Bench Mark: Three Styles That Will Lift Your Garden

There’s something about a garden bench, don’t you think? Maybe it’s a type of nostalgia, a
notion we carry around of what a quintessentially perfect garden looks like – all borders in
bloom and manicured lawns, a pond with a fountain and, of course, tastefully rendered
garden benches to sit and enjoy the view on.

Maybe it’s memories of fabulously tended parks and public gardens we have visited.
Perhaps it’s simply the fact that there’s a touch of luxury in the very idea of a garden bench.
If we want somewhere to sit, we could opt for chairs or loungers or day beds or sofas. But a
garden bench – there’s something a little more going on. A bench is not just for sitting on. It’s
a feature.

Whatever the reasons, garden benches are much sought after. And let’s not forget how
flexible benches can be, too. They can be put to a number of different uses, from offering a
standalone seating option to standing in place of individual chairs at a dining table. They
come in different sizes, from cosy two-seaters to great long pews you can line up several
people along.

And, of course, they come in a wide range of styles to suit a wide range of tastes. Here are
some of our favourites currently in stock at Jo Alexander. Go on, treat yourself and your
garden.

Ornate and refined

There’s nothing wrong with wanting the finer things for your garden. If you picture the classic
formal garden look in your mind’s eye, you will no doubt tick off several things – immaculate
terraced lawns, shrubs and hedgerows clipped to perfection, shady arboretum – and
classically styled wooden benches.

If you are the sort of person who takes great pride in keeping their garden just so, you will
love designs like this Monet bench or this elegant Luytens piece. In both of these designs,
we love the way that the sinuous curves are paired with a perfect symmetry, a gorgeous
balance of nature and order. Or if you prefer something with straighter lines, the elegant and
exquisitely realised patterning on this Emily Gray garden bench turns an otherwise standard
format into a real showpiece.

All of our wooden garden benches are crafted from teak, to our mind the most beautiful of all
hardwoods – but also the most practical for garden furniture. Because of its uniquely high oil
content, teak is naturally water resistant and requires minimal care and attention even when
left out in all weathers for years on end.

Simple country pleasures

While the benches we’ve listed above stand out for their carefully wrought elegance, we’re
also great believers in the notion that a little rustic charm never looks out of place in a
garden. And wooden benches are perfect for delivering it.

There are degrees here, of course. For example, this Rosemoor bench holds its own for the
tasteful design and skilled craftsmanship in realising it. But the fact that it is made from
reclaimed teak – timber that may have spent decades as part of one structure or another in
its native south and south east asia – gives it a homely, casual style of its own.

At the other end of the scale, we simply adore this Provence Vintage bench for its wonderful
stripped-back simplicity. It is essentially a trestle, but the quality of the timber (sustainably
sourced plantation teak, aged to give it that vintage look) and sturdy build quality give it a
timeless sense of permanence that could slot into any garden.

Urban chic

Finally, stepping away from our beloved teak furniture for a moment, there is another
material that we have a real passion for – polished concrete. Put aside your preconceptions
about what concrete is and what it is used for. In its polished form, with the surface carefully
buffed until it gleams with a reflective, marble-like quality, we believe concrete is a fabulously
attractive as well as highly versatile material for garden furniture.

There is undoubtedly more than a hint of urban, modernist chic about polished concrete
pieces. Our polished concrete benches include this unique, adventurous Mira example, the
pairing of a perfect cuboid block with rusted iron legs recalling the cubist and brutalist
movements of the previous century. It’s ideal as a standalone bench on a paved yard or
terrace, or as part of a table set.

A gentler introduction to polished concrete is this Roma bench. Like the Provence Vintage,
its simplicity is its main attraction, the contrast between the concrete seating slab and the
Acacia timber frame and legs adding an extra point of interest.

Or for something really different, how about this magnificent Mila curved bench? The space-
age design, a piece of contemporary art in its own right, showcases another big benefit of
concrete – that because it is a material you mould, it’s perfect for experimenting with any
number of weird and wonderful shapes.