lantern at our current property I had to have a lantern. Australia is not very much into this so purchasing one proved to be not only very costly but almost impossible. So I made one out of concrete. 

Once we had worked out the shape and containers it was a simple job. Inside the light box is a lamp which is wired into the string of garden lights that runs the length of the garden. 
The question is, should we dig this up and take it with us or make another one? 


I am collecting ideas for garden art that I will be able to make myself. To be included in the list, they have to have most of the following criteria:

• simplicity
• 'gentle' in the landscape
• a bit quirky
• easy to make. 

This simple sculpture from Sprawlstainable adds height, colour and also provides illumination at night. The instructions make it look easy. 
The spikes are made out of pvc piping which have some bend in them when they are long. 

The use of metal piping would provide greater sculpture capability. Copper is an expensive metal to use but has a quality about it that it irresistible. 







This copper coil from Suzy Homefaker shows just how much potential there is with copper. 

This Raintree Sprinkler is divine. It isn't however for us. Care to conserve water will be required and this tree is not very appropriate. A large proportion of the water would be blown away in the breeze as it is a long distance from the ground. 
 











In keeping with the metal theme, these  tubes would create some height in a new garden. They are simple and show off the unique succulents beautifully. What a lovely metal garden edge they would create. 

 

I love 'round.' It avoids the need for sharp and accurate corners. These concrete spheres create simplicity and a feeling of tranquillity. The garden glove has instructions for these and many other spherical garden features. 

Here is another quirky way to present succulents and add height with these concrete spheres on stilts.

A mystical glow is created with these hollow gold candle holders

Terracotta pots are fabulous. Cheap and cheerful, they can become much more than a single potted marigold. The instructions for this dome and a sphere are on iCreative Ideas

I love the simplicity of this couple that I found on ARCHITECTUREHD.

If I am to have a birdbath this is what I would like. Made by the very talented  Toni Armeni 

 Need a bit of quirk? These tin can owls are simple to make and are a creative way to use up pet food tins and containers that usually go to waste. Anyone could make these. 

 Everyone needs somewhere to sit in their garden and take in the view. Instructions are hardly needed for this concrete block and timber bench.

This ostrich, created by John Doll is almost 2 metres tall. 

I love scrapyard animals. The pieces used create a personality. Here are a couple of birds made out of shovels, reo and other left overs. 

All I need to do now is decide which one to make first. 

Where to land a house on a sloping block

The contour map for our block revealed the true mountainous state of our block. There is a 7 metre fall from front to back on one side and a lump in the middle. What is under the lump we are not sure but are suspicious that there is a fair amount of rock. The earth has also been pushed onto the block to create level ground for the road.  

The lump is very obvious on the aerial photo. 



I had great difficulty picturing the house on the block. My brain couldn't translate a 2D plan on paper to a vision in my head. The plans returned with the house further from the front boundary than I expected and this created even more doubts in my mind. John build a 3D model. Suddenly it all started to make sense and I could see where our home will be. How it will sit in the landscape. Here she is!  Check out the video. It is a bit wobbly and I hope you don't feel queasy watching it. 

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The large snake is our driveway, all 148 m2 of it. That's a lot of concrete. 

We will have a lot more front yard than I originally thought we would so now my mind is running wild with landscaping questions. 

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