Can Someone Explain Lawn Balls?

Photographed with the iPhone A Neighbor's Lawn Ball

I can see myself photographing the lawn ball, in the lawn ball’s reflection.   When I “googled” origin of the Lawn Ball it insisted I was asking about Lawn Bowls and Lawn Bowling. Not.

Maybe I don’t have the correct  terminology for this yard art, garden ornamentation, lawn decor.  There must be something about them that draws me in.  I’ve been thinking about who made the first lawn ball and how the idea came to him ( or her).  Placed on a pedestal, watching the clouds roll by on the curved surface.

Amy writes it is a Gazing Ball   Going to look it up. See her comment below for the lnk.

also called a Yard Globe or a Gazing Globe


Adding to Nature’s Beauty

A statement,
a center piece
placed on a pedestal.
I stare at it
photograph it.
Wonder how it came to be.

10 thoughts on “Can Someone Explain Lawn Balls?

  1. Yup, gazing balls, but they can also be called lawn balls (I didn’t know that). Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about their history.

    Gazing balls originated in 13th century Venice where they were hand-blown by skilled Italian craftsmen.

    King Ludwig II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, adorned his Herrenchiemsee palace with lawn balls. Thereafter, they became a fixture of European gardens and are associated with Victorian era English gardens in particular.

  2. I love it that Mad King Ludwig started a trend that is still popular today. He would have made a fortune if he had patented it!
    Whatever…I have always loved lawn balls (gazing balls)…maybe I’m a bit mad too!

  3. I like them too. I have an amethyst colored gazing ball and I surround it with little white flowers. And then I gaze at it. Little kids like to see how the balls distort things.

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