SundialUses For Gardens: Tips On UsingSundialsInGardens.How to Make a Sundial. Armillary Sundialin mixed bed. Garden Design by Peter Reader Landscapes. in 2025 | Garden design, Plant photography, Sundial. SundialUses For Gardens: Tips On UsingSundialsInGardens. Mary H. Dyer's avatar.Sundialsin the Garden. While it’s possible to build your own sundial, most gardeners prefer to purchase a ready-made one. The Romans were also the first to usesundialsingardens. Roman gardens were private spaces, set behind houses and enclosed on all sides by rooms and colonnades. In the midst of this ordered scene was the sundial. Looking for a sundial for the garden? We round up a selection of great sundials which will work beautifully as a focal point.Some sundialsuse a shadow - this is most gardensundials you'll find - while others work by using a thin line or spot of light. Horizontal sundialused in symmetry as a focal point in a garden.Armillary Sundialin a cozy garden and outdoor settings. Our armillary sundials are composed of a set of interlocking metal rings, referred to as “armilla”, which is Latin for bracelet. Sundials are a popular garden ornament. Pierre S. du Pont placed one in his Longwood Garden. Michigan State University’s 4-H Children’s Garden asks children to stand at the center of their sundial and use the shadow of their raised hands to see the time. Making and UsingSundials. Sun Transits and Eclipses."The greatest benefit of a sundialin the garden, according to Robert, is the connection it creates between the viewer and the place. Although the oldest known example is an ancient Egyptian shadow clock dating from around 1500BC, it was the Romans who were probably the first to usesundialsingardens and are believed to have been erected to honour Sol, the Roman god of the Sun. Carefree, AZ, in the Valley of the Sun, has possibly the largest sundialin the US.(Wikipedia) or use that compass app on your phone to find magnetic north. This is why I still don’t have a sundialin my garden. Maybe make a sundial a focal point in your garden. Sit it among the flowers and admire the simplicity of its design. It could even make a perfect Christmas gift – something special for that “hard to buy for” person who’s sure not to have one. A sundial is a device that uses the position of the sun to reflect the time. An upright stick, called a gnomon, is positioned to cast a shadow onto a pre-marked sundial face. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow also moves. Use a plumb line to determine a true vertical to indicate noon. Hang a plumb object from a string about 5 feet long. When it casts no shadow, rotate your sundial on its pedestal until there is no shadow on the sundial plane. Step 4. Adjust the angle of the gnomon to correspond with your latitude. Robert Adzema's Crack of Dawn sundial, seen from the back, uses a slot of light to illuminate the hours of the day.Yet, though it is so fundamental to the garden, sunlight is very poorly understood by most gardeners. We distinguish only three kinds typically: full sun, part sun, and shade.
