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Known variously as Gazing Globe, Garden Ball, Garden Globe, Victorian Ball, Ball of Happiness, Butler Globe and even Witch Ball, this enchanting piece of garden art has been around for centuries and is now making an entrance back into our outdoor spaces.
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 History and legend The first of these beautiful globes appears to have been made by the famed Venetian glass blowers in the 13th century. It is still hand-blown today, although a recent popular variety is made of stainless steel. Called ‘Sphere of Light' by a Spanish priest in the 1400's, it eventually became very popular in the 19th century and King Ludwig of Bavaria had the gardens of his famous Neuschwanstein castle decorated with them. They were hanging in the trees, floating in the water, surrounding the entrances and displayed on lavish pedestals throughout all the grounds. The Victorians who were known for their obsession with gardens and gardening popularized them; they were said to bring happiness, good luck and prosperity, and ward off evil spirits and witches: supposedly the ball, placed by the entrance of the home, would reflect the witch's face, and legend goes that witches can't break away from their own reflection. It was also at this time that the first Christmas ornaments were produced for decorating trees, and these glass ‘Kugels' (stemming from Germany) evolved into the garden ornaments we are now familiar with.  The famously prude Victorians used the reflective balls as a way of keeping an eye on their young people when they were being courted, a kind of chaperone! It is also said that a ball placed in the corner of the dining room would allow the servants to see if someone needed assistance, without having to directly stare at them..... The term ‘Butler Ball' stems from this use. . The use of the garden balls went out of favor shortly after the Victorian era, but they have recently made a major comeback.  Varieties
The Gazing Ball is now one of the most popular must-have home and garden accessories of the decade. From stately, classically designed gardens to quaint cottage yards, all across the world gazing balls can be seen: They are available in stainless steel in many different colors, hand-blown, richly colored glass, ceramic, solid copper and even gazing balls that light up and change color via integrated solar panels.  Some are transparent, others reflective as mirrors. There are older types of Gazing Balls which were made of greenish hollow spheres of glass and filled with multi-colored, twisting threads. They are frequently placed on pedestals at the end of a path in a formal garden, but can also be seen suspended from tree branches, precariously balanced on long poles, or simply scattered among the plants. Some can even be seen floating on ponds. The famous glass artist Dale Patrick Chihuly has had a traveling exhibition throughout the Botanical Gardens of America, and his beautiful and imaginative glass objects enhance the gardens, and vice versa.  The highly reflective mirror-like ones are obviously ideally suited to show your garden from different viewpoints. The brightly or softly colored transparent ones contribute to the beauty of the flower beds in which they are placed. Today Gazing Balls are available inexpensively from many different outlets, with obviously the largest ones, and those that are created with some artistry rather than mass-produced, fetching the highest prices. It is exciting to occasionally find one of the older ones in resale or antique shops. picture of purple ball with allium courtesy of DGer pirl
 | Dutch by birth but widely travelled since my late teens. Married for 25 years to an American musician, with a grown son and living in sunny Southwest Florida, I now call myself 'semi-retired' so that I can justify spending all waking hours in the pursuit of growing blooming tropical plants, most specifically Plumeria. |
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Subject: gazing ball danger ;)
Posted by gardeninfool (from Manchester, TN) on April 28, 2008 at 9:44 PM:I had a mirrored gazing ball in a garden several years ago, and one day noticed a male towhee excitedly flying up to the ball and attacking it. He could see his own reflection and assumed it was another male towhee he needed to defend his territory against. This battle went on for some time, and I just knew he would either injure himself or have a heart attack. Finally he either tired himself out or resigned himself to accepting the competition! ... Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on April 29, 2008 at 4:52 AM: Birds will do this with any reflective surface. I watched a red cardinal do this to my neighbor's car mirror for about half an hour.... ...
Subject: aha!
Posted by dottieskipper (from Montgomery, AL) on April 28, 2008 at 8:57 PM:I always wondered about the story behind balls. Thanks. ...
Subject: 2nd use for gazing balls
Posted by kmcinnerney (from Bozeman, MT) on April 28, 2008 at 10:40 AM:After a few years outdoors, my stainless gazing ball wasn't so stainless anymore. To give it a new life, I drilled a hole in it, suspended it from the basement ceiling, and gave it a good going-over with Rustoleum Hammerite paint (antique brass and copper finishes). I did the same to a pair of very cheap plastic Christmas ornaments (the oversized door-hanger kind that were popular this year). For just a few dollars, I had trio of "hammered copper" balls very similar to those featured in the High Country Gardens catalog for $300. ...
