Author: Holly Masters

From the budding gardener to the more experienced backyard horticulturist, everyone involved in gardening seems to be looking at ways to enhance their overall gardening experience. Once you are through with your work in the garden for the day, wouldn't it be nice to sit amidst the flowers and have a cup of tea?

In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards building backyard structures that are both useful and attractive. The days of utilitarian garden sheds that serve no purpose other than to store your gardening equipment have come to pass. One of my favorite backyard structures has to be the classic gazebo.

The classic gazebo is octagonal in shape and has a high, peaked roof. They come in various heights and diameters, but they are generally designed to accommodate a small group of people. To me, they evoke a sort of southern charm. They remind me of the bandstands that jazz bands used to play in when I was a young girl in the South. Now, they have become landmarks in the backyards of people nationwide.

I spend a lot of time in my garden in the summer months. This past summer my husband and I decide to build a gazebo, so we would have a nice place to sit and have a drink on a sunny summer afternoon. We wanted something that would shelter us from the hot summer sun, but we did not want to be enclosed in any way. We searched around on the internet and found a design that we were both very pleased with. It took us almost a week to complete the project, but it was certainly worth it.

We spent countless summer nights entertaining family and friends in our new gazebo. We placed it in the midst of our massive garden, and we built a wonderful stone path leading through the garden to it. It is almost otherworldly to be back there, enveloped in the various scents and sensations. I never thought that such a simple backyard improvement project would bring so much joy to our lives. Would you like to join us for tea sometime?

Holly Masters believes she has mastered the fine art of gardening. She is a founding member of a non-profit organization called Gardening for Greatness, which helps beautify lower-income urban neighborhoods with expansive floral gardens. She also writes for greenhousesandgazebos.com – an excellent online resource for information about Greenhouses, Gazebos, Hydroponics and more.

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