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Give Character To Your Yard With Metal Garden Art

By Essie Osborn


No matter how stunning your house is, it won't show its full potential unless the land around it is well-kept and thoughtfully designed too. In fact, great landscape design can make the simplest house look like something spectacular. An easy way to give character to your yard and add that extra wow factor is to use metal garden art.

Garden art is a way to give your personal piece of paradise an instant face-lift. It can be small, simple pieces or something huge and intricate. With the movement to recycle more, pieces made of found objects such as broken gardening implements or parts from old washing machines or car engines are quite popular. There is almost nothing that can't be changed into an artwork and metals such as iron, bronze, aluminum and copper will last a long time.

If you want to make something yourself, it's best to start with a simple project such as signs made of wire. Use wire that is quite thick and then simply bend it into words or phrases written in cursive lettering. These can be fixed to outer walls and used to show the street number, for instance. Another option is to fix the finished words to pieces of wood or even to trees. A functional way to use them is to make signs that indicate which flowers or herbs you've planted.

For larger projects such as sculptures, you'll have to be able to weld. This is why many people opt for buying sculptures instead. However, with some basic welding skills and lots of imagination you'll be able to create striking pieces, from realistic-looking animals to fantasy creatures. The most important thing to remember is that the sculptures should be in harmony with the natural environment. A bronze cat curled up in a flower bed or a cut-out woodpecker fixed to a tree are some examples.

If you have an interest in engineering, you may want to try your hand at making kinetic sculptures. These are pieces that have moving parts. Most often the movement is created by using wind or solar energy. However, you can also use battery power. Wind spinners and weather vines are simple to make and will become even more striking if you add bits of colored glass or mirrors to the mix.

Your artworks can also be functional. Very simple pieces to make are rain chains, which use water from the roof gutters to create stunning little water features. The kids may even help make these. Sculptures can be used to support potted plants, bird baths or even bird feeders and before you'll know it, your feathered friends may choose these structures to build their nests on. You may also use metal art to create trellises for vines or to decorate gates.

Wind and rain will cause oxidation and your artworks will become rusty over time. To prevent this, simply paint or spray them with rustproofing. There's nothing wrong with rust, however. It can even give the pieces more character.

If you don't feel confident enough in your welding skills to create your own garden art, you'll find pieces on sale at most gardening and landscaping stores. There's also a nice variety to order online. If you'd prefer something completely unique, though, it may be a good investment to commission an artist to create it for you.




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