Journal2 min read
Your Garden as a Sanctuary: Focal Points, Quiet Corners and Stone
Short answer: A garden sanctuary is a corner you want to sit in. Put a seat where you feel enclosed, by a hedge, a fence with climbers or tall pots, and face it towards one thing you like to look at: a plant, a water feature or an ornament with a face. Keep that corner free of tools and clutter.
Looking for the pieces themselves? See our unusual garden ornaments.
Related pieces
Where should the seat go?
With something solid behind it, a wall, hedge or fence, and a view across the garden rather than of the house. Morning or evening sun decides which corner, depending on when you will sit there.
What should you look at?
One focal point at a comfortable distance: a planted pot, a bird bath or a stone ornament. A character with a face, such as an owl or a frog, gives the eye somewhere to rest.
How do you make it feel enclosed?
Tall pots, climbers on a trellis or a row of grasses screen the corner from the rest of the garden without walls.
Related pieces
How do you keep it calm?
- Few colours: greens and one accent.
- Natural materials: stone, wood, gravel.
- Soft light in the evening: a lantern or solar lights.
- No storage, hoses or tools in view.
Which ornaments suit a quiet corner?
| Ornament | Size (H × W × D) | Outdoors? |
|---|---|---|
| Mallowcap mushroom frog | 20 × 16 × 16 cm | Indoors or outdoors |
| Professor Grumbletoad wizard frog | 18 × 18 × 17 cm, about 2 kg | Indoors or outdoors |
| The Little Critic owl | 17 × 18 × 18 cm, about 2 kg | Indoors or outdoors |
| Honey bear | 24 × 16 × 16 cm | Both; shelter is best, bring in during hard frost |
| Corgi | 24 × 11 × 19 cm | Both; shelter is best, bring in during hard frost |
| Crocodile | 14 × 20 × 24 cm | Both; bring in during extreme weather |
| Capybara with orange | 24 × 12 × 19 cm | Indoors, or a sheltered spot away from frost |
Questions
How do you make a garden sanctuary?
Place a seat with something solid behind it, facing one focal point, and screen the corner with planting.
What ornaments suit a garden sanctuary?
One piece you like to look at, such as a stone owl, frog or animal, rather than many.
Can a small garden have a sanctuary?
Yes. One seat, a few tall pots and one ornament are enough.