Lawn ornament
Encyclopedia
Lawn ornaments are decorative objects placed in the grass
y area of a property.
- A structure designed to hold water for birds to bathe in or drink, generally supported upon a pedestal.
Bird feeder
- stake, post, or column mounted types.
Nest box
-Bird House - A small house for a bird normally made of wood and on a stake.
Bathtub madonna
- A statue of Mary the mother of Jesus placed in a bathtub half buried under the ground. Statues of Mary are most often made of white concrete but are sometimes painted with a blue garment.
Garden gnome
- A small, generally colorful gnome statuette.
Lawn jockey
, or Jocko, or Groomsmen an often diminutive statuette of a black horse attendant dressed in slave clothing, also called a Jocko. Groomsmen were often used as hitching posts. The origin of the groomsman is disputed, but it is accepted that they originated in the U.S. South. No longer as common since the civil rights movement. The "Cavalier" variation typically depicts a white
figure. One legend has it that the first Groomsman was created at the commission of George Washington
.
Human form - A depiction of a human being. Human form lawn ornaments can be two dimensional, generally vertically supported by being thrust in the ground, or three dimensional. Examples of human form lawn ornaments include the lawn jockey and groomsman. Examples of two dimensional human form lawn ornaments include renditions of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch people. A variation of the Pennsylvania Dutch human form is a depiction of an older female bending over as in gardening, thus revealing her undergarments.
Yard globe
- A light-reflective sphere, as large as 16" in diameter and generally displayed on top of a support structure. Also called Gazing globesorGazing balls.
Animal forms - Popular animal statues such as frogs, turtles, rabbits, or ducks cast in plastic or cement.
Plastic flamingo
- A generally lifesize replica of a pink flamingo
. According to some, the origin of the plastic flamingo was in 1946 with the company Union Products in its "Plastics for the Lawn" product line. Their collection included dog, ducks, frogs, and a flamingo.
Whirligig
- An often animalistic sculpture generally supported vertically by being pushed in the ground characterized by at least one rotating member often designed to appear as a bodypart of the sculpture.
Spinners - Usually shaped like flowers with petals that spin in the wind. Variations include birds or insects with spinning wings.
Jigglers - Plastic or metal flowers, birds and insects fitted on spring-loaded stakes so that they jiggle when the wind blows on them.
Francis of Assisi
- A saint often associated with nature and animals.
Lighthouses - Small-scale representations of local lighthouses are popular in coastal areas.
Topiary
specimens
Statuary and Outdoor sculpture
Found art
- i.e.: recycled Bowling ball
s, Toilet
planters, Farm equipment
antiques
.
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
y area of a property.
Common lawn ornaments
Bird bathBird bath
A bird bath is an artificial "puddle" or small shallow pond, created with a water- filled basin, for birds to bathe and 'cool off' in, and drink from...
- A structure designed to hold water for birds to bathe in or drink, generally supported upon a pedestal.
Bird feeder
Bird feeder
A birdfeeder, bird feeder, bird table, or tray feeder are devices placed outdoors to supply bird food to birds...
- stake, post, or column mounted types.
Nest box
Nest box
A nest box, also spelled nestbox is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for wild and domesticated birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses, but some mammalian species may also use them. Birdhouses are the most common types of nest...
-Bird House - A small house for a bird normally made of wood and on a stake.
Bathtub madonna
Bathtub madonna
A bathtub Madonna is an artificial grotto typically framing a Roman Catholic religious figure.-Variations:...
- A statue of Mary the mother of Jesus placed in a bathtub half buried under the ground. Statues of Mary are most often made of white concrete but are sometimes painted with a blue garment.
Garden gnome
Garden gnome
A garden gnome or lawn gnome is a figurine of a small humanoid creature, usually wearing a pointy hat, produced for the purpose of ornamentation and protection from evil sorcery, typically of gardens or on lawns....
- A small, generally colorful gnome statuette.
