I sit on rocks when I take a break.

When someone comes, I tell them, "pull up a rock and have a seat!"

I also have four 1950s metal patio chairs and a few plastic ones too. My table is an electric spool set upon a tree stump. I painted a large sunflower on the top side of the table. Works for me!

I have a big concrete slab that I want to turn into a bench. Looking for just the right rocks for the supports and then find two strong men to haul it all back to my garden. The rocks won't be that hard to find, but two men willing to do that kind of work is going to be really tough! :0

~Annie

My garden wraps around my chicken coops. I have a small cafe set that's just outside the fenced veggie garden, and a wooden bench that sits just above the veggies. A second wooden bench is on one side of the coop and I have various old metal chairs/tables and a chaise lounge on the opposite side.

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Well this is basically the items I have, a few benches and a number of these black bistro sets. Originally I thought I would want something eclectic and colorful. I ended up with this instead through deals to good to pass up and just dumb luck gifting. All the pieces are similar but different and get moved to various locations and arrangements. I have one with a table umbrella that is by the pond. In the end I found the uniformity and simple black a perfect foil for all the activity of the flowers.
Oh, and there is a hammock of course. ;-)

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Annie, I love you! That's my kind of seating.

I keep telling my husband that I need to get a few stumps to place here and there for resting. Maybe I can save the Spruce tree pieces as I saw them off.

I do have a cedar bench by the back door on what I laughingly call "the Patio", but it is always covered with plants or a can of scraps for the chickens or a box of plastic pots....never used for sitting!

I do have a very shady west yard that my daughter keeps telling me I need to have a sitting area in........maybe I will get around to it eventually.

Furlet city and bluesunflower, those are my kinds of sitting areas too!

Actually we do sit on the porch swing when we sit. The birds don't like it though and fuss at us. That's where I keep the jelly and the hummer feeder.

BTW, now eating grape jelly are Purple Finches, Cardinals, and the Orioles. Who knew?

Great thread, just wondering - does anyone ever sit? No, that's not true... I do sit once in a while and just take in all of the wonderful birds singing :0)....and even the rabbits nibbling ... ;0/

Carrie

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Here's my favorite spot for drinking a glass of wine or having a love session with one of the cats:

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This is the latest addition to the back garden. I refinished this old set and painted it. We have the front porch seating also and around the pool area. I am in the process of adding more ...work in progress.

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I love that purple retro metal bistro set!

me too, love purple...

I painted two purple adirondack chairs, but have to keep them on the front porch - oh how I would love to put them in the garden!

Those are so pretty... Carrie

You all have such fabulous "in garden" seating! WOW! Lovely, lovely.

We tend to sit where we have views of the garden, rather than in the gardens. Our front porch overlooks the cottage garden, but there is also a garden bench in a corner of the fenced garden where we look back across the flowers. You'll have to look carefully to see the metal bench in the top right corner of the cottage garden against the stone column.

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My concrete bench under the willow in the butterfly garden. I sit there in the shade to rest and/or stalk butterflies and birds for photos.

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This is newly re-done in the last few weeks. There is now a different metal bench and planters here. This is by the waterfall garden, where we also have a bistro set on the upper patio and a teak dining table down below in the fragrance garden. (Captions relate to the story in my blog about this makeover)
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Cameron - beautiful... a dream house for sure, with wonderful views from all directions...

Carrie

Wow, all beautiful as I knew they would be! I love the little bistro & patio sets and garden benches - I currently have two resin adirondack chairs that I've put in my space, but now wondering if a bench would be better just for the back support! We also have a glider sofa on the screened-in porch and a table/chair set similar to bluesunflower's on the patio. These have long-range views of the flower bed (which I'm currently expanding) but I wanted something closer to the bed so when my knees pop and creak it's a short hobble to a comfy seat to take a break :) These all look SO inviting - keep 'em coming! :)

How could I forget my front porch - especially under the fans....

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Carrie

-Carrie, love your garden. What is that pink flowering plant in the bottom right-hand corner of your first pic? Pink Scabiosa maybe?? Very pretty.

Here is my patio and seating. Several years ago I cut down the patio by half so I could plant things around it. Most everyone thought that was a silly thing to do, but I love it. I am surrounded by plants! It makes me feel safe. ;-)
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You can see the whole garden from the patio. I wish it were more like those gardens you had to wonder thru to see everything though. The patio gets sun in late afternoon, so I go and sit then in a lawn chair under the flame maples.

