16 June 5, 2022The Sunday TimesHome
CLIVE NICHOLS
water, an element that clearly
needs to be better valued in
the world.”
The Lincolnshire metal
sculptor Ian Gill did a roaring
trade in his oversized
forged-steel designs at
Chelsea — herons, giant
dragonfly and bullrush (all
POA, iangillsculpture.com) —
while the wildlife sculptor
Hamish Mackie (best known
for his bronze pair of hares
boxing) reports sales of
everything from his small
titanium octopus (£2,000,
hamishmackie.com) to a
175cm-tall triplet of sea turtles
cast in stainless steel
(£112,000); he sells to all
corners of the UK. One does
wonder who shelled out the
big bucks for the turtles.
Copper or bronze, stainless
steel or stone... What to
choose to create the perfect
focal point in a glorious
garden? The right design can
create contrast or harmony,
add structure or drama. You
may want to raise a smile,
but the choice should never
be jarring. The Royal British
Society of Sculptors is a
mine of information,
although the old adage of
“buy what you love” holds
true — even if that’s a
bare-bottomed gnome.and engraved with the initials
of her son, alongside quotes
from Macbeth (from £7,471,
davidharber.co.uk). Harber
and his team produce a range
of sculptures and water
features at his Oxfordshire
workshop — his popular pieces
include the large-scale circular
mirrored stainless-steel Torus
(from £19,403), and Mantle,
a latticework orb made from
verdigris bronze petals,
which can be lit from within
(from £8,384).
“We had a great
Chelsea this year,”
Harber says. “Lots of
enthusiasm and orders
from previous and new
clients. It does seem
like people’s passion
for their gardens has
been sustained and
is growing. The piece
that commanded
most attention was
Teardrop Mantle
[made of hundreds
of mirror-polished
marine grade steel
petals, £39,750
including delivery
and installation].
It is a piece that I have
long wanted to create.
It also is particularly
pertinent given its
symbolism withF
orget the gauche
gnome and
fibreglass gargoyle,
at the Chelsea
Flower Show this
year statement sculptures
were competing with the
gardens for attention — from
sinuous giant copper sharks to
extra-large battling hares and
busts of Einstein. An unusual
planting of peonies will
seldom offend, nor will rogue
topiary, but when it comes to
sculptures you’re treading a
much finer line.
The world of garden
ornamentation can be
downright weird. Your
run-of-the-mill garden centre
is likely to offer a range of
steampunk steel figurines,
daydreaming faux-bronze
nudes and lifesize animal
sculptures frozen mid-roar or
mid-leap, for a few hundred
pounds each. You can find
rusted steel spheres, abstract
twisted shapes and
flute-playing goblins (solid
bronze, £693) on Etsy.
It is, of course, all a matter
of taste. B&Q’s naughtiest
gnome proudly displays his
bottom, with a robin perched
atop. The 21st-century twist?
He has an in-built solar panel,
meaning his bare rear lights up
“with a warm white LED light”.It goes up several gears
at Chelsea. Take the Zen-like
creations of Adrian Gray
(stonebalancing.com), an
artist who had his “best flower
show to date”. Gray’s garden
sculptures feature stones
balanced in a seemingly
impossible composition, made
by hand or using a crane,
depending on size. “I am
leaning towards more extreme
compositions, and because
they are such improbable
balances they have a high
visual impact, which my
clients like,” Gray says.
His garden pieces cost
between £1,500 and
£4,000, and his
larger “Monumental”
granite designs start
at £18,000.
To keep things
classic you can’t
go wrong with
a sundial or an
armillary sphere
— an early
astronomical
device used by
the 2nd-century
Greco-Roman
astronomer and
mathematician
Ptolemy. Judi
Dench owns one
of these, designed
by David HarberGARDEN
ARTY
From mirrored orbs to turtle triplets and boxing
hares, statement sculptures are this year’s hot
trend for outdoor spaces. By Victoria Brzezinski
Above: David Harber’s
Bite II sculpture and, left,
his Teardrop Mantle. Below
left: balancing stones by
Adrian Gray. Inset: a
geometric gnome by
Plato Design (£92, iamfy.co)