Sun, Seats and Sangria... well, almost

I've spent the last few days making a patio garden/seating area.  I recently discovered that the end of my house is a real sun-trap and after my friend Helen gave me a couple of chairs, I thought it really needed 'beautifying'.  Eventually, I bought a couple of rolls of fence material and then wondered where I could get some wood from.  In the end, I discovered the perfect solution. All the wood is reclaimed and was given to me by my farmer friend Rob and another friend, Lynette.  When I drove home after my wood collecting, the Jeep was crammed to the roof - I actually wondered if I'd ended up with too much!

After removing nails and sawing off rough edges, I had to buy some screws (since I couldn't remember where I'd put the ones I had from a few years back).  Once I had screws and tools sorted out, I started by making a few planters.  They had to be free-standing and durable enough to take the weight of soil and plants... and not get blown over on windy days.  A further complication was the multidirectional sloping of the paving. All the legs had to be cut to different lengths for everything to appear level.

I wanted to have different levels to add interest and an arrangement that would give a cosy, private and enclosed feel.  Another friend donated a little 'Turkey Oak' tree (shown left).

With the last of the wood, I decided to make a personal chair...

Notice the folding drinks table on the arm

The shaped back spars were originally used to keep clay drainage pipes apart when stacked. After doing a sketch to show my friend George, he said it reminded him of an Adirondack chair design.  (I'd never heard of them, but a web search brings up loads). Here's another view of the layout:

Amazingly, I ended up with exactly the right amount of wood for the whole project.  All I had left at the end was one small bin bag of sawn-off rough bits - which my neighbour said he would take for kindling to light a steam traction engine's boiler.

So... Time to think about the next phase...

I have a cunning plan...