CHAPTER VII
GARDEN SEATS
The ever-changing tide of fashion brings in its wake a constant development of new and original ideas in the furnishing of our garden plots. Flowers have been with us ever since the first settlement of our country and so has a love for life in the open. This is an inheritance that has deepened with the passing years. So rapidly has this developed that to-day it demands our gardens as living rooms. It is this aspect of garden life that develops new and unusual features in equipment.
While we may flatter ourselves that we as garden lovers have originated this idea, yet it is of ancient origin. History relates that in the gardens of the early Romans and Greeks, garden seats were found. With the changing of styles in floral-culture the ornate came into existence, much used during the Italian Renaissance. Reproductions of their ideas are found in replica in many of the formal gardens of the twentieth century.
Logs, carelessly thrown on the ground, may have been the first seats used by our garden ancestors. Later on with the development of the one-path posy bed, seats were hollowed out of old trees. They formed a picturesque bit, clothed during the summer months in their garments of green, for trailing vines were encouraged to run rampant over their sides. These with the green arbor or pergola and the vine-clad summer house were the three styles of seats favored by the Colonial dames.
Styles and usage of furniture in this special way are as clearly defined as in interior decoration. The modern garden equipped with English, American or Italian furniture, gives a pleasing variety. The principal materials necessary for manufacture are stone, marble, terra cotta or wood. Of these, the latter suggests less expense, while the former can be purchased at any sum you wish.
Stone or marble are absolutely necessary in formal or Italian gardens, as they provide a proper medium for expression that nothing else would satisfy. Look at the gleam of the white marble shown up by its background of green trees and see what a charm it has in the furnishing of your garden plot. Take it all in all, it is the only right setting for an elaborate garden, partly on account of its being a descendant of the Italian Renaissance period which makes it desirable in designs that follow out the character of that period. Rarely, if ever, do we find this simple in form, but rather elaborately carved with representations of animals or figures. As an ornamental feature, it cannot be excelled, but as a garden seat it is not practical, being cold and hard to sit upon. Properly speaking, it should be placed at the head of a walk or topping the garden steps. This is on account of its decorative character and the necessity of making it fit into the floral scheme. The price is prohibitive except to the rich, although it varies with the elaboration of the carving.
Terra cotta, while not as often used, has its advantages. It can be moulded readily into any form desired. While it is not always suitable, yet its warmth of color, which is either buff or red, makes it admirable when one desires to bring out certain effects in the planting of beds. It is, perhaps, the least used of any of the materials. A seat four feet in length can be purchased for from forty dollars upwards.
Concrete seats are the kind that are most commonly used for formal and informal gardens. We should remember, however, that we must not mix formal and informal furniture promiscuously, otherwise the result will be disastrous. One should bear in mind in treating this subject that formal pieces resemble well-bred people. They fit suitably into any place in their surroundings. It is far different, however, with informal pieces which are entirely wrong and out of place in formal settings. This fact applies to concrete which is suitable for almost any occasion for it possesses almost endless possibilities as far as form is concerned. Rightly mixed, it can be moulded into almost any shape that you desire, which accounts for the fact that in its designs many of the elaborate garden seats are copied. This makes it popular and constantly in demand, on account of its less cost. To all intents and purposes, it is quite as durable as stone or marble. It has still another advantage, in that its neutral gray tint harmonizes picturesquely with almost any setting of shrubbery or flowers.
The least expensive of any of the materials that is used for this purpose is wood. It has this advantage, that it can be formed in such a great variety of shapes that there is always found some piece that is suitable for every taste and occasion. If you contrast it with marble or stone, you will realize that it has the advantage of being lighter in weight, and capable of being carried around from place to place with little or no trouble. Take it all in all, the best place for it to be at home in is the informal garden.