OFTEN when you visit gardens throughout the country you will see ornate sculptures which make a focal point or even a centrepiece of the scene. But how can you transfer a smaller version of that to your own back garden, without it looking tacky and out of place?

You can gain inspiration from open gardens and displays such as the current Henry Moore exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, which is showing 28 works of the internationally-acclaimed sculptor throughout the 300-acre landscape. But you don't have to own a Henry Moore to install art in your garden.

If you have a contemporary garden you can create ornamental focal points by using scrap metals and some metal paint, while in older cottage gardens or traditional country plots, relics with an historical feel can fit in perfectly.

You wouldn't want to place a rustic 17th century shepherdess in a city garden, and probably wouldn't opt for dazzling metallic painted ornaments in a traditional country garden.

Whatever the size of your space, don't overdo it with too many sculptures. It's much better to limit yourself to one well-placed statue which has some relevance.

The size of the ornament you choose needs to be in proportion to the area of garden in which it is to be placed and the planting around it. That doesn't necessarily mean that in a small garden you have to have a small sculpture, but you do need to have the space to be able to stand back and admire it.

The type of material used for your sculpture is all-important if it is to fit tastefully into your garden. It should fit in with existing hard landscaping materials such as the brick of the house and your local stone.

Planting around the ornament is all-important to enhance it as a focal point. A dark, sombre sculpture, for instance, will need a brighter background to set it off, such as an acid-green evergreen or even red or gold-stemmed willows or dogwoods.

Statues which are less than a metre high can look good when low growing plants are placed around them such as wispy ornamental grasses.

Some ornaments, such as birdbaths, sundials and urns, can be lost through poor positioning. If you put a sundial in the middle of your lawn, it will have to be a big one to make any sort of impact against the swathe of green around it.

If you place a birdbath on your patio, the beauty of the piece may be lost because it will seem hard without planting to soften it.

Taller sculptures can be set against a background of shrubs or trees only if they are given enough space to shine, and as long as the plants provide a contrast. Evergreens such as ivy and holly can soften the effect of statuary and tie it in to the rest of the garden.

If you can't decide on a statue or other piece, choose an architectural plant as a fine stand-alone sculpture, such as an evergreen conifer trimmed into an interesting shape.