New growing benches

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Jarrod, on the subject of shadecloth, go with the 50% white cloth and only use it in the peak of summer. Heavier shade material or year round shade will produce weak growth in my experience. You can get 50% from Monbulk Rural, which is a stone throw from A to Z.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Mojo Moyogi]

I forgot to mention that when I was still designing landscapes a few years back I would quite often design and install 12v lighting systems to suit some of the better gardens. I don't know how much you are wanting to spend on materials, but if you would like any help, just let me know and I can offer you some free advice on layout/equipment. At a glance, a basic array of 12v 50w halogen downlights, one mounted on each pole would offer a decent level of light coverage, look better and be a lot cheaper to run than say 240v par 38 floodlights. You can get 50w halogens that would do the job from the big green shed for under $50 each. Add a 200w transformer and some cables and you would be on your way.

Cheers,
Mojo

[deepeetee]

All good Jarrod,

Custom design Sails i like!!
I figured you wouldnt be using actual Shade Cloth, but just wanted to make sure.
The slope from front to back is a better option than sloping down the length of the bench (that wouldnt look good and you would need some significant slope in order to keep it taut)
Depending on the aspect of your yard eg. N, E, S or West will determine whether to slope the fabric from front to back or back to front.
Bare in mind that the position of the sun will dictate where a shadow is cast. What you are trying to do is present a flat face to the sun in order to cast a shadow, if you have the fabric sloping the wrong way, the sun will simply bead in under the fabric and provide no shade.
Grab a piece of paper, stand near your benches and hold the paper up over the bench roughly where you think the sail will hang. This will give you an idea as to where the shadow will be cast. Again, time of day and time of year will be contributing factors as to where the shadow will fall. But it will be very very insightful before measuring and making the sails.
With this info, you might have to start quoting some jobs for me down there

Dave

[Gerard]

Nice neat job Jarrod. I like it and suspect your trees will be happy too.

[Jarrod]

First three of eight monkey poles. Get some more in the ground tomorrow I hope.

[Chris]

What a lovely back yard some wonderful trees and great stands good job

[Steven]

Lookin real good Jarrod!
Are you going to paint them or let them age gracefully?

Regards,
Steven

[rawhide]

hey Jarrod ,
like the poles ,look very oriental do you tie your pots to them or not I would like to do a similar thing but get some strong winds where i live and would hate to lose a branch
or worse

[Jarrod]

Chris, thanks mate. Loving the new house.

Steve, not sure about painting them at the moment. Let them age for now and decide later.

Raw, don't tie them down. They should be stable with just the pot. If your tree was likely to fall over then tie it. The poles and platforms don't move so if they were going to be blown over it would happen on any bench.

[OwnLeeOne]

Nice benches. Wish i could build something in my rental yard...On the lights - not to sure about using downlights you'll probably want some waterproof spottys. Extra low voltage doesn't necessarily mean power saving, it's all about the wattage (power) they use. Although they are safer if something goes wrong.

[BonsaiPanda]

Hi Jarrod,
Great benches. I am in favour of the smaller wire you have used. It allows for smaller pots if necessary, with less sagging. WOW is this stuff addictive or what???? 100 miles an hour, congrats on a fine job.

Regards Panda

[bodhidharma]

Really nice stuff going on Jarrod. It looks like the Bougy is flourishing in the yellow pot. Would love to see it in flower this year

[Diane]

Is there any finished project pics?

[Barry1]

hey Jarrod ,
like the poles ,look very oriental do you tie your pots to them or not I would like to do a similar thing but get some strong winds where i live and would hate to lose a branch
or worse

Not a new idea but I found this in a very old magazine

[Barry1]

Sorry guys I cant seem to upload from a word document ...perhaps someone can lead me through the process
It's basically an eye bolt that attaches to the wire holding the mesh in the pot and through the stand