Garden Furniture

A garden must be equipped with furniture so that it can be really lived in. In choosing this, the basic requirements are that it should be comfortable, easily transportable, sufficiently stable, weather-proof, easy to store and should fit in well with the character of the garden. Too bright colours and extreme variations of shape should be avoided.



There is a wide selection of various types of furniture on the market. The least resistant to weather is that made of wicker and bamboo. All sorts of swinging seats or loungers with canvas canopies are very popular, as are deck chairs and other folding chairs. If you do not like what is on sale, you can always make your own furniture.




A convenient bench can can be made of wooden railway sleepers. One sleeper makes the seat, another halfas wide, the back. They can be fixed to a high wall by being strung on two to three metal pipes let into the wall. The bench may be cut to any required length.



A bench that looks well in a naturally designed garden can be made from a tree-trunk with a diameter of about 30cm. Simply cut the trunk in two, lengthwise. A pedestal can be made at each end using either thinner trunks or large stones.




Simple portable seats can be made from logs cut into 40cm pieces which can be placed wherever needed.

A set of table and chairs can be made of round wood offcuts. Best are maple ones with a diameter of 40-50cm and about 10cm high. These make the chairs when each has a 25x25cm metal plate with a welded-on pipe in the middle screwed on to the underside. This is then fitted on to another, narrower pipe fixed into the ground with concrete and stickin gup 35cm above the surface. A table can be made in the same way, but the top of it should have a diameter of at least 80cm and be 15cm thick. The best height for the table is 75cm. The seats should be positioned some 70cm distant from the table. In winter they can be lifted from their pedestal stands and stored in a dry place.