Working in the garden? Set a spell and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

You work hard on your garden, you grid it out and dream all winter, waith for the soil to be "FRIABLE" (whatever that is) enough to start tilling and dividing. At night, you walk around it and wonder what might be worth adding or moving.

How about spending a moment to find a spot other than your patio to relax in, make your phone calls, twitter to your friends that you're in all your sunhat and Felco glory!?! Intentional garden furniture serves not only as a focal point drawing your eye into the garden, but as a place to savor a unique vista back towards your home. Anyone can plop a teak bench out front facing the pavement, but who sits on it? That's right, nary a soul. You'd be amazed at how a quality teak or iron bench, glider built for two, pair of bistro chairs with a cafe table or conversation table large enough for a pitcher of mojitos and your Fine Gardening magazine will do to spice up your life!

It all starts with vision, and is followed up by the choice of quality hardware. A seat that is rusted away to almost nothing might look quaint, but wrecking your summer-white skort and risking painful collapse and crushing of your Achillea in the aftermath isn't worth it. You'll want sturdiness, something that sheds the rainfall and needs only a quick wipedown or addition of a cushion when company's headed your way. Probably you'll want to set the legs on something like pieces of stable flagstones, whether the seating is in the midst of a bed or floating on your perfect lawn. This eliminates sinking into wet soil and the advancing or rust and rot from the feet up that spending the year on moist soil and mulch fosters. A 12inch by 12inch piece of limestone or bluestone disappears at a distance and can be weeded or mowed over, especially if you opt for thicker (1.5 inch or so) slabs to begin with.

Here are some pictures of choices of seating available from Midsummer Gardens last year. We're busy as bees steel wooling, waxing, teak oiling, spritzing and spraying and sometimes sandblasting and starting from scratch on a huge inventory of antique and vintage furnishings. Containers, urns, pedestals and plinths galore, a chimney pot and some Grecian urns are out there some-a-wheres, along with two conical French tuteurs waiting to be added to your large cast iron planters or in the midst of your rose garden. Just call us at 847.345.4711 with your wildest dreams, drop us an email at clyngso@gmail.com, or post something here on the Blog! Ciao...