Concrete is an ideal medium for creating themed gardenscapes

For centuries, landscapers have recognized the importance of balancing the lush floral beauty of a garden with statuary, fountains and other ornamentation that provide structure, contrast and decorative interest. Even though stone has long served that ornamental purpose, today there's growing interest in a concrete alternative that offers even greater aesthetic value at a fraction of the cost.

Statues, fountains, benches, pond blocks and a vast array of other decorative pieces made of cast stone are showing up in gardens everywhere in every form imaginable.

"Concrete is an ideal medium for creating themed gardenscapes," says Janice Lucioni of Secret Garden Statuary, Seattle.

Cast stone is a highly refined architectural precast concrete that can be manufactured to simulate nearly any type of natural cut stone including limestone, sandstone, granite, slate and travertine. It can be made from white or gray cement, and often mineral pigments or decorative aggregates are tossed into the mix to add color and variation.

For more inspiration, browse through The Concrete Network's Concrete Statuary section for examples of fountains and modular ponds, and tables, benches and containers.

Established in 1999, The Concrete Network's purpose is to educate consumers, builders, and contractors on popular decorative techniques and applications including stamped concrete, stained concrete floors, concrete countertops, polished concrete, and much more. In March 2007 The Concrete Network Web site had 997,745 visitors researching decorative concrete.

The site excels at connecting buyers with local contractors in their area through its Find-A-Contractor service. The service provides visitors with a list of decorative concrete contractors throughout the U.S. and Canada, and is fully searchable by 23 types of decorative concrete work and 200 metropolitan areas throughout North America.