Subject: bowling balls
Posted by crazycatladytoo (from Chambersburg, PA) on April 28, 2008 at 8:43 AM:We get lots of wind in our area and decided to use a bowling ball as a gazing ball. I put a notice on our bulletin board at work to see if anyone had bowling balls that they wanted to get rid of. I got 4 hits and didn't pay a thing for them. What was nice was that they were all different colors. I have bought terracotta sewer pipe in different heights and put the balls on the tops and we also have them just on the ground in a flower bed. I am going to go to the local bowling alley and see if they have any interesting balls that are cheap or free. You can sometimes find them at yard sales. ...
Subject: Balls as a garden scheme
Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on April 27, 2008 at 9:17 PM:Maybe I'm leading the trend for once. A few years ago, I decided I would tie together all the various garden "rooms" of my half-acre by using spheres throughout all the gardens. I even got big round white globes to add to my house and garage hanging lights to pull the house into the theme of spheres (the globes were actually made for fence post lamps, but I found I could turn them upside down for overhead lights). Now I keep an eye out for any round objects. I even have an old basketball, well weather, that looks like a stone ball!
BTW - the cheap gazing balls from places like Big Lots....well, you get what you pay for. They are painted with a shiny paint on the inside of the ball, not made with colored glass. The paint peels off within one or two seasons outdoors. But, even the resulting transparent ball is interesting. Maybe it all stems from my adoration of soap bubbles as a kid? Time for another session with the psychiatrist!
DutchLady, thanks for another beautiful and informative article!
Jeremy ... Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 11:04 PM: LOL Jeremy! You're hilarious!
I still, to this day, love to buy those soapy/water thingies with a wand to blow bubbles.
It's a very cool way to entertain cats.... AND me. ...
Subject: Cobalt Blue
Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 8:59 PM:Well, I guess I can post my gazing ball's picture here... although, I thought this was really only for new threads.
Here it is, resting on the couch, waiting for me to pick out its perfect "spot" in the garden! ;-)
... Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on April 27, 2008 at 9:02 PM: That is beautiful. I want one like that too. ... Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 10:27 PM: Thanks Dutchlady. There was a glow-in-the-dark one, that I was looking at too, but the colbalt blue is mezmerizing.... hence, "gazing" ball! ...
Subject: Pretty...
Posted by CaptMicha (from Brookeville, MD) on April 27, 2008 at 8:47 PM:I especially like these in the winter when dew settles on them and it gets frosty so they look all shimmery in the moon light. ... Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on April 27, 2008 at 9:01 PM: What's frosty?
(LOL Florida here....) ... Posted by CaptMicha (from Brookeville, MD) on April 28, 2008 at 3:28 AM: Lol. I guess they're some nice things about frost... but not much! ...
Subject: THE BALLS
Posted by docgipe (from Montoursville, PA) on April 27, 2008 at 2:53 PM:Very nice article. I learned something new today. Thanks. ... Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 4:45 PM: I LOVE gazing balls. I have a silver one and ALMOST bought a cobalt blue one today... but thought I better not. Now that I read your article, I'm tempted to go back and buy it! ;-) ... Posted by summerkid (from Kankakee, IL) on April 27, 2008 at 5:31 PM: And here I thought I had no interest in gazing balls. Marvelous article, DL! I'm particularly struck by the phrase, "A witch cannot break away from her own reflection."
Gonna ponder that fascinating thought for awhile ... ... Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 7:02 PM: I'm a weak weak weak person.... but I now have a cobalt blue gazing ball. ... Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on April 27, 2008 at 7:09 PM: picture!!please? ... Posted by Teresa_in_BC (from Victoria, BC) on April 27, 2008 at 7:45 PM: I have to select its right "spot" in the garden. It's raining out right now...
so, it's waiting on the couch.
Hmmm... as I look down to add a pic, I see that there is no option to do so here. ...
Subject: Garden art
Posted by pirl (from Southold, NY) on April 27, 2008 at 9:43 AM:Very nice, informative article! Children also find them fun to view.
Thanks for the credit! ...
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