Garden Ornaments and Statuary

According to McHoy (Container Gardening, etc.) the first garden ornaments were probably idols or monuments to deities, which the Romans appropriated from a conquered Greece. In this interesting, helpful British import, McHoy follows a brief history with advice to the modern gardener on how ornaments and statuaryfrom birdbaths to benchescan enhance a garden. He explains (several times) how a properly placed ornament can be the focal point of a garden and warns against picking up various objects on vacation trips lest one's yard become a ""gnome garden.'' He repeatedly counsels restraint, balance and scale (``a large figure of a naked lady set on a small lawn is likely to dominate the garden and ruin any sense of design''). The black-and-white drawings and beautiful color photographs illustrate McHoy's design principles, although they are not always aligned with the text. (October 5)