9 Delightful Garden Seats For Unleashing Your Inner Philosopher
Reward your hard work in the garden with an inviting bench where you can let your thoughts float free
“Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits,” said Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne’s honey-loving bear. Pooh enjoyed contemplating his world from a seated position and it led to some profound philosophical insights worth listening to today. Where better to consider his views on life than in a garden with the sun on your shoulders, immersed in nature? Browse these nine garden seat set-ups, from the stately to the whimsical – they may inspire you to compose some Pooh-like thoughts of your own.
1. Grace your garden with a Lutyens bench
One of the most well-known garden seats, the Lutyens bench, continues to enhance gardens world-wide. Designed by Arts and Crafts architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens in 1902, its distinctive curves and scrolled arms are a timeless feature in traditional and modern gardens.
There have been many variations on Lutyens’ masterpiece, but the original remains a beautifully proportioned classic for Jane Austen moments as you transport yourself to the garden of a stately English home.
One of the most well-known garden seats, the Lutyens bench, continues to enhance gardens world-wide. Designed by Arts and Crafts architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens in 1902, its distinctive curves and scrolled arms are a timeless feature in traditional and modern gardens.
There have been many variations on Lutyens’ masterpiece, but the original remains a beautifully proportioned classic for Jane Austen moments as you transport yourself to the garden of a stately English home.
That’s not to say it wouldn’t be at home in more humble surroundings. A timber Lutyens-style bench is a tongue-in-cheek addition to this modest portable hut. Sitting in an English meadow, it’s made for navel-gazing.
The charming little shelter is by UK firm Riverside Shepherd Huts, and can be used as a home office, guest room, extra accommodation or self-catering holiday house.
The charming little shelter is by UK firm Riverside Shepherd Huts, and can be used as a home office, guest room, extra accommodation or self-catering holiday house.
2. Put your feet up on an Adirondack
The Adirondack chair is another classic favourite. The design has inspired many adaptations of its original five-plank form, created in the Westport backyard of Thomas Lee around 1903. The patent for the chair was filed by Harry Bunnell, a friend of Lee, a sneaky move that didn’t seem to bother Lee.
The Adirondack chair is another classic favourite. The design has inspired many adaptations of its original five-plank form, created in the Westport backyard of Thomas Lee around 1903. The patent for the chair was filed by Harry Bunnell, a friend of Lee, a sneaky move that didn’t seem to bother Lee.
The Adirondack has become a symbol of American summer and with Hamptons style in the limelight, its popularity has peaked. With signature slanted back, wide armrests and rolled seat edge, it adds instant holiday appeal to seaside gardens. Its casual laid-back profile suits natural timber, but it is often painted in bright colours. Can you see yourself soaking up sun in one while you think uncomplicated summer thoughts?
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3. Wind down with water
Close to water, we can disconnect momentarily from reality and the stresses that often come with it. If you have natural water nearby, position your philosopher’s chair within sight or earshot of its flow.
Pooh: “Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
Close to water, we can disconnect momentarily from reality and the stresses that often come with it. If you have natural water nearby, position your philosopher’s chair within sight or earshot of its flow.
Pooh: “Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
A modest water feature is as effective as a flowing stream or waterfall to induce a calm mood open to higher contemplation. The continuity of sound as water circulates endlessly helps us to turn off our ‘busy’ switches and go into drift mode, the prerequisite to creative thinking.
Pooh: “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
Pooh: “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
4. Rock with it
Add a little gentle movement to your reverie with an old-fashioned rocking chair. There’s a reason we rock babies’ cradles, and old folk rock on porches reflecting on life. A rocking motion forces us to slow down and surrender to the pendulum effect and our own thoughts.
Add a little gentle movement to your reverie with an old-fashioned rocking chair. There’s a reason we rock babies’ cradles, and old folk rock on porches reflecting on life. A rocking motion forces us to slow down and surrender to the pendulum effect and our own thoughts.
