Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

88 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

SheenaMarshisreadytorelaxandunwindinthesummergarden,and

youcanjoinherinthissimplepleasurewithsomeoutdoorfurniture

EVERYTHINGINTHEGARDEN

O

fallthepleasuresthata

gardenoffersperhapsthe

simplestandgreatestisjust

tositoutsideandrelaxfora

whileonasummerevening.

Whateverthesizeofyour

garden,itsfurnitureshouldbeanintegralpart

oftheoveralldesign.

Anoldrusticwoodenbenchmaywell

looktotallycharminginacottagegardenbut

completelyincongruousonamodernpatio.

Goodgardenfurniturecanbeexpensive,

sobeforeinvesting,takeasmuchtimeto

considerwhetheritsuitsthesurroundings

asyouwouldwhenbuyingfurnishingsfor

thehouse.

Planningtheseatingareasisasimportant

asplanningtheplants,bothareessential

ingredientstothebalanceofthegarden.It’s

worthhuntingaroundforpiecesthatare

functionalaswellasaestheticallypleasing.

Whereyouplacethesecarefullychosenpieces

isequallyimportantanddependswhenyou

arelikelytositinthegarden.

Inalargegardentheremaywellbespace

forseveralpermanentseatsforvarioustimes

oftheday.Ideallythreeseatingareasarebest;

aneast-facingspotformorningcoffeeinthe

sun,alargediningarea,withsomeshade,for

lunchandawest-facingseattocatchthelast

raysofeveningsunshine.

Mostgardensareattheirlovelieston

finesummereveningsinthesofterlight,

whenmanyflowersgiveofftheirmost

deliciousfragrance.

Ifyouonlyhavespaceforoneseatingarea

inyourgarden,trytomakeitinawest-facing

positionandpositionthefurnitureonsome

permanentpaving.

Thisisanidealplacetoposition

containersofscentedplantsthatcanbe

movedaccordingtotheseason.Forthe

intensityofitslatewinterandearlyspring

scent,growDaphneodora‘Aureomarginata’

nearyourchosenseatingarea.

Insummer,somejasmineornight-scented

stockwillfilltheairwithperfume.Ifspaceis

limited,trygrowingpotsofliliesortheannual

tobaccoplantstofragrancetheair.

Whenduskfallsonbalmynights,use

candlesorlampstoextendtheperiodof

enjoymentinyourprivateseatingarea.

Withaglassofyourfavouritetipplein

handabsorbthesight,soundandscentof

yourgarden.

‘Planningtheseating

areasisasimportantas

planningtheplants,

bothareessential

ingredientstothe

balanceofthegarden’

HOMES INTERIORS