Garden Benches are a great feature for the home garden. A well-constructed garden bench adds a feature to the landscape while allowing those who are enjoying the landscape a place for them to take a seat and soak nature in. Fancy concrete benches retail in garden centers for several hundred dollars, but if the homemade look is OK with you, you can make them for free. I provided three basic ideas, varying from an easy log seat to a sophisticated wooden garden bench or labor-intensive stone garden bench.
Garden Bench Idea #1:Log bench. One of the best types of wood to use for this is Northern Red Cedar. For the legs, use two logs that have the tops cut like a V to hold a longer log that will be the bench seat. This simple garden bench blends in naturally with the landscape. Another method of construction of this garden bench can be from an old tree; sometimes two trees grow together and when the base section is separated, the wood will split into two halves. One of these halves turned bark-side up and rested upon two wide logs makes a good garden bench. A third and similar method of construction is to cut the long log in half. This garden bench can either be assembled with the flat side resting upon two flat logs or with the bark side resting upon two V-shaped logs with the flat side as the garden bench seat.
Garden Bench Idea #2: Stone Garden Bench.If there are a lot of large stones in the yard, it is worth looking around the yard for a large flat stone for the seat. The stone will need to be at least eighteen inches wide and four feet long, and preferably half a foot thick or thinner. The front of the stone should be straight. Start out by procuring the stones that will make the legs. Is the large stone in the right location or does the stone need to be moved? Two men and a bar of solid steel can move the stone as needed. If the stone needs to be moved a distance, use pieces of a straight branch as rollers for the stone to roll on. When the stone is in place, use the bar to pry up the stone until rocks can be put under it. You may need to use bricks as temporary legs and raise it brick by brick, then put the real stone legs in. Another method is to have the stone jut out of the bottom of a steep hillside. This variation still needs legs, but it is easier to raise the stone, as there is a hillside to push the stone against. Should you have access to a bobcat, forklift, or tractor, making the stone garden bench can be a lot easier.
Garden Bench Idea #3:Wooden garden bench.Rest a board across two logs or other decorative sturdy material. Another way to construct a wooden garden bench is to construct two pieces of wood along the same shape as the supports of park benches. Then nail pieces of sturdy board to the supports, making the seat and back. The design can be as sophisticated as the curvatures of park benches or as simple as just a flat seat and back. Test the wooden garden bench to see if it topples. If it topples, drive a few 2×4 into the ground and then connect these to the wooden legs. That will keep the wooden garden bench in place.
There are a lot of variations to these basic ideas. For example, the wooden log can rest on notched stones or cement-filled cinderblocks. Bricks or stones cemented together can support either the log or the flat stone. If you have the skills, a stone wall built behind the flat stone bench can serve as the back of the seat. Assess the materials at hand and see what you can be creative with. The important thing is making the garden bench that is right for your yard and I hope you can find these suggestions helpful.
