A few years ago, Bill built me a bench for Mothers Day to sit on in the yard and watch the boys play. Our yard has a lot of shade so the ground is often damp and chairs keep sinking into the ground. I still love that bench. I sit on it often. I even use it in the winter, although last winter it was buried.
That bench has seen many picnics, time outs and even birthday parties. I threw my first backyard birthday party for my newly minted seven year olds friends and they used the bench to get their shoes on and off before going in the jumpy house. Yes, I had a bunch of seven year old boys over and fed them sugar. It was crazy but thank goodness the weather was beautiful.
Lately, my kids like to take off their socks and shirts when they are playing outside so they pile everything on the bench. The bench is so well built and heavy that the kids can climb all over it without fear of tipping it over. So as I sit here on the bench and think about the summer that is ending I am remembering how well loved this bench is and the man who made it.
The placement of the bench in the yard is in a spot that is shaded most of the day but you can still see most of the yard and it has a good view of the garden. I can sit and stare and look at the work that I should be doing in the garden. Bill encouraged me to plant some flowers this year in a long unused garden bed just outside the garden. I planted gladiolus, nasturtium and transplanted some of my self seeding pansies. It was a lovely flower garden this summer with a perfect view from the bench.
I am a pretty lucky lady. If you missed the construction the Garden Bench you may want to read up on it at the links below:
Maybe I will stain the bench next year….