Lull yourself into bottomless calm as you swing idly in a hanging seat overlooking the garden. Freeing yourself from the feeling of gravity is a technique often used for stress relief and deep relaxation. In this idyllic garden in Devon, UK, a wicker bubble piled with cushions is suspended from a metal frame.
Owl: “I say, are you stuck?”
Pooh: “No, just resting and thinking and humming to myself.”
See more gorgeous gardens
Owl: “I say, are you stuck?”
Pooh: “No, just resting and thinking and humming to myself.”
See more gorgeous gardens
5. Add some colour
If you want your bench to create a focus and stand out from surrounding plantings, it’s as easy as a lick of paint. Vibrant cherry red suits the Chinoiserie design of this bench and is a clever foil for ferns and hostas.
Before you decide on a position for your bench, check the lines of sight. Does it take advantage of a pretty view? Is it secluded enough for solitary pondering? Then look at it from a distance to see how it fits in with other features.
If you want your bench to create a focus and stand out from surrounding plantings, it’s as easy as a lick of paint. Vibrant cherry red suits the Chinoiserie design of this bench and is a clever foil for ferns and hostas.
Before you decide on a position for your bench, check the lines of sight. Does it take advantage of a pretty view? Is it secluded enough for solitary pondering? Then look at it from a distance to see how it fits in with other features.
6. Go natural
For seating that blends beautifully with the subtle shades and textures of a garden, nothing beats stone. A stone bench can be tucked into a nook or flow seamlessly between other rock features. Surround it with lush foliage to enhance a sense of seclusion and bring nature up close and personal.
For seating that blends beautifully with the subtle shades and textures of a garden, nothing beats stone. A stone bench can be tucked into a nook or flow seamlessly between other rock features. Surround it with lush foliage to enhance a sense of seclusion and bring nature up close and personal.
Timber is never out of place outdoors. Chunky sections of tree trunks in this Surrey, UK woodland provide perching places for a brief rest from the hard work of gardening and a vantage point to watch the bees and butterflies attracted by fragrant plantings.
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7. Tune in to a tree
Wrap a simple timber bench such as this one around a tree for watching your garden grow. Trees provide shade and shelter for comfortable contemplation, and much more.
Piglet: “Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
Pooh: “Supposing it didn’t.”
Wrap a simple timber bench such as this one around a tree for watching your garden grow. Trees provide shade and shelter for comfortable contemplation, and much more.
Piglet: “Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
Pooh: “Supposing it didn’t.”
Professor of biology David Haskell, who is the author of The Songs of Trees, writes of our primal connection with trees. “I spent several years listening to trees, opening my ears to them, paying attention to their voices. I found that trees were full of sound. Each sound tells a story about the tree’s life and its home.”
This lovely specimen has the advantage of a velvety carpet of grass for a soft seat.
This lovely specimen has the advantage of a velvety carpet of grass for a soft seat.
8. Keep it a secret
Remember the thrill of childhood hide-and-seek games? Mind-clearing moments of complete solitude are becoming rare these days, so turn a corner of the garden into your little haven. This wicker cocoon is made for nesting and a screen of bamboo provides an extra layer of privacy.
Remember the thrill of childhood hide-and-seek games? Mind-clearing moments of complete solitude are becoming rare these days, so turn a corner of the garden into your little haven. This wicker cocoon is made for nesting and a screen of bamboo provides an extra layer of privacy.
9. Bring a friend
It’s true that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a knotty problem or coming up with splendid ideas. A pair of benches placed sociably with a table between them doubles the appeal of a relaxing interlude in the garden.
Pooh: “It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’”
Tell us
Does your garden have a special place where you can let your imagination go? Tell us about it in the Comments, save images of your favourite garden seats and join the conversation.
More
Find a landscape contractor or gardener near you
It’s true that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a knotty problem or coming up with splendid ideas. A pair of benches placed sociably with a table between them doubles the appeal of a relaxing interlude in the garden.
Pooh: “It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’”
Tell us
Does your garden have a special place where you can let your imagination go? Tell us about it in the Comments, save images of your favourite garden seats and join the conversation.
More
Find a landscape contractor or gardener near you
Pooh: “Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”