Our
gardening expert writes:
I've been
brought up to believe that statuary can bring a touch of class to any
garden. Classical nudes are usually the best (providing they have all
the right bits in the right places) and can be handy for hanging your
jerkin on if things get hot while busying yourself in the
undergrowth. I've got Aphrodite round the back, clutching a conch
shell (which is where I keep the Slug Death). Artemis, in another
corner, has a prominent right nipple on to which Mrs Dibstick hangs
her bag of clothes pegs.
They're a
funny lot, Greek gods and goddesses. If you're thinking of having one
in to your garden, it may be worth spending just a few moments
looking up details and background to see what you are getting, before
you install in the shrubbery. Dionysus (or Bacchus to the Romans) was
god of wine, parties, chaos, drunkenness, drugs and ecstasy, which
makes him an ever popular choice for the patio. But he was also the
god of wild vegetation, meaning that may not be such a wise addition
to the Cotswold flagstones after all. Apollo, with his long hair and
ideal physique, was, among other things, god of manly beauty. On the
head of our Apollo, out the front, is where I often place my
gardening cap and, I have to say, the resemblance is remarkable. But
he was also god of plague.
Not
everyone is interested in what happened long ago, of course,
regarding it all as old hat. If that kind of person is you, then take
another look at some of the latest things now available from the
catalogues of garden ornaments. Statues that move! It's marvellous
what they get up to these days thanks to solar power: winking
cherubs, Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, flexing her come-hither
finger, young Ganymede getting rather excited. It's a lovely way to
transform a quiet corner and to set the neighbours talking.
Next
month: easy ways to keep your
garden lit to daylight levels throughout the hours of darkness, such
as every responsible homeowner would wish to do.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteFor once, I think I can upstage you here. I edit "Bollard World" and would strongly suggest that bollards old and new make excellent garden features. They're not expensive and retail at between £10 and £50 at dedicated suppiers like "A Load of Bollards" in Glossop.
Dave Gropey
Ed. Bollard World.
Yes, I'd second that. I've had several of the modern plastic bollards from A Load of Bollards - the ones which pop up again after you've driven over them. They're great fun, but best planted in a concrete lawn. A grass one just gets all chewed up.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Betty Frolick [Mrs 57]
Mr Gropey - I couldn't agree more about my experience with your bollards. They make a simply magnificent pair, and much more of a conversation piece than the Grecian urns they replaced.
ReplyDeleteTo add to the effect, I've noticed that passing rugby-playing youths replete with seventeen pints and a vindaloo will often stop and furnish them with further details.
P.S. They used to do this with the Grecian urns, of course.
ReplyDeleteMy, oh, my - that's quite a feather in the Pangolin cap to have the editor of BW writing in here. Mind you, in my opinion Bollard World these days isn't a patch on what it used to be. I've given up my subscription now, tending to buy only for long train journeys, along with the Christmas Specials, of curse. It's the illustrations that I find disappointing, nothing like when it first hit the newsstands. Have you seen what your colleagues are up to in Scandinavia, Mr G? Take a look at Svenske Bollblatt and tell me why the same kind of thing can't be done this side of the North Sea.
ReplyDeleteJ Partington Nobes, retd.