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!

Design Elements- Garden Benches

To sit in a garden you have created is one of the greatest pleasures of all. From your seat you can contemplate your work in peace, feel the warmth of the sun, observe the play of light on the plants, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. From the seat, too, you notice what is wrong and make plans for action. --Sir Roy Strong, from A Small Garden Designer's Handbook

I couldn't agree more with Sir Roy.  However, based on my own observations, I would simply add that, when gardeners are seated in their own gardens, they usually spend a great deal more time noticing what is wrong with things than enjoying the play of light on the plants.  We are an obsessive lot.  Nevertheless, incorporating a garden bench into your garden might at least provide a comfortable spot for visitors to sit and feel the warmth of the sun, and perhaps more fully appreciate the fruits of your own obsessive labors. Besides, garden benches can do more for a garden than simply provide a place to sit: