Every day! I work in small classroom without windows all day and have been known to either grab a heavy coat or umbrella and just sit outside to decompress after work. I put some chairs under an old maple tree and I think it was the best move I ever made in my garden. Just to sit and watch the birds is therapy for me. Of course, I'm sure the neighbors think I am a bit odd, but it works for me.

I spend a lot of time in the back yard, where most of my gardens are. I enjoy reading out there when the weather is nice. Mostly I spend time back there because the kids play area is there. I have several adirondack style chairs back there and a stone bench and a hammock. In my fantasy world from whence I created the space, I envisioned long days reading in the hammock while the kids played contentedly beside me. Anyone familiar with kids will recognize the joke that reality played on me...

Weather permitting I am out there everyday. In the early morning I usually do my "walkabout" just browsing and checking things out. Then again before noon and the heat of the day sets in, I will sit on the lawn and either pull weeds or think about what needs to be done or planted next. And then again after dinner just to sit and admire. I have an iron chair I sit in under the tree. But alot of the time I will just sit on the deck steps or the just on the lawn.
I am a rose person so I am always enjoying their fragrance. But I am also an avid backyard birder so watching the birds feed and nest is always a treat as well.

Tammy

Not often enough, I'm afraid. But I do have a garden bench where I take breaks while working out there. Seems there's always so much to do . . .I have to force myself to just sit and take it all in, but right now, it's pretty barren. Another month and it should be worth viewing. :)

My garden has a swimming pool in the middle of it with plenty of seating, so during the warm seasons, I sit out there a lot. I don't spend much time in the garden in the winter though. Just pass through on the way to the chicken coop.

In my NC yard, I have a deck with chairs and a table in one area, a swing in another, and a picnic table in the third. I am big on sitting in my yard and gardens! At my FL home I have a swing in one area of the gardens and another sitting area with a chiminea and chairs. I am all for sitting outside in the garden. I have been known to sit outside in the snow and in the rain as well as the sunshine and tropical storms. I enjoy looking at the leaves, the shape of branches, flowers, and the critters that they attract. Who wants to watch TV when you've got God's creation right outside your door!

I had an acre cleared for my veggie garden but made them keep a little island of natives about in the middle. They thought I was nuts- tree roots and all that interfering with veggie roots, sucking irrigation water, honeysuckle would take over, there might be more poison ivy lurking, etc. Well, that little island, with its two small maples and a tiny oak, some scrubby weedy things too, have, over 5 yrs., sprouted a lovely sassafras, a clump of maple leaf viburnum, and a hickory. The edges have been planted with hosta and ferns, those viburnums that prefer some shade, a place for a sweet autumn clematis to climb unabated, daylilies and glads that are protected from critters (because the veggie garden is fenced 8' high). I put my ancient metal A frame swing there and it is where I escape. In the winter, all bundled up with blankies, I watch the stars. In spring I watch the birds building nests above me and Blue Mason Bees running back and forth. In the summer I escape from the heat of the day, but not the humidity which is cured with a tall glass of sweet tea. In the fall I watch the leaves turn colors overhead and fall down on me willy-nilly. Now that I have inherited cat and resulting kittens, they join me there on the swing. My DH wanders out there too to rest, just to have some peace and utter quiet before he jumps back on the tractor to plow or disc. If I sit there too long I am looking for a piece of paper to write down what needs to be done in the garden. That's when I know I have tarried enough.

Nancy the nancedar

I love my veggie garden, even though I have alarge flower garden with chairs & table, I spend more refreshing time in the veggie garden. Last year I mulched quite a few areas with straw, it was so nice. When our butternut plants got big and started flowering Teddy & I (my Australian Shepherd) would go in and sit down on the straw amongst the butternut and just spend time there.

Teddy loves the garden, one day I could not find him and he never leaves my side, as I walked through the garden looking for him there he was laying in between the corn stalks.

I am a big fan of sitting and enjoying the garden. In the mornings I pass through on my way to work, but after I get home I love to sit in the "white garden." I have a very private and cozy feeling when I am there. On nights with a full moon or blazing stars I like nothing more than to take a glass of wine and a big coat to the little white table and chairs in the garden. I have planted white flowering and variagated plants in the area. These glow in the soft light of the night. Since sight is diminished, a wind chime and fragrant plants take center stage. I find that during the day I notice sounds and smells less, because I'm so visually oriented.

---Keith

I have stone benches and walls, but I rarely sit on any of them. If I'm out, there's usually roaming involved. If I have to sit because I have guests, I let them sit on the benches and I'll sit on the ground and pull weeds while we talk.

I did have the same hammock fantasy as Ais when my kids were younger. Alas, now they're older and more self sufficient, but the hammock is long since rotted away.

seldom. i can't really be outside without doing something. i love strolling around and observing, though. once in a blue moon i'll sit and look, but i always have to weed something or do something within a very short time. i've even been known to grab a stray weed in other folk's gardens. not sure why i don't have the same problem in the house- lol- i can happily look at messes and dust and read a book or ck GW instead of cleaning. :) i do hang out on the porch/greenhouse, though- and that's sort of a mini garden.