A Garden Seat Is a Necessity

Why you should have at least one seat in your garden.

A complex pink hollyhock in the garden at Evergreen. Having a seat in a garden gives people an opportunity to appreciate the details of flowers they would normally overlook.

My mother had a fridge magnet that said:

Come into my garden. The roses want to meet you.

Every time that magnet caught my eye it was a reminder that gardens aren’t places to hurry through. Gardens are places to spend time in, to linger.

The word linger is seldom in people’s vocabulary these days. It’s been replaced by disquieting words like hurry, don’t stop, hustle, rush, get a move on – words that are usually followed by an exclamation mark, as if we’re being chased by a pack of slavering wolves.

• Hurry!

• Don’t stop!

• ·Hustle!

• Rush!

• Get a move on!

We do too much of these things. We need to rediscover the art of lingering.

To linger means to prolong your stay, to dwell or abide in a place rather than quickly passing through it without a backward glance.

To linger in a garden, you need to walk slowly through it and sit on any seat that you find. 

That’s why it’s important to have at least one seat in your garden.

A seat is an invitation to linger.

When you linger withe a flower you see so much more than you would giving it a casual glance. Sit with a flower awhile. You’ll be so glad you did!

What Happens When You Sit in a Garden 

When I sit on a garden seat at Evergreen, several things happen.

I relax. I hear birds and bees, a distant chainsaw, and ocean waves crashing on the southern shore. I feel the wind and the sun’s rays on my arms. My face softens and I stop frowning. My breathing slows and deepens, and my ceaselessly streaming thoughts take a holiday. I note colours and smells. I put out a hand to pluck a ripe cherry tomato and taste its sweet warmth in my mouth. I notice a rose leaf with black spot. A daisy bush that needs deadheading. A self-sown cosmos seedling emerging through a crack in the paving. Butterflies kissing.

Lingering is good for our physical and mental health.

Make sure there’s a place that encourages you to linger in your garden.

No matter how small it is, find a place for a seat.

Choose Simple, Cheap Garden Seats

One of the many simple and cheap garden seats at Evergreen. It's comfortable and serves its purpose of slowing me down to enjoy the hollyhocks in the garden.

Don’t make the excuse that garden seats are too expensive.

Be innovative:

• Find an old chair at your local tip shop

• Put a short plank between a few bricks.

• Locate a decently sized tree stump.

• Use a sturdy, upturned bucket with a cushion on it.

• Grab an old camping chair.

A garden without a seat is like an oasis without water.

Every garden must have at least one seat!

With love, Marlane