A statue on bare paving looks stranded. A statue in a full border looks lost by midsummer. The planting around a figure is doing a specific job, and it is worth choosing for that job rather than filling the space with whatever was on offer at the garden centre.
Here is what actually works, with plants that suit British conditions.
The three jobs the planting does
First, it provides a backdrop, so the statue reads against something plain rather than against a fence panel. Second, it provides contrast, so the smooth cast surface of the figure sits against something with texture and movement. Third, it provides a base, so the statue looks planted rather than placed.
Different plants do each job, and the commonest mistake is asking one plant to do all three.
Evergreen structure for the backdrop
The backdrop has to work in February as well as July, which rules out anything deciduous. Evergreen structure behind a statue is what makes it read all year.
Yew is the traditional answer and remains the best, being dense, dark, slow enough to control and entirely happy in British conditions including shade. Box works at a smaller scale though box blight and box tree caterpillar have made it a riskier choice in recent years. Portuguese laurel is faster and takes clipping well. For something less formal, sarcococca gives evergreen structure plus winter scent, which is a genuine bonus beside a statue you pass in the dark half of the year.
Whatever you use, keep it plain. A variegated or brightly coloured backdrop competes with the figure rather than supporting it.
Texture contrast at the sides
This is where a statue earns its presence. A smooth cast figure against fine, moving, linear foliage is a genuinely satisfying pairing, and the eye reads the contrast immediately.
Grasses do this best. Hakonechloa macra is superb beside a seated figure, arching and soft and turning gold in autumn, and it is happy in shade which suits most British statue positions. Deschampsia and Sesleria work in sunnier spots. Ferns are the other reliable answer, particularly polystichum and dryopteris, which are evergreen or near evergreen in most of Britain and thrive in exactly the shady corners where statues tend to end up.
Low mounding at the base
Something low and soft where the statue meets the ground stops the base looking abrupt, without hiding it.
Hardy geraniums, heuchera, alchemilla and low sedums all work. Keep the height genuinely low, under about 30cm, and keep it to the sides and rear rather than directly in front, since anything in front of a statue reads as an obstruction.
Shade, which is where most of these positions are
British garden statues tend to end up in corners, against north facing fences and under trees, so shade tolerance matters more than the sunny border planting most articles suggest.
For dry shade, which is the hardest condition in any garden, epimedium, euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae, and geranium macrorrhizum are genuinely reliable. For moist shade, ferns, hostas and hakonechloa. Sarcococca handles both and smells extraordinary in January.
What to avoid
Anything vigorous. Bamboo, unless in a container with a proper root barrier, will engulf a statue and then the rest of the garden. Vinca, houttuynia and lamiastrum are all sold as useful ground cover and all will smother a base within two seasons.
Anything that peaks at the wrong height. Verbena bonariensis is a lovely plant and will stand at nearly two metres by August, which puts a fine haze of purple directly in front of anything under that height.
And anything that needs constant attention immediately around the piece, since the whole point of a statue corner is that it looks after itself.
Thinking in seasons
Check the arrangement mentally in four months. In February the evergreen backdrop should be doing everything. In May the grasses are emerging and the statue is fully visible. In August the planting is at maximum and the figure should still read clearly, which is the month to test any plan against. In November everything is cut back and the structure returns.
If the piece disappears in August, it is either too small for the position or the planting is too tall. Our guide to how big a garden Buddha needs to be covers the first, and this article covers the second.
Containers, if you have no soil
Plenty of British statue positions are on paving with nowhere to plant. Containers work well: a large pot of hakonechloa or a clipped evergreen either side gives the same framing effect, and the height of the pot itself adds useful variation.
Use bigger containers than feel necessary. Small pots dry out in a week of summer and look mean beside anything substantial.
Questions people ask
What should I plant behind a garden statue?
Plain evergreen structure, so the piece reads against something all year. Yew is the best and most traditional choice, with Portuguese laurel and sarcococca as alternatives. Avoid variegated or brightly coloured backdrops.
What plants suit beside a statue?
Fine textured, moving foliage for contrast against a smooth cast surface. Hakonechloa macra is excellent and shade tolerant, and evergreen ferns such as polystichum work in the shady corners where statues usually sit.
What should I avoid planting near a statue?
Anything vigorous such as bamboo without a root barrier, vinca or houttuynia, and anything that peaks tall in front of the piece such as verbena bonariensis.
What works in a shady corner?
For dry shade, epimedium, euphorbia robbiae and geranium macrorrhizum. For moist shade, ferns, hostas and hakonechloa. Sarcococca handles both and scents the garden in January.
Can I use pots instead of planting?
Yes. Large containers of grasses or clipped evergreens frame a statue well and the pot height adds useful variation. Use bigger pots than feel necessary, since small ones dry out fast and look mean.
