Dunscar Garden Centre: Blog by Shaun Lewis, General Manager

TRENDS IN GARDEN FURNITURE

Despite the recession, the fine weather has prompted plenty of interest in garden furniture. However, we have noticed two trends this year:

Customers are price conscious. Most are sticking to a budget of £600 to £900 for a 4 or 6 seater set that will last. Surprisingly our economy range of furniture under £500 is less popular. Maybe it is because it is only guaranteed for 12 months or perhaps there are better value sets in the same quality range on offer from the sheds.

Everyone wants low maintenance sets. Sadly teak is out this year.

So what would I recommend as a low maintenance set? The choice of materials is as follows:

Textylene:
This is a man made fabric for chairs. It is waterproof, easy to clean and suitable for use outdoors all year round. Neptune’s range is double woven so that it doesn’t sag after a couple of year’s wear.

Granite:
Granite table tops are extremely hard wearing and definitely in this year. They need a light polishing once a year with olive oil (not many people know that) to help keep them clean. However, they are heavy and thus the table base needs to be made of steel or wrought iron (aluminium is not strong enough).

Galvanised steel or wrought iron:
This is generally powder coated too for added protection against rust. If it is scratched or chipped touch up paint needs to be applied to prevent exposure to the air. Kettler have a special technique for this called Thermosint which provides a coating much thicker than that of many of its rivals.

Cast aluminium:
This will not rust but does tarnish slightly in coastal gardens. Cast aluminium is stronger than the tubular and cheap stuff. Nova and Hartman offer the best examples. Hartman have an unusual set called the Napoli with a travertine table top. This cleverly gives the natural stone look but isn’t too heavy for the aluminium base.

Weave or loom:
This is a wire mesh that has been covered in a resin. It is light weight, waterproof and suitable for all year round use outdoors. The better quality sets (such as Neptune’s Cadiz set) are laser welded and thus strong enough to power wash clean.