Seats provide places for the garden owner, friends and visitors to stop, relax and unwind, to admire the surroundings or perhaps they are there simply to help catch one’s breath.
Location is important as there should be a view or a sense of enclosure and ambience. Safety around positioning is also an important element to consider. However, seating style and materials are dependent on an individual’s personal choice, but a seat should be comfortable and sensitive to its environment.
There are many seats located around the Dunedin Botanic Garden providing many of the elements mentioned above.
For regular visitors there will be favourite seats and places to sit in for whatever reason. During these warm summer days some people will simply be looking for a seat in the shade.
In the lower garden, adjacent to the Wolf Harris Fountain, there is a seat hidden within the secret enclosure of a large weeping beech tree. The location of the seat and presence of the weeping beech, Fagus sylvatica Pendula exemplifies many of the above-mentioned qualities. This tree is old and gnarly, possibly 100 years old or more. Its crown is a rough dome shape, with a little bit of an eccentric attitude. It is a massive tree, about 20m high and just as wide. It provides the ideal setting and ambience for users of this seat to appreciate and enjoy for many years to come.
Garden Life is produced by Dunedin Botanic Garden. For further information contact Marianne Groothuis
