8 THE BOOK OF GARDEN FURNITURE 



are all provided with painted labels, and it is plainly 

 evident that the ultimate ambition of such gardeners is a 

 certificate of merit at the next flower show. In these 

 cases it is hardly a matter for surprise that little thought 

 is bestowed on the selection and arrangement of such 

 apparently unimportant trifles as seats and other articles 

 of furniture. Yet these afford the surest index of the 

 taste, or lack of it, displayed by the owner, and it is safe 



COVERED GARDEN SEAT. 



to say that no garden can be really beautiful if the 

 chief points of interest are occupied by objects of 

 obtrusive and inartistic design. 



There are so many different kinds of garden seats, that 

 it will be well to consider them in two classes — those 

 which require skilled workmen to manufacture them, 

 and must therefore be purchased ready made, and others 

 of a more rustic nature, which may be made on the 

 place, with or without the assistance of a handy car- 

 penter. Bought seats are generally of stone, wood, iron, 



