Gazebos and other must-haves in the garden

Believe it or not, garden furniture dates back as far as Greek and Roman era – the Claudian invasion, in fact. Historians uncovered that people had colonnaded verandas and uncomfortable stone benches back then. Apparently the oldest surviving examples of garden furniture were found in the gardens of Pompeii. In 18th century America, seats were hollowed out of old trees and then supported by either a green arbor, pergola or vine-clad summer-house.

But things have changed since then. A lot.

Proof positive that the boom is well and truly back: garden furniture has suddenly become nicer – and in many cases, more expensive – than the bed you’re probably sleeping in. As part of their Summer ’17 garden furniture collection, DFS recently created the Medina Garden Gazebo (€1949). It’s an absolute beaut, as you might expect: billed as a “garden hideaway” (is the typical Irish garden big enough to warrant a hideaway?), it boasts plump cushions, curtains and a rattan effect. This cabana, as its name might suggest, is striving to bring a sort of Bedouin feel to the Irish back garden.

Remember when dining al fresco at home meant sitting on the back doorstep and balancing a plate on your lap?

DFS aren’t the only show in town, either, and you’ll find no shortage of companies who will endeavour to turn your humble patio into something resembling an LA rooftop bar. Rathwood Furniture boasts six- and eight-seater dining sets (like their Chester) for around €1,500, while at OutdoorFurniture.ie, clients can stock up on an Aruba hanging chair (€799, down from €1,199) or a fire pit for €1,095. Over at Woodie’s, meanwhile, if you fancy a top of the range “aluminium polycarbonate gazebo”, expect to part with around €600.

The garden has somehow become another room of the home: a way to demonstrate flair and creativity. Officially, the value of the gardening industry has shot up. 2015 figures showed that consumer spending in Ireland has increased by 22 percent since 2011, to €631m.

Remember when dining al fresco at home meant sitting on the back doorstep and balancing a plate on your lap? One particularly balmy summer in the 1980s, we knew we were reaching near tropical conditions only when the kitchen table was hastily, and very temporarily, transferred to the back garden. Disruptive gusts of wind and annoying wasps be damned.

In terms of purpose-built accessories for the Irish garden, function very much trumped aesthetic back then. There was, initially, a plastic resin atrocity – often, in a shade matching the water/oil tank – that had “pride” of place in the garden. In many ways, the resin set is perfectly suited for the vagaries of the Irish summer. They were rustproof, and unlike wooden furniture, stayed relatively intact.

Irish garden furniture buyers will get their money's worth, no matter what

Sunbathing at home, meanwhile, was done on those awful collapsing deckchairs. In fact, when it came to rickety collapsing garden furniture, there was always the distinctly un-relaxing possibility that it could do a serious number on your fingers if deployed the wrong way. In either case, you sat out, you caught the rays. The seat kept you off the grass. The end. The Riviera-style escapism was to come much later.

So what happened between then – the resin monstrosities and snapping deckchairs from days of yore – and now? When did buying garden furniture become an exercise of lavish excess? It’s as though someone from these garden furniture companies went to the Electric Picnic one year and noticed that people were shelling out vast sums of money to sit in teepees and tents, under pergolas and on bean bags, even in the rain, for one weekend.

And here’s the thing about Irish garden furniture buyers: they will get their money’s worth, no matter what. Even if the mercury has dipped to single digits and it’s just a bit drizzly, they will grit teeth, pull on an overcoat, head outside and mutter to each other, teeth chattering, “great day for it”.

But then, there are those rare, delicious days where the weather does co-operate. The Irish love to entertain, and being able to do this outside, elevates a gathering into something special. Perhaps we’ll never quite get over the novelty of the wind in our hair during dinner. Perhaps we’ve seen one too many cosy Centra adverts, replete with candles in jam jars and fairy lights. But there’s no doubting that, if the temperature is right, an Irish back garden, glass in hand, is one of the loveliest places to be. Because we all live in hope that the day after, and the day after that, will be every bit as balmy.