Garden antiques are blooming. And the antiques experts at Kovels.com say that when it comes to antiques for a garden, there is something for everyone. Whether you are a new or seasoned collector, an avid gardener, or someone who wants to add a quirky element to your patio or porch, well-worn fountains, fences, birdbaths, and benches add color, texture, and fun. Here are 5 of Kovels’ favorite garden antiques:

 

1.  Urns and jardinières are elegant and useful for flowers. Most today are plastic or resin, but antique examples can be found in stone, terra cotta, lead, cast iron (old) or aluminum (1960s). Large or small, simple or bold, classical or clean midcentury modern, buy what you like, because this is not the place for matchy-matchy. A large pair of classical style cast iron urns with squared handles sold for $3,500, but a smaller 30-inch pair (pictured) brought $400 and a terra cotta planter with relief English roses can be had for $65.

 

 

2.  Statues are available in a variety of materials like stone, cement, painted cast iron or marble. Whether it’s a small cement sleeping rabbit or a large classical Italian or Greek figure, it adds character and architectural interest. A 28-inch cement cupid sold for $61; a cast stone smiling pig, $62; an antique lead putti on a pedestal, $861; and a marble semi-nude woman holding a cornucopia of fruit brought $1,216.

 

 

3.  Tools used for gardening are being used as smaller decorative elements leaned against fences or left on tables. Trowels made of metal from the 1950s, rakes with handmade teeth and branch handles and early 20th century metal buckets and enamelware watering cans sell well. French zinc cans with lots of patina have special charm. Lawn sprinklers are popular too. A 1940s cutout figure of a boy holding a hose sells for about $100 to $150. Other metal sprinklers shaped like squirrels or ducks can bring up to $200. The duck pictured here sold for $484. And ceramic sprinklers from the 1930s and ‘40s like a McCoy or Weller Coppertone frog can bring even higher prices.

 

 

4.   Iron fences and trellises are decorative and keep critters at bay. A geometric 45 by 72 inch iron panel (pictured) just sold for $125, vintage gates can be found for as little as $25, and arbors for $200 to $450. At a recent show, a seller was asking $150 for four tapered trellises with arrows and curled decoration and another offered trellises made of lines and circles for $275 each.

 

 

5.  Architectural items like tiles, columns and finials can be artfully used. Tin or lead tops of downspouts shaped like lions or gargoyles can be found, as can chimney pots shaped like textured cylinders or bishops’ hats (example pictured sold for$125). Terry Kovel has an iron tree trunk post at the corner of the garage to keep cars from bumping.

 

If you don’t want to spend much money, you can find glass telegraph insulators to add to a rock garden or make an antique bottle tree. And you can always try to find an antique German garden gnome that brings good luck.