Parasols, Garden bench

The British weather has a major influence on how we spend our leisure time in the garden. It’s fair to say that when it’s sunny, we like to be outside and it’s nice to have some lovely outdoor furniture to relax on. If you’ve got a garden furniture set, you’ve probably got a garden parasol.  Parasols are available in all sizes, all colours and several different designs. Parasols are generally made either from wood or aluminium.  Aluminium parasols tend to be spray painted in virtually any colour you like and the parasol canopy is normally colour coordinated.  Tilting parasols are all the rage and this clever mechanism allows you to tilt and point your parasol towards the sun, for maximum shade. Parasols should be stored away in the winter, after ensuring they are completely dry, and this should extend the life of your parasol. Generally speaking, you try and obtain the parasol which suits the size of you table, and as a rule of thumb, you need about and extra metre on the size of the parasol, to the size of the table. E.g. if you have a 1 metre diameter table, then you should have a 2 metre diameter parasol.

There are really only two main types of parasol, those that stand in the middle of the table, and those that stand to the side. The centre table parasols can be round, square or rectangular and the free standing parasols are the same. The free standing parasols are now mostly Cantilever, which means that they are operated by sliding the mechanism up the pole and automatically opening the canopy. They need the base to be weighed down and this is usually achieved with heavy paving stones. These parasols do allow you to talk at the table without dodging the pole!

As well as your parasol, another item of patio furniture that you may have is a garden bench.  The garden bench has been around for as long as man has been able to sit, although you garden bench is a little more sophisticated these days.  Ornate garden bench design really took of in the Victorian era and there are some wonderful garden bench examples, made in cast iron, still in use today.  A garden bench made of cast iron is almost immovable because of the weight and cast aluminium is used more these days.

The majority of garden benches are constructed from wood these days, because of the virtual unlimited supply and the cost of the raw materials. Top of the range materials for the garden bench are Teak and Oak, both of which will withstand the rigours of outdoor life.

So if you have a wooden garden bench, look after it and treat it to some Teak Oil every now and then. Teak garden furniture should last for years, whether or not you treat it and your garden bench could be a feature of your garden for a long time. Have a look at the garden benches on our website and you will find aluminium garden benches and wooden garden benches with many designs and covering all prices. Maybe even consider a tree bench as a wonderful pice of outdoor furniture for the garden.