Whether you want a concrete, bronze, or ceramic garden statue, doing whatever you can to reduce the amount of maintenance work you'll have to perform on it is a good idea. Luckily, one good way to deflect a lot of rain from a garden statue and reduce the frequency of wax jobs is to install a large tree next to it. To ensure that all the work you do to cover the garden statue with a tree's canopy will provide as much rain protection as possible, remember these three tips.
Don't Use A Tree With Small And Very Malleable Branches
While a small tree might be cheaper to move and install in your backyard, it's important to avoid one with small and malleable branches. Even if small branches look fairly stable at first glance, it only takes one small animal to bend or even snap them, potentially damaging your garden statue.
Instead, aim for the largest tree that will comfortably fit in your garden. A taller tree with larger branches will also support a much thicker layer of leaves to cover and deflect water away from your statue.
Make Sure That Your Statue's Supporting Platform Extends A Long Way Into The Ground
The closer the tree is to the statue, the more danger that root growth will be. Unless your statue is both very large and made out of a relatively dense material like bronze, just a little pressure on one side of its platform could be enough to tilt and eventually tip it over.
Ideally, your statue should have a large concrete platform under it that extends far enough into the ground to block root growth. A simple ceramic base that can be dug up out of the ground at a whim won't necessarily be sturdy enough to prevent root interference.
Correct Any Slope In The Ground That Flows Toward The Statue
Much of your effort will be wasted if the sloped ground draws all the water falling off the edges of the tree toward the perimeter of the statue's platform. While this scenario isn't quite as bad as a ton of water falling directly on your garden statue, a stagnant pool around the platform could undermine its structural stability.
Use a leveling tool to detect any slope around your statue. If you find a slope, use a bag of topsoil to even it out. It's better to do this after you install the tree so that you can take any soil level changes the tree caused into account.
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