Design Elements- Garden Hideaways

Do you wish for a special little hideaway in the garden where you can get away from it all?  A place where you can put down the trowel for a while, forget about the weeding, and simply settle in with a good book and a cup of tea.  If so, here are a few garden houses that perhaps will give you some inspiration to construct your very own.  And, if you already have your own special getaway spot in the garden, or have a favorite that you'd like to replicate someday, I would love to see photos!

Arbours, Benches, and Seats are very necessary, being present expedients for them that are weary, but that which Crowns the pleasures of a Garden is a place of repose, where neither Wind, Rain, Heat, nor cold can annoy you.  This small edifice, usually term'd a Pleasure-house or Banqueting-house may be made at some remote Angle of your Garden: For the more remote it is from your house, the more private will you be from the frequent disturbances of your Family or Acquaintance...

John Worlidge, Systema Horticulture, 1677

A secluded little garden house tucked away in the corner of the woodland at Sezincote, in England, that would make a great spot to do a little writing.

The pergola and terrace attached to this potting shed in a Rhode Island garden offer a shady spot for a little afternoon nap.

A rustic hideaway in an English garden, almost completely hidden by encroaching vines.

A beautiful 'summer house' in this New Hampshire garden makes the perfect spot for a dinner by candlelight. 

A wonderful little office sits near the lower level of this terraced Connecticut garden.

Our own little 'Hidcote hideaway' here at Juniper Hill.

A uniquely styled garden house at Sezincote in England.

A great roof sits atop this garden house in a corner of Sissinghurst in England.

This screened, Asian inspired pool house in a Connecticut garden offers a wonderful spot to stretch out and read a book.

The kind of ancient stone hideaway we all dream about at Snowshill garden in England.

A private spot in the shade of this garden at Colonial Williamsburg.

How much better does it get than this little vine covered garden house tucked in among an ancient hedge at Rodmarton Manor in England?

Talk about a garden view!  Looking through the little pavilion at the long axis at Hidcote Manor garden in England.

This little red Asian pavilion in a Rhode Island garden can immediately transport you to a subtropical jungle world far away.

The rustic pool house in this Connecticut garden makes a great spot to entertain or simply stretch out and get away from it all.

Truly created for the wee ones, this little house in a New Hampshire garden is all set up with table and chairs, ready for an afternoon tea.