In Praise Of The Garden Bench

PASSIONS | by DEBRA PRINZING

MORE THAN EVER, we view our gardens as havens. Sanctuary gardens offer occupants a soothing place to meditate, seek solitude and escape from life’s pressures. Serene landscapes are the antidote, both for you and your loved ones, from stresses in the outside world.

© DEBRA PRINZING

There’s something instinctive about our desire for respite in nature. When you provide the garden with a bench or chair, there’s a chance you might actually sit down. Even if you don’t use it as often as you wish, the presence of a garden bench is like having the promise of rest, a symbolic “pause button.”

A garden bench can be elaborate, made from cast iron or stone. It can come from the unpainted furniture store and brightened with a brush of color. Or it can be a wicker armchair you’ve dragged outdoors to situate beneath the canopy of a shade tree or a beach umbrella.

Give yourself the challenge of sitting down — outdoors — for a few moments each day. If, like me, you’re an obsessive multi-tasker, then SIT on your bench while doing something else (open the mail; call your best friend on the cell phone; or flip through the seed catalog).

Pretty soon, your “date” with the garden bench might become less task-oriented.

Maybe, instead of “doing,” you’ll try “being.”

Being quiet.

Being observant.

Being attuned to your senses of smell, sight, and hearing as you absorb the wonder of nature around you.

Maybe the minutes will stretch into a half an hour.

The art of unplugging is easier said than done. But if you have a garden bench, I promise you, that gift of rest will be a little more attainable.