February 2008 - Page 5 of 7

Bzzzz February 10th, 2008

It’s curious how many private gardens I have visited that have lovely plants and beautiful flowers—but nowhere to sit.

It’s as if we’re so busy “doing” in the garden that we can’t enjoy “being” in the garden.

SEATING AT THE DIXON HOUSE AND GARDENS, MEMPHIS

I caught myself in this very trap a couple of years ago. I would spend hours and hours on the weekend planting, weeding, digging and then head indoors to sit down. But the realization that I wasn’t enjoying the beauty that I created coupled with my growing need to pace myself and rest from time to time during my work, made me incorporate more seating areas into the garden.

GARDEN BENCH AT BUMBLEBEE

This year, I’m improving on the seating in the front of the house where we have a sweeping view of the hay field and will, I hope, be able to watch the aerial acrobatics of the purple martins. As I looked for ideas for the new seating area, I realized that I seem to have spent quite a lot of time taking pictures of garden seating in my travels. So I share them with you here along with ideas on some features of garden seating that I think make them successful.

Seating should be planned and incorporated into the garden. It’s just fine and dandy to drag out some lawn chairs when extra seating is needed. But if you need to do that whenever the mood strikes you to park your bottom and enjoy the view, it’s quite likely that you won’t sit down at all.

TEA GARDEN AT THE DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN, PHOENIX

Create places away from the house as well as close to the house. A carefully chosen seating location can provide a focal point that draws your eye and invites you to explore further.

SEATING AT THE DIXON HOUSE AND GARDENS, MEMPHIS

Seating should be sturdy and not tippy. It’s no fun to have to perch yourself on a tiny stool or spindly chair. Providing a base of pavers under the legs of your seating will give needed stability and also protect wood from the moist ground.

PARK BENCH

Seating should be weather proofed and easily cleaned. Hard surfaces such as concrete or wood are easily hosed down or even power washed in the spring or when needed. I also like the new all-weather wicker made from plastic-wrapped wire that is available from Restoration Hardware. Hardly anyone knows it’s not traditional wooden wicker. The cushions are from the Sunbrella fabric, so if I forget to bring them in during a rainstorm, there’s no harm done.

COVERED BENCH

Whatever you choose should be appropriate to the garden setting. A Zen garden will call for a more streamlined design, while a rustic, bent wood bench would be more at home in a quirky garden or a more free-flowering English cottage garden.

ADIRONDACK CHAIRS AT BUMBLEBEE

Don’t feel like everything has to match. Different types of seating grouped together can be charming when chosen with a unity of theme in mind. We have different styles of Adirondack chairs grouped together. I have seen wonderfully charming groupings of antique wooden chairs with only the unifying theme of age to make the grouping successful.

FORMAL SEATING AT THE DIXON HOUSE AND GARDENS, MEMPHIS

Include little tables or other features to hold a drink or small plate of food. Chinese stools, cut wooden logs or other re-purposed or found objects will be appreciated when you’re nursing a cold glass of tea and trying to read a book at the same time.

COVERED WALK AT THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN

So take a seat and make time to enjoy all the work you do.

Resources to Try

Arthur Lauer – Previously known as Wood Classics. Benches, chairs, dining tables and outdoor accessories. An extensive line of quality teak products.

Walpole Woodworkers – In addition to a wide variety of garden seating, Walpole Woodworkers sells all types of garden accessories and fences. This is where I bought my white picket garden fence.

Restoration Hardware – High quality outdoor seating, including all-weather wicker and iron. If you can wait until the end of summer, these products go on sale for about 20% off the listed price.

Country Casual – Another excellent resource for teak outdoor furniture.

Summer Classics – All-weather wicker, cast aluminum and wood furniture.

And closer to home, don’t forget to look here:

Amish builders – Often very basic designs, but made with quality materials. And there are no shipping charges!

Garden centers – You may find some bargains, although you’ll likely find what everyone else has.

Antiques stores and thrift stores – No telling what you’ll find. Often, you can re-purpose old wood or iron furniture, particularly if it’ll be in a covered location.

Posted In: Gardening

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Bzzzz February 9th, 2008

I recall a conversation from years ago with my dear friend Claudia. She has just moved into a charming little cottage in the old Ortega section of Jacksonville, Florida. The house was surrounded by old trees and magnificent, mature flowering shrubs. I was completely taken with the place. I commented to Claudia that I would garden constantly if I lived there. Her response?

“Oh, I love the idea of gardening. But I just don’t want to be outside there all by myself. It would be so lonely!”

Although this conversation took place, oh, nearly 10 years ago, it has stuck with me, and occasionally crossed my mind, because the feeling that Claudia expressed is so foreign to my own needs and desires for being with nature.

See, while Claudia yearned for company to enjoy nature, I am more like the legendary Hollywood star.

“I want to be alone.”

When I am indoors, I continually bounce from one activity to the next, multi-tasking between home and office and getting distracted with one thing or another. My mind leaps from one idea to another…

“Need to clean the frig…haven’t heard from that client yet…what am I going to do about that programming issue…should I go to the spinning class tomorrow…oops, need to finish that project schedule…can I deliver that report early…”

The internal chatter is a lightening speed, incessant drone.

When I am working in the garden, that chatter gradually subsides. I become lost in the activity. Minutes at a time go by without my having a single thought other than about what I’m doing with my hands.

And although there is no shortage of work for which I could use an extra pair (or more) of hands, I don’t nag my husband or son to join me in the garden because I just want the company of the wind and the birds. (And little dogs, of course.) When they do join me, we usually work at a distance, all of us lost in our own internal worlds. Happily, they share my desire for quiet time.

So you see, perhaps, why I wasn’t entirely sad to be alone in my visits to some of the country’s most spectacular public gardens this past year—the Phoenix Botanical Garden, the Chicago Botanical Garden, the Denver Botanic Garden and the Dixon House and Gardens, among others. Although part of me would loved to share the experience with my husband or another friend, the selfish part of me was happy to have the gardens to myself.

As I wandered through, I could go at my very own pace, lingering over an unusual combination of primroses and cabbages, admiring the coy in the Japanese garden, sitting under the shade of a well-placed trellis.

I observed many groups of families dutifully trudging along after the more enthusiastic members of their parties. Not all the groups looked entirely happy, I must say. Most of the kids looked bored to tears. Not a few were arguing.

So I was glad not to feel I was holding someone back—or dragging them along on my personal nature adventure. There are certainly times when I enjoy the company. But those visits have a different purpose altogether, and it’s not mostly about nature.

And you? Is nature something you prefer to share?

Posted In: Gardening, Lifestyle