Sundials Make Charming Garden Features
Ornamental Sundials Offer a Wide Choice of Sizes Types and Designs
Mar 29, 2009
For thousands of years gardeners have taken pleasure in the sundial’s combination of beauty and practicality. What better instrument could there be to measure those precious hours spent lazing in the garden? It’s not surprising that sundials are among the most popular garden ornaments - easy to obtain and set up, needing little or no attention once in position, attractive to look at and entirely in keeping with the mood of a garden.
In the long history of sundials, a number of enduring classical designs have evolved, and most of the sundials offered by shops, garden centres and internet suppliers are reproductions of these classical designs. They fall into three main groups:
Vertical Sundials
A vertical sundial is designed for wall mounting. In its simplest form it’s just a metal pointer (the “gnomon”) set on a wall to throw a shadow onto a painted or carved hour scale. Dials of this type are often found on churches.
Other vertical dials consist of a brass plate with a central vane and a time scale etched into the plate. If you have a south-facing wall you can buy one of these “off the shelf” but if your wall doesn’t face precisely due south it won’t give accurate readings. Sundials for walls which face in other directions (but not north!) are also available but you’ll have to find a specialist sundial manufacturer to make one to suit your wall.
Horizontal Sundials
These are intended to stand on flat surface like an obelisk.
These also normally consist of an etched brass plate and pointer and are often sold ready mounted on an ornamental pillar. Alternatively, just buy a brass dial plate and mount it yourself on any flat surface you choose.
Landscaped Sundials
These form part of the design of the garden itself and can be found in many famous gardens. Sometimes a whole garden may form one large sundial.
The gnomon may be a stone or wooden pillar, a piece of metalwork or even a piece of topiary sculpted to form a pointer.
The hours on the timescale may be marked by simple stone slabs or pillars set in a lawn, by more topiary, or by floral plantings or a pattern of herbs. These may be plain, unnumbered hourly gradations, but in some cases are shown as Roman or Arabic numerals.
Armillary Sphere Sundial
These are particularly elegant and accurate sundials, used in the past for wider astronomical calculations. They deserve a grand setting like the one enjoyed by the fine specimen at Somerleyton Hall in England.
Setting the Time on a Sundial
To set the correct time on your sundial, simply wait until mid-day and point the gnomon directly away from the sun, i.e. to the North. The shadow will then fall across the 12 o’clock marking and the dial is set.
The time at 12 o’clock will always be accurate, but you may find variations of up to 15 minutes early and late in the day at some times of year, caused by variations between true time and apparent sun time. This is why the sundial is best set at mid-day.
Also, don’t forget the effect of any annual changes to time. If your dial isn’t permanently mounted it's easy enough to reset it when the clocks change, but if it can’t be moved it’s best to set it permanently to summer time.
Having set the time, all that remains is to sit in the garden and enjoy it, and at ease in the garden on a hot summer’s day, it’s very tempting to forget what is probably the most well known of all sundial inscriptions “Tempus fugit” – time flies.
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