A buyer's guide to GARDEN ANTIQUES

Elevate your garden, Bridgerton style, with opulent statues, romantic fountains and oversized urns

- EMMA LONGSTAFF

Garden antiques can be quite difficult to define, admits Rupert van der Werff, director of Summers Place Auctions, which lays claim to being the world's leading auctioneer of garden statuary. "The term covers Greek antiquities and also avant garde sculpture. Someone once quipped that we cover everything from Rome to chrome,' he adds.

And casting an eye over Summers Place's most recent catalogue, it's clear that Rupert has a point. The sale encompassed a diverse collection of pieces, including traditional stone sculpture, weather vanes, an ornamental cast-iron bridge and a rather terrifying two-metre wide spider sculpture.

"The nice thing about using garden antiques is there aren't strict rules,' Rupert continues. 'You're not as constrained as you are within a house.' Gardens are always changing, from season to season, and ornamental additions can provide interest when plants are dormant. 'Perhaps that's why the possibilities in a garden feel limitless,' he continues. "They're places for freedom of expression, for playfulness."

Travers Nettleton, owner of Garden Art Plus, agrees. 'An antique will always add character, whatever size or style of garden," he says. "The introduction of a garden antique whether it's a statue or a staddle stone - creates a focal point and gives interest year-round. It draws the eye even if the plants are underperforming,' he adds.

Although prices can be stratospheric, there are garden antiques to suit all budgets, and they are often no more expensive than their high street counterparts. "When you walk around a big garden centre and look at the prices of modern equivalents, it's striking that you can get something far more beautiful, and much better quality, if you're willing to give antique pieces a go,' says Caryl Tincknell, who runs Violet Grey, specialists in decorative garden accessories.