Lawn jockey
Lawn jockey
A lawn jockey is a small statue of a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in yards. Most today are white jockeys, but historically black jockeys were commonplace...
, or Jocko, or Groomsmen an often diminutive statuette of a black horse attendant dressed in slave clothing, also called a Jocko. Groomsmen were often used as hitching posts. The origin of the groomsman is disputed, but it is accepted that they originated in the U.S. South. No longer as common since the civil rights movement. The "Cavalier" variation typically depicts a white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
figure. One legend has it that the first Groomsman was created at the commission of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Human form - A depiction of a human being. Human form lawn ornaments can be two dimensional, generally vertically supported by being thrust in the ground, or three dimensional. Examples of human form lawn ornaments include the lawn jockey and groomsman. Examples of two dimensional human form lawn ornaments include renditions of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch people. A variation of the Pennsylvania Dutch human form is a depiction of an older female bending over as in gardening, thus revealing her undergarments.
Yard globe
Yard globe
A yard globe, also known as a gazing ball, lawn ball, garden ball, gazing globe, mirror ball, or chrome ball, is a mirrored sphere typically displayed atop a conical ceramic or wrought iron stand as a lawn ornament. Its size ranges from 2 to 22 inches in diameter, with the most popular gazing...
- A light-reflective sphere, as large as 16" in diameter and generally displayed on top of a support structure. Also called Gazing globesorGazing balls.
Animal forms - Popular animal statues such as frogs, turtles, rabbits, or ducks cast in plastic or cement.
Plastic flamingo
Plastic flamingo
Pink plastic flamingos are one of the most famous of lawn ornaments in the United States, along with the garden gnome and other such ornamentation....
- A generally lifesize replica of a pink flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
. According to some, the origin of the plastic flamingo was in 1946 with the company Union Products in its "Plastics for the Lawn" product line. Their collection included dog, ducks, frogs, and a flamingo.
Whirligig
Whirligig
A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one member that spins or whirls. Whirligigs are also known as pinwheels, buzzers, comic weathervanes, gee-haws, spinners, whirlygigs; whirlijig; whirlyjig; whirlybird; or plain whirly. Whirligigs are most commonly powered by the wind,...
- An often animalistic sculpture generally supported vertically by being pushed in the ground characterized by at least one rotating member often designed to appear as a bodypart of the sculpture.
Spinners - Usually shaped like flowers with petals that spin in the wind. Variations include birds or insects with spinning wings.
Jigglers - Plastic or metal flowers, birds and insects fitted on spring-loaded stakes so that they jiggle when the wind blows on them.
Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
- A saint often associated with nature and animals.
Lighthouses - Small-scale representations of local lighthouses are popular in coastal areas.
Topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...
specimens
Statuary and Outdoor sculpture
Found art
Found art
The term found art—more commonly found object or readymade—describes art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function...
- i.e.: recycled Bowling ball
Bowling ball
A bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...
s, Toilet
Toilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
planters, Farm equipment
Farm equipment
Agricultural machinery is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.-Soil cultivation:*Cultivator*Cultipacker*Chisel plow*Mulch tiller*Harrow**Spike harrow**Drag harrow...
antiques
Antiques
An antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age , beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features...
.
See also
- Garden ornamentGarden ornamentA Garden ornament is an item used for garden, landscape, and park enhancement and decoration.The category can include:*bird baths,**bird feeders,**nest box-bird houses*columns - cast stone*fountains,**rocks and boulders with basins...
- GardenGardenA garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
- Garden designGarden designGarden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise...
- KitschKitschKitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
- Landscape designLandscape designLandscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design.-Design scope:...
- Ornament (disambiguation)
- Outdoor sculpture
Further reading
- Goings, Kenneth W., Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping (Indiana University Press) (1st printing, 1994).
- Varkonyi, Charlyne, A Bird in the hand: The Story of the Pink Flamingo, Sun-Sentinel (date unknown) (FL).