The-Artistic-Garden's Blog

Ideas For Using A Garden Mirror
And Outdoor Safety Tips

Wanda emailed and asked:

I want a mirror for my garden. I have heard there are plastic mirrors or that stainless steel would be good for a mirror. Can you tell me if you have made one and how you did it. I want it to be fairly large.

Oh, and thanks for the info on your garden mirror page on your website. Thanks for your help.

My reply:
Hello Wanda:
I did have a mirror in my garden area a few years ago, however used an old (real) glass mirror that had a neat looking distressed frame around it, so I wasn’t too worried about the silver backing wearing off in spots due to exposure to the elements. I hung it on a wall in my garden area. I have since taken it down for various reasons.

But to further answer your question, if I were to do it again, especially a large one as you are mentioning you want to do … I would buy a plastic mirror because it will be lighter in weight, safer for outdoor use, and last much longer if left outside than a glass mirror. Also, I think that a large piece of glass is really not a wise choice to be placed out in one’s garden, mine included.

I would also wager that from a cost standpoint, you will find a plastic mirror much more affordable than a piece of highly polished stainless steel. It might be a bit hard to find a plastic, or sometimes also referred to as ACRYLIC, mirror supplier but I just did an online search via Google and do see suppliers. Type these words into the search box: plastic acrylic mirrors. You can check out the various websites.

Other than that, as far as making a mirror that is attractive for outdoor use, my suggestion is to provide an interesting frame of some sort (distressed looking; or painted in lively colors; etc.) that suits your outdoor décor and garden “theme” and basically mount the piece of mirror onto the frame as you would mount a picture into a frame.

Another idea would be to find an interesting looking, old wooden door; cut out an area in the middle, and mount the mirror onto the door from the backside, thusly the door is serving as a “frame” … and then prop the door in a corner of your garden, as example, to serve as an interesting and unique focal point.

You want it to be large … just remember birds are known to fly right into garden mirrors (they could break their necks from this – poor things!), and if the sun reflects just “right” off the mirror onto another surface that is combustible … you could have a fire start (just like the way children can start a fire by using a magnifying glass to project an intense beam of sunlight). So PLEASE be careful of the ultimate placement of your garden mirror.

And, of course I am sure your imagination will give you lots of other good ideas to make one, too! Put on your creative thinkin’ cap!

Good luck!