A Covered Garden Bench

Landscape architect Liz Pulver says that benches are very popular in gardens, and they give a different perspective on a yard, depending on where they are placed. She designs a covered bench with a gabled roof to mimic the roofline of the house. She also adds lattice panels to the sides and back to make the bench more charming and intimate.

Pulver estimates that a professional would charge about $1,600 to design and build this bench (including materials, except for the plants). However, do-it-yourselfers can build one for only $550. The project does involve some carpentry skills, so she gives it a 3 on a scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (hard). It can be completed in 2 weekends.

Step One: Framing the Seating Area

Master carpenter Tim Rice chooses redwood 4x4 posts that are 10 feet long (about $20 apiece). However, you can use cheaper wood such as cedar or Douglas fir.

To make room for the 4- by 2-foot bench with 7 1/2-foot height, choose a location and clear any plants and low tree branches. Mark the location of the four post holes with flags or landscapers spray paint. Use a framing square to ensure that the back posts line up with the front posts. Dig the four holes 18 inches deep and 10 inches in diameter using a post hole digger.

Step Two: Installing the Seat

Cut four 2x4s for the frame and fit them between the posts. Secure them with deck screws. Cut crosspieces (figure C) and insert them every 10 inches on center to give the seat extra strength from underneath.

Cut 1x4 slats to fit the length of the seat. Leave 1/16 inch in between them (figure D) so that water will drip through and not pool on the seat. Notch the last slats so that they'll fit around the posts (figure E).

Step Three: Attaching the Lattice

Lattice panels give a sense of enclosure while maintaining an open, airy feel. Buy a 4- by 8-foot panel for about $30 at a home supply store. The walls of this bench are four feet high and open at the top.

Cut 2x4 redwood cap pieces to go on top of the lattice and toe-screw them in (in other words, at a 45-degree angle). Figure G shows the completed walls.

Step Four: Raising the Roof

The roof has four basic elements:

• 2x6 rafters, peaked at the top
  
• decorative gusset at the peak
  
• crosspieces between the rafters
  
• 1x12 roofing boards

Redwood can be left to naturally age, but Pulver decides to stain it with a whitewash. This oil-based stain (about $20/gallon) is a soft color that contrasts with the dark foliage nearby. She also chooses Arizona flagstone in a light shade to enhance the whitewashed bench.

Apply a coat of whitewash and let it dry for one hour. Wipe the surface with a rag to even out the stain because some areas of the wood will absorb more stain than others.

Planting: An Intimate Garden

To bring more color to the bench area, Pulver takes a cue from the existing landscaping, which includes purple-leaf plum trees and Japanese maples. She adds purple-leaf foliage on each side of the bench, accented with green ferns and grasses and some moss-covered boulders. She softens the lines of the bench by training a vine up the posts. Then she plants groundcover between the flagstone to make the seating area appear as if it has been part of the garden for a long time. Her planting plan includes:

• Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple,' Zones 4-8, with deep purple, maple-like leaves and long, slender stems of flowers that attract hummingbirds
  
• Bower vine (Pandorea jasminoides 'Variegata'), Zone 11, a climbing vine with clusters of flowers from late spring through fall