If they’re staying for dinner, we then walk across the lawn and along a stepping-stone path through the top section of the other border to get to our outdoor dining area, under mature ash and maple trees. There, we used bluestone again to pave an area large enough to accommodate a teak dining table, six chairs, and two large terra-cotta pots planted with an orange-pink coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Alabama Sunset’)
Repetition fosters unity. To further encourage familiarity and a sense of unity, we’ve limited our choice of furniture to teak (but always with the SmartWood certification so we know that it’s made of plantation-grown wood, rather than from native trees). While the design of the chairs and benches changes from area to area, we use teak because we can leave it out in all weather during the gardening season, because it ages to a silvery gray-the same color as our house-and because over time gray lichens grow on it, adding to the feeling that the garden is established and settled.
There is one exception. Last year, Mary painted all four of my grandmother’s folding metal chairs royal blue. We put two in the sitting area at the top of one of the borders and the other two in the herb garden. These striking blue chairs look terrific against the greens and grays of the garden and add an unexpected punch of color.
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