Stone Benches in the Garden



stone bench by Johnsen Landscapes & Pools 
In the summer, gardens in my part of the world, are a tangle of foliage, flowers and dense tree canopies.

We know we should start cutting back, limbing up or clearing out the overgrowth but what we really want to do is sit in the cool shade and drink a glass of iced tea.


What better contrast to the green lushness that surrounds you than a stone seat or bench, grounded and cool to the touch!

Stone seats in the garden have a storied history. The Druids of Northern Europe fashioned stone chairs out of boulders. It is thought that they were used for rituals and perhaps coronations of a sort.

Today, in the British Isles and in France, you can find ancient stone seats in fields, woods and near sacred springs.

See some great stone benches at the Stonepost website

Sunny Wieler, an Irish stonemason / artist, follows in his ancestors' tradition and wrote about making stone seats in his marvelous blog, Stone Art Blog (check it out!).  Stone Art is his company which serves County Cork and Dublin. Here are some of  his marvelous creations.



Sunny Wieler - Stone Art Blog

You might expect all stone seats to be massive and heavy but this is not the case.

In the Chinese tradition, they fashion rounded stone seats (some are carved to look like drums) which encircle a stone table. You can see a great example in the Chinese garden at the estate called Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Traditional Chinese stone table and stone seats

Following this idea, the wonderful designer Jinny Blom created Spore seats.  Although not technically pure stone (they are made of a eco friendly moldable stone) they hark back to Chinese stone seats with a more modern flavor. I love them.

 They were a commissioned design for a permanent installation at London’s Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, which won a prestigious BALI Landscape Award.

Jinny Blom's Spore Seats

I write more about stone benches in my book, The Spirit of Stone.







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