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Garden Finials - A Fine Addition to Any Yard

Published Monday, August 25, 2008 by bloggerblognet22596 | E-mail this post

Garden finials may trace their origins back to the executions in jolly (or not so jolly then) England, but their popularity with today's gardeners is hard to dismiss.

Whether garden finials mimic the heads on a pike found outside medieval manors is fact or fiction is unknown. The origins have been lost in time. But the marking of property with fences goes back to the era of sharecropping, when peasants worked the lord's vast holdings. To prevent encroachment, these nobles began to fence off their lands. These fences were often embellished with finely wrought ornamentation on the tops of posts.

Today, these continue to pay homage to this noble practice of fencing lands and adding embellishments. Thankfully, the head on pike design has fallen out of favor with homeowners. But there are plenty of wonderful designs for finials to fit any garden you have in mind.

A finial can be as simple as mirrored, wood or metal spheres or as exotic as pointed ones of porcelain, said to warn off evil spirits in China. The pineapple, the traditional sign of welcome in colonial times, continues to be a popular choice as well.

Finials aren't limited to stand alone pieces either. If you have your garden fenced off, you can add garden finials along the fence line as well. These additions will help keep birds from perching on the posts, looking for a tasty planting to have for breakfast. These finials also help keep water out of the fence poles. You can also add these to arbors and archways to add style to otherwise plain cedar or wrought iron structures.

If you think these are just for fences and posts, think again. In the more ornate gardens of kings and queens, finials have been used at the end of large stone or brick walls or as decorations for entryways into the home from the garden area. These are often large masonry, marble or carved works that can weigh in at several hundred pounds. Many of these garden finials resemble ancient Greek or Roman urns or have grapes or sprays of flowers in them.

On the antique market, these finials can fetch thousands of dollars in auction. But thankfully, many manufacturers have emulated these, using modern techniques. This not only keeps the cost down, but reduces maintenance as well.

Selecting them is fairly straightforward. If you have a smaller garden, a single finial can serve as an accent, creating focus in the garden or visually separating two different spaces. In larger gardens, you can use them to add non-floral splendor to the space, adding artistic elements that reflect your unique personality or interests. You can choose pieces that are as modern as you want, or go back in time to the traditional designs of the lords and ladies of the manor.

If your selections don't capture enough attention, consider adding a pedestal to raise your garden finials up a foot or two. This is particularly effective if you have mature plants that are taller than the finials you want to display.

As the owner of many online sites, author Jennifer Akre, shares her insight on how to make your outdoor living space more comfortable with charming garden finials, wonderful weathervanes and stunning weathervane cupola.

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Garden Finials - A Fine Addition to Any Yard

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