Gardening: What’s in a bench?
Gardens have always been viewed as places of sanctuary — safe retreats in which to ‘hide’ from the madness, chaos and general maladies of the world ‘outside’. Yet relatively few private gardens include permanent, comfortable seating to lounge on. Instead most garden owners rely on portable furniture which must be folded up and safely stored away in between usage which, unsurprisingly, often ruins the original spontaneous need to sit and relax.
It’s true that the vagaries of the weather must always be a consideration — for instance, regular periods of high humidity in Karachi cause cane furniture to erupt in mould. Air-borne pollution, combined with strong sunlight, renders even the brightest of fabrics into dirty, greyish rags in absolutely no time at all. However, there are durable, sensible and even affordable options.
Take stone for example: a stone bench is certainly not everyone’s idea of garden glamour but, if contoured for comfort, it can have an allure of gentle ‘softness’ which is hard to match. Whilst this may sound like a very strange way to describe a stone bench, it is a fairly accurate description. As stone benches — and I mean stone not concrete — are heavy both in weight and on the pocket, let’s have a look at some other options.
How to make your garden a retreat from the outside world
What else can your garden bench be made from?
Cast-concrete benches, chairs and tables are always an option but from personal experience tend to be very uninspiring. It seems they were apparently designed for cold-hearted, institutional use and, it goes without saying, they are very heavy indeed.
Making seats out of a combination of warm-coloured bricks — or even concrete blocks in cold colours — with wooden slabs is a low-cost, feasible option. It is easy to put together and is durable. However, preferably before fastening the wood in place, the wooden segments need to be treated with long-lasting wood preservative which is available in an assortment of colours.
Designing and making garden (and other) furniture out of recycled wooden pallets is another idea. It can also be built to fit into any chosen spot. As with any furniture made from wood, the bench should be sanded down to a smooth finish before it should be used. You risk getting blisters if you don’t.
Traditional wooden takhts — with removable cotton mattresses and cushions are ideal as are traditional wooden charpoys. Both will benefit from six-monthly treatments with wood preservative to keep weather — and wood-munching insects — at bay. The treatments are worth the trouble — it can add years to the furniture’s life.
Cast-iron garden furniture is definitely durable in any kind of weather and, with a coat of metal paint, it lasts just about forever. Admittedly, it is heavy to move around and fairly expensive too but if it’s of good quality, cast-iron furniture can last generations. If your grandchildren’s grandchildren will eventually get to use it, the investment is well worth it.