Iron Witch and Cat Garden Stake

Cut from sheet iron and finished in flat black, this is a silhouette rather than a model: a seated figure in a pointed hat with a cat beside her, both perched along a branch. Read against a hedge, a fence or an evening sky it works exactly the way a paper cut-out does, as an outline with nothing to distract from it. It has a dry humour rather than a spooky one.

The piece measures 20 by 25 centimetres, which is small enough to tuck into a border between planting rather than dominate it. It suits the edge of a bed, the lip of a large planter, a tree stump or the top of a low wall, and it looks best where there is some open space behind it for the shape to register. It is a single piece with no assembly.

Iron will develop a rust bloom outdoors over a season or two, particularly along cut edges, which some people want and others do not; a coat of exterior metal paint before it first goes out will hold the black for much longer. Push the stake fully into firm ground so it cannot tip, site it away from paths and mown grass, and keep it out of reach of children.

• Material: cut sheet iron, black finish
• Size: 20 x 25 cm
• Single piece, no assembly required
• For garden borders, planters, tree stumps and low walls
• Push the stake fully into firm ground; site away from paths and keep away from children