Large Garden Urns Create a Dressed-up Feel For Home or Garden

Garden planters come in all shapes and sizes, but large garden urns have weathered the test of time, perhaps even more than statuary. As garden decor, they are well able to stand on their own. However, when placed on a plinth and filled with lush greenery, they can, like the tuxedo on a groom, grace our gardens with a formal, elegant air unsurpassed by nearly any other garden ornament. And with the vast array of styles and materials available in today's market, urns deserve a place in every garden.

So, why large garden urns? They are a versatile focal point. All gardeners love to add interest to their garden beds through the use of texture and color in their plantings. Since urns might be filled with any delightful variety of plants, from trailing ivies and large blooming annuals, to the tasteful perennial topiary, they are a convenient means of matching the color, period, or ambiance of the home to the outdoor living spaces surrounding it. This helps create that welcoming atmosphere for which conscientious homeowners and gardeners, alike, work so hard to achieve.

Although large garden urns can be situated in any number of locations, they deserve the honor of residing in prominent places. Many gardeners love to feature them at the very heart of their gardens, to be viewed from every side. Other desirable ways to use them is to assign a pair of urns to stand on either side of the gate to a patio or swimming pool, by the entry to a garden walk, or alongside an entrance of the home. Like twin sentinels, they create that fostered look that is so desirable in a well tended yard. Locating one by the side of a reflecting pool or water garden gives the added appeal of enjoying its reflection in the water.

Lastly, in addition to the great variety of shapes and sizes in which they come, one quality that bestows the garden urn with nearly limitless versatility is the vast number of materials of which they can be made. Antique urns are often crafted in iron or stone, while the most affordable types are made of inexpensive plastic. Cast iron may initially be more expensive, but the lasting beauty and durability of these urns more than make  up for their cost.  In fact, they will probably be here long after the initial owner is gone.  Aluminum is another good option for large urns. Two of the more durable modern materials used are fiberglass and cast stone, sometimes call fiber stone. These are combinations of fibers, mixed with resins and ground stones or glass, molded and treated in ways which often give the finished urns and plinths that wonderful patina seen in aged, natural cut stone. They can also be made to resemble nearly any other natural material from terracotta to marble.

With such a immense assortment of styles and prices from which to choose, no garden should feel completely attired without the inclusion of this traditional garden ornament, the urn.