When landscaping a garden plot, you will certainly want to make it harmonious, stylish and comfortable. At the same time, many components of landscape design are used: rockeries, flower beds, ponds, sculptures, fountains and other decorative compositions.
A mill will look especially charming next to a pond and a lawn. In this article, we will talk about the types of mills, the possibility of using them when decorating a garden, and also understand whether it is possible to build them with our own hands.
Dignity
The ornamental windmill is definitely a striking decoration of the garden, giving the site a serene, tranquil charm and perfectly complementing the landscape. However, in addition to its beautiful appearance, it can cover up the imperfections of the site. For example, the unsympathetic parts of communications. Another option is to use it as a secret room for tools.
The height of the mills is quite varied, from 30 cm to 2 m. Of course, the size of your garden should also be taken into account. It is unlikely that on several hundred square meters a large structure will look appropriate and functional.
The water mill will perfectly complement the reservoirs in the garden: a pond, a stream. A decorative waterfall will also serve as an excellent option for adapting the mill to its surroundings. You can place a recreation area nearby and relax in the evenings, watching the falling water and the rotating wings of the mill.
Placement and combination ideas
For installation in the garden, you can use either a classic windmill or watermill, or a decorative one with non-working blades. Most often there are souvenir items. Both the one and the other option will organically fit into the site near the reservoir and on the hill in the far corner.
A windmill can perfectly complement even the most unattractive and seemingly uninteresting corner of the garden. For example, placing it among tall grass will create the effect of a natural, picturesque village. There, the design will look especially aesthetically pleasing.
And if all the buildings on your site are already designed in the old Russian style, and stylized as log cabins, it will not be difficult for you to adapt to the surrounding space and the mill. It will definitely look organic there.
The mills will look beautiful and organic around objects stylized in a rustic style or in the style of the Middle Ages. For example, near a wicker fence, or not far from a well. And if your site already has a small decorative bridge, there is no better place for it. The composition will be perfectly complemented by a stylized cart left next to it.
In addition to the places already mentioned, the atmosphere of the mill can be set off by such elements as a wheel from a cart, a wooden bench or even a fun and unusual garden scarecrow.
When decorating a garden with a mill, graphicality, rigor and clear lines should be avoided. The compositions on your site should breathe lightness, the serenity of village life. All objects around should have soft lines.
If your garden is designed in an oriental style, this is not a hindrance to installing the mill. It will perfectly complement a harmonious, calm and serene landscape. Rather, even not an old Russian structure is suitable here, but a structure in the form of a pagoda, or stylized to the east.
The mill will not fit except into a strict hi-tech, with laconic and strict details.
Having placed it on a hill - small hills, slides, you can observe it from any point of the site. And the figures of funny garden gnomes and other characters placed next to each other will create the atmosphere of a fairy tale around.
Benefiting from the use of the mill
The mill can serve as a wonderful playhouse for children. Children need to have their own space in the garden where they can do their housework.Moreover, perhaps this way you will save your flower beds and beds. The most important thing here is to make sure that the structure is safe and sound.
A stone mill is an ideal solution for using it as a grill. Due to the natural characteristics of the stone, it is excellent at coping with heat.
In addition to its aesthetic functions, the mill is able to protect your site from unwanted pests. So, for example, vibrations going underground from rotating blades will scare off moles.
Another non-standard and useful use of the mill is the doghouse.
And if the structure is located in the immediate vicinity of a garden pond, you can store tools for caring for the pond there.
Recommendations
Setting up a mill in the garden is only half the battle. It is especially important to harmoniously fit it into the overall landscape.
Landscape designers recommend purchasing semi-antique mills.
If you are skillful with the tools, it will not be difficult for you to make a beautiful, windmill yourself. Sometimes, from the materials left after construction, you can create real masterpieces. But if you decide to build a standard mill, you will need very little: wood planks, paint, fixing tools, and coating impregnation.
The most ideal material for a mill is pine. In addition to its attractive appearance, it is easy to process and has a relatively low price.
When choosing the size of the mill, first of all start from the area of your site and its landscape. So, in addition to free space, evaluate the presence of hillocks. Small structures will look great on hilltops, and large ones on uneven terrain.
Of course, an element such as a windmill will give your site a unique charm and will serve as a wonderful decoration. So, without a doubt, it makes sense to make or purchase it, to please yourself, your guests and neighbors with an unusual landscape solution.
