What Is the Origin of Lawn Ornaments?

Statues

Marble statues are some of the earliest examples of lawn ornamentation. Archaeologists found evidence of four statues that were placed around a pool in a sculpture garden at the Villa of Poppaea in Oplontis, Italy. Owned by the Roman emperor Nero, this Roman villa was buried by volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. Statuary continues to be a popular form of lawn ornament, whether made from marble, stone, fired clays or resin.

Topiary is the art of shaping, cutting and trimming trees or shrubs to create an ornamental shape. This is often done by using a shaped frame from metal or other materials, referred to as a "tuteur," to control or force the growth of vegetation onto and around the frame until it is completely concealed. The foliage is then pruned and maintained to continue growing in the shape of the frame. Topiary was practiced by the ancient Romans. During the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder wrote of "hunting scenes, fleets of ships and all sorts of images" cut from cypress trees. Pliny the Younger described his own garden as having box shrubs, "which are trimmed to a great variety of patterns, some of them being cut into letters forming my name as owner and that of the gardener." Topiaries continued in popularity throughout Europe, reaching new levels of sophistication and detail in European gardens in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Topiaries can still be seen today, ranging from simple globe shapes to forms of animals or whimsical characters.

Gnomes and pink flamingos are just a few of the novelty lawn ornaments available. The ever-popular garden gnome was "born" in Thuringia, Germany. Philipp Griebel operated a terracotta factory in the small town of Graefenroda that produced clay figures of animals and fairy-tale figures for use in the home and garden. In 1890, he introduced a gnome figure, which became very popular throughout Europe and the United States.

As plastics were introduced to the American public in the 1940s, lawn ornaments became cheaper and easier to mass produce compared to the custom creations seen in marble and metalwork of generations before. The pink flamingo was first produced around 1957. Americans were living the good life, moving to suburbia, embracing turquoise and pink in fashion and décor and placing a pair of hot-pink plastic flamingos in the middle of a front yard became very popular.

Seasonal lawn ornaments, especially Christmas ornaments, are a mainstay in yard decorating. Electric Christmas lawn decorations were sold in 1927 but these decorations were fire hazards. It wasn't until the 1950s that electric lawn decorations were perfected to the point of being affordable and safe for the average household. Examples of early, non-electric seasonal ornaments were two-dimensional printed shapes on stakes and inserted into the ground. In 1967, the Poloron Corporation developed the plastic molded and illuminated Santa and reindeer team that is a familiar sight today. Wood, plastic, metal and fabric seasonal ornaments are now seen during major holidays on lawns across America.