My interest in sundials started quite simply, when someone gave me one as a gift. I loved it, and the way it looked in my garden. But I was eager to learn how to 'keep time' with it. And, while learning that, I discovered some interesting things about sundials.We all know that time was measured by using the sun for thousands of years. When clocks were first invented, sundials were still used to assure the accuracy of these 'time-telling gadgets'. After the clock proved it could be depended on, sundials were pretty much relegated to the garden, as ornaments.
Today the choices available for our gardens are wonderful ... everything from simple or fancy, and in materials ranging from metals to carved stone. In a flower bed, whether a casual cottage garden, or a formal rose garden, they seem to blend right in with your landscaping.
Setting your sundial
If you're not concerned with actually keeping your sundial set to the correct time, where you place it is not that important. But, if you do want to keep time with it, let's talk about how to go about it.
First, be sure the spot you've chosen is level and of course, in full sun. If you have picked out a 'vertical' sundial, it should be mounted on a sunny, south-facing wall.
Place your sundial so that the gnomon (the shadow arm) is pointed toward celestial north. (south in the Southern Hemisphere), not the magnetic north of a compass. The simplest way to find celestial north is to position your sundial at noon. Turn your sundial so that the shadow of the gnomon falls directly on the mark representing noon.
You may not be particularly concerned with complete accuracy of your sundial, but if you are, you should 'reset' it on one of the four days of the year when sun time and clock time agree:
April 15, June 15, September 1, and December 24.
On other dates, a sundial can be as much as 14 minutes behind clock time or 16 minutes ahead of it. This is simply because sundials measure time 'as it is'. Noon is always when the sun is highest in the sky, not when our watches are saying 12:00 noon.
'Amidst the flowers I tell the hours.''The clock the time may wrongly tell,
I never if the sun shines well.'
~Actual quotes from antique sundials.
I've barely touched on the subject of sundials here, but if you'd like to
know more, here are some interesting links: