Recent years have been characterized by the extraordinary desire of owners of household territories and cottages to decorate their land with various structural elements that will give the landscape design a unique chic and sophistication. In a modern European garden, a sundial can rightfully be considered such an element, the presence of which will fill the site with a special philosophy.

Content

1. Sundial. Historical reference  video
2. The role of sundials in landscape design
3. Varieties of sundials
4. How to make a sundial? Decoration  video

Sundial. Historical reference

The heyday of the popularity of sundials fell on the 17-18th century and was associated with classic-style gardens, among which were first regular and then landscape gardens. They gained their first popularity, being the main element of palace ensembles, and later became widespread, becoming an independent part of decorative gardens made in various styles, from classic to avant-garde and country style.

You can often hear that the European continent is not a place to create a sundial in the country, which, in fact, is considered an unsuccessful attempt to stand out among the gray mass of ordinary summer residents and homeowners. This opinion is due to the inappropriate climate of the European territory, which is characterized by a large number of days with increased cloud cover. But, this is just another misconception, and in confirmation of this it should be noted that the classical gardens of Misty Albion are rarely characterized by the absence of such an element of decor.

The role of sundials in landscape design

The sundial in the garden can be located in the central part of the flower bed and occupy a dominant position, usually located on a hill or a pedestal. It should be noted that the pedestal is an integral part of the composition and in some cases can be represented by a column.

The task of the sundial of the garden is to focus on itself, and therefore their value directly depends on the size of the personal territory. If the estate is small, then it is recommended to place the sundial on the path on the background of a low bright flower garden or lawn. Gardens of landscape or forest type are an occasion to place the clock among the floral surroundings, thus, invisible at first glance, they will suddenly appear to the eye when approaching. Setting the clock in the form of small decorative figurines is very popular in small gardens.

A wide variety of forms and materials involved in creating the sundial allows you to take into account the specific design of the garden and the style in which it is made. For example, a garden decorated in the style of the avant-garde, when creating a sundial, makes you pay attention to the smallest details. In such a garden, a sundial can become an element of a recreation area, a playground, a green living room or a gazebo-patio, as well as become an original completion of the decoration of a pool or pond, fountain or waterfall.

There is such a thing as a living watch, the essence of which is to create a sundial with your own hands using only living flowering plants, which become the material for the formation of the hands and dial of a sundial.

The structure of the sundial is represented by a dial and a clock, the so-called gnomon, which are the main elements of the design. The shadow of the gnomon, in fact, is the same clockwise arrow that indicates the current time.

Varieties of sundials

Several types of sundials have historically been formed, among which there are:

1.Vertical sundial, the design of which implies a vertical arrangement of the dial. The location of the gnomon in such a watch is determined by the breadth of the area in which the watch is installed, and the azimuth of the wall where it is located. The installation of such watches is carried out mainly on the facades of buildings and structures;

2. Horizontal sundials have long been recognized as an exquisite element of landscape design, and for many centuries they have been installed in parks and household plots. The design of such watches implies a horizontal arrangement of the dial and the installation of the gnomon, depending on the latitude and longitude of the area;

3. The equatorial sundial is characterized by a dial located parallel to the equatorial plane.

How to make a sundial? Decoration

How to make a sundial with your own hands? Before you start creating them, you need to carefully consider their location. Most advantageously, such a watch will look on a lawn or flower bed, which throughout the daylight hours will be characterized by the availability of sunlight. The clock can be placed both on a flat and inclined surface, in the latter case it is only worth considering that in order to get a shadow of the same length throughout the day, you need to correctly calculate the angle of inclination. Its calculation is carried out according to the formula according to which the latitude of the area on which the garden is located is subtracted from 90 degrees. If the surface is a flat shadow length from the gnomon will be changeable throughout the day.

Naturally, the shadow, the length of which is the same throughout the daylight hours, looks more aesthetically pleasing, but this is not fundamental, since the shadow from the gnomon can be mentally lengthened.

The area is selected, and it's time to start creating a watch face. The dial, or cadran, can be of various shapes, but, most often, the proven classic is given the square or round shape of the cadran, as these geometric shapes are easier to reproduce in the household territory. A wide variety of materials are used to create the dial: these are original natural stones, and colorful flowering plants and coniferous perennials, and decorative snags of a bizarre shape. All of these materials are used to create hour markings on the dial.

The division of the clock divisions on the dial is carried out in accordance with the readings of a mechanical or electronic clock and the position of the shadow, which is cast by the gnomon for every hour of the day, characterized by the longest duration. Each digit is marked with a peg, and thus different angular indicators between the marks are obtained.

Speaking of the gnomon, it is worth noting that it is one of the main elements of a sundial. It is the shadow cast by the gnomon that is the counterpart of the clockwise structure of ordinary mechanical watches, and it is it that shows the exact time.

Having reached the design of the sundial, you need to think about how to arrange the time stamps so that the plants planted near each figure receive good conditions for growth and development. To this end, even numbers are indicated on the inner circle of the dial, and odd numbers on the external. The diameter of the outer circle is about 4 meters, and the inner one is more than 1.5 meters. The most optimal plants for the design of the dial are considered marigolds, dahlias, zinnia and other plants whose growth does not exceed half a meter. This requirement must be observed in a strict manner, so that the shadow from the gnomon is not covered by decorative cultures.

Author: Sergey and Svetlana Khuentsov

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