Benches, chairs and eating spots in the garden

Imagine lunch in a forest clearing...

After all the work is done, the weeds are pulled, the mulch is down and the plants are growing without your help, it is time to relax in your favourite chair or bench or lounge. Garden seating is one of the special joys in the life: a place to sit and dream, and to contemplate the wonders you have wrought. Or to have a meal with family and friends.

Benches and chairs don’t have to be rigid and formal. They can be fun, comfy, or purely ornamental. Gardeners are highly creative and use all sorts of found materials to fashion unique seating opportunities.

In locating seating, remember to:

1. Think about the sun and when it reaches your seating area. You don’t want to be sitting down to dinner beneath the blazing afternoon sun, but you may want its warmth in the morning with your coffee.

2. Place your seating oriented to the view. After all, that is what it is all about.

3. Make some of your seating social in groupings for more than one.

4. Add a small table or stand to place a drink or set down a book.

5. Amuse yourself. Place your seating for one where you can watch the birds at your feeder or at a birdhouse.

An outdoor living room.

The glowing hakonechloa grass adds light to the seating area.

A lovely place for dinner, complete with an umbrella for shade, if needed.

A great spot to hang a birdhouse.

A floriferous spot in a field of green.

A cool, shady spot for the end of a busy day.

A bench made of polished wood from a tree root.

A metal bench that is surprisingly comfortable.

The chairs don’t have to be fancy when the view is lovely.