Once you have them located optimally around your garden or yard, they will immediately get to work by enhancing the nitrogen content around your garden. Gazing balls make a pretty addition to any floral garden setting, however some people confuse their meaning, use, and origins.
Some common questions and concerns about gazing balls include:. By all accounts, these pretty glass ball ornaments had their origins in the 13th century in Italy. Originally made from blown-glass artisans in Venice, they quickly caught on as garden decorations.
They placed gazing balls around gardens and as home decor as a good luck charm, a form of blessing, and more. Soon the mosaic gazing globe became a very popular craze throughout Europe. You may hear the gazing ball referred to as:. To fill these big expectations, gazing ball of all sizes, shapes, and colors found themselves placed in gardens, by gate-posts, near home entrances and windows, and so forth.
Indeed, this is the whimsical reason many people give for placing these pretty baubles prominently in the garden even today. Members of royalty in the Netherlands and France especially thought that placing garden globes throughout the palace gardens would draw wealth.
When the gazing ball trend migrated to the US, the placing of an ostentatious, decorative ball in the front garden became a status symbol.
The reflective, shiny surface and circular shape of a gazing ball are conducive to meditation. Victorian servants devised another popular use for gazing balls. They found their reflective properties enabled servants to use a well-placed ball much like we use security mirrors today.
By placing the gazing ball on a stand or table near the dining room door, servants could see what was happening in the dining room without having to disturb the diners. This enabled them to glide silently and inconspicuously into the room to remove empty plates, refill glasses, and so on.
The value of mirror balls as a tool for looking around corners also made them invaluable for spying on faithless lovers and others. Parents wishing to unobtrusively chaperone young couples also found these reflective globes quite useful in Victorian times.
His use of the gazing globe as holiday ornaments was the start of our Christmas tradition. Reflective mirrored balls placed near birdbaths and feeders can attract birds as they apparently believe their own reflections are other birds. In the old days, gazing globes best sellers at Amazon were always made of hand-blown glass and came in a variety of colors and sizes. Glass with an iridescent quality provided extra luster. You can still find this original type of gazing globes available today. However, construction of a gazing globe now includes metal, metallic-look plastic materials even bowling balls.
Available hand-painted gazing globes make for attractive designs. You can custom order specialized designed globes of art if you desire along with very pricey, handmade mosaic glass balls from specialty and import houses.
On the other hand, you can pick up inexpensive versions at dollar stores and garden centers. You can find an array of garden globes to suit every setting and budget. As a side note. A gazing globe is hollow.
A crystal ball is solid. A gazing ball can be any color. A crystal ball is clear. They were believed to ward off evil spirits, ghosts, disease and malicious intruders. In some circles, they were thought to protect the property owner from witches.
Supposedly, if a garden globe was placed near the door, the witch would see her reflection and be frightened away before casting an evil spell. The balls, which often had a reflective surface, also provided a spot for quiet meditation in the garden. Some believed that staring into the ball made the gazer become one with the universe.
A gazer could get lost in the globe's central point of light and reflect on the mysteries of life. In Victorian England, gazing globes were standard fare in gardens, where they were sometimes believed to attract fairies.
It has been said that many kings from the regions of France to the Netherlands demanded gazing globes in their palace gardens. They were thought to have brought prosperity and good luck to any who owned one. Some kings placed several of them throughout their gardens for even more luck.
Eventually, the gazing globe trend had found its way to America around the early 20th century. Soon everyone had at least one of these lovely ornaments in their gardens, with colors ranging from luscious greens to bright blues.
They became a status symbol in American, signifying wealth and success. Today, these beautiful orbs are a common sight in gardens all over the world. They may not have as much of a deep meaning as they once held in times past, but gazing globes are still a beautiful piece of art that adds life and personality to any garden. They come in all different forms and looks, and are mounted on various platforms of your choosing.
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