This is at the east side of the house. I have a few little 'nook gardens' in here. Sometimes I sit down on those blocks there and rest. It is a nice spot for just sitting and relaxing in-between weeding.
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CMK

WOW! This is a great thread. Thank you for starting it Janetgia. I absolutely love all of these pictures and ideas. I always love the idea of special places to hang out and be with the garden. After seeing all these I have some work to do carving out more seating areas!

Christinmk it makes me smile that you said being surrounded by plants makes you feel safe. I thought it was just me that felt that way. LOL

The choices of colors of this thread are so terrific - love the purples and the above colored green bistro set...

CMK - you got it - Perennial Scabiosa - tall variety - not sure what the name is - although it was grown from seed last year. I was surprised it came back - sometimes tall scabs don't come back for some reason.

Better picture of it:

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Wonderful thread janetgia!

-Carrie, thanks! I will have to go and see if I can find something similar, it is lovely.

-LeSan, I always feel safe around those I love and who love me back! ;-)
CMK

In person the color is more lavender - unfortunately I am a terrible photographer and always take pictures in the wrong light!

Carrie

Great post.CMK,what is that Beautiful white bush hanging over the fence??
Kathi

Carrie,

Looking at your photos makes me mourn even more about not getting to move to NC a few years ago. I LOVE your front porch and the rockers (my fave chair) and that view is pure heaven.
Your cottage garden with all the flowers and the arbor is heavenly. Why haven't I seen more of you on here? You have much to contribute!

~Annie

Oh my gosh that PORCH!! Wow... I am tempted to build a porch around my little shed just so I can have an overhang and a rocking chair. Really - how hard could that be?? A few pallets on the ground covered with planks... a little awning overhead so catch the bird poo... ;)

And CMK, your little nook with the blocks is just right, isn't it? That's the type of thing I need - a spot to just sit for a few moments while weeding.

What an inspiration you all are!

sweetannie (how appropriate) because that WAS so sweet of you to ask where I have been...

Actually, I used to post on this forum a while back - if you are an "old" poster, you may remember that when someone started "what is a cottage garden" and there were a ton of posts... I had saved that whole thread. Then months later someone wanted to find it and it was gone... so I sent an email to one of the posters here (can't remember who) and she made a link, etc. etc. (I think I still have that thread)...

Anyway, then I started growing from seed (wintersowing) shortly after and ended up posting there... I LOVE this forum (cottage) and read a lot and just lately posting.

Thanks so much - you made me feel so good today!

Carrie

and janet - thanks, that porch picture is actually a couple of years old (didn't have a recent pic). Today, my geraniums are pink and you can see so many more flowers from the porch now that I have learned to grow from seed...

-Carrie, all the better! I like lavender and have too much pink. Now to find that plant... Glad you came back to the forum!

-Kathi, that is a Spirea, or 'Bridal-Wreath'(sp?). I am not sure of the species/cultivar (though it might be S. nipponica); the bush is near thirty years old I think.It is on my neighbor's side, but I like how it looks hanging over so never prune it. I think it softens the harsh look of the chain-link to have things growing over it.

-Jane, originaly I put the blocks there because my ex-neighbor's river rocks kept spilling over into my flowerbeds. I didn't really like the looks of the blocks, so I set some extra patio pavers on top of them. Now the little ledge is perfect for setting myself or pots on!
CMK

I want to come sit in all of your gardens, on your patios and porches. Of course, see you flowers, too. I love all the painted furniture!

The metal bench (same bronze color as the fence) that "disappears" in the cottage garden is going to need to be painted soon. I kept telling my husband that I'm going to paint it either purple or Monet green. Seeing all of your creative colors makes me think that I should go ahead with it!

Cameron

Oh my I love the beautiful settings each of you has created. What a treat if only we could all visit. We talk about this every year. I get to visit cat_mom in NYC everytime I go...next week and also a week in July. One of these days I am going to get in the truck and bring my camera and come calling....you all have so much joy in your gardens and in your souls. c

Too many gnats and mosquitoes here to sit outside without protection.
Screening the porch made it marvelous for sitting.

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A 2 X 6 board all around at table height makes a great ledge for setting a drink, a flower or a plate of cookies.
The ceiling fan makes breezes when the the air isn't stirring outside.

Here, Ikey stands on a little bench I cobbled together using a piece of barn sill and some stones.
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Nell

You have a fantastic screened porch, Nell! Love it. Cute cat, too. Our screened porch is on the north side of the house - no garden view, no yard, just the woods. We're lucky that we don't have gnats or mosquitos. We do have LOTS of ticks in the woods and that's why I'll never garden in there.