Never, it seems, have British home-owners spent more time in their gardens – and never, as a corollary, have they spent more money on them. It is a luxury that stems from generally increased prosperity and the persuasiveness of ever more sophisticated marketing techniques – for plants, gardening tools and machines, and for the fastest growing sector of the industry: garden furniture.

Enthusiasm for gardens, fuelled by TV programmes featuring ‘makeovers’, is high, but the time spent in them is not just about work. The garden has become an extension of the home. Hence the buoyant demand for garden furniture and huge growth in the variety of products made of wood. Gates, fencing, picnic tables, folding chairs, trellis, arches, water butts – these comprised the bulk of what was readily available about 30 years ago; now you can add gazebos, pergolas, planters, decking, arbours, obelisks, walling blocks, log rolls and seemingly endless permutations appearing as new designs in manufacturers’ catalogues.

The market covers the whole cross-section of the garden products industry, from high-quality manufacturers and national suppliers and garden centres to specialist craftspeople.

HS Jackson & Son (Fencing) Ltd, now trading under the name of Jacksons Fine Fencing, was established in 1947 at Stowting Common, Kent, by Ian Jackson who remains chairman of the family-owned company.

Based initially on the supply of wooden fence stakes and palings, all bought locally, the company grew steadily and began buying standing timber in the 1950s, then introduced pressure treatment and later installed a sawmill and machining plant.

Jacksons gives a 25-year guarantee for all products made with timber treated by its Jakcure process of kiln-drying and vacuum-pressuring a chemical preservative. Described as unique, the process penetrates into the heartwood, giving long-lasting protection against fungal and insect attack: at least 0.5lb of dry salt goes into every cubic foot of timber. Kiln-drying adds 15% to costs, part of which is included in selling prices, but a recent letter from a customer suggests it is well worth the extra. He writes: ‘I have enclosed photographs of part of my garden which include a length of post and rail fencing purchased from your company in 1966. As you can see, the fencing is still in A1 condition.’

The recently built wood machining plant and offices at Stowting Common have completed a modernisation programme enabling Jacksons to sell direct to the public from a cash-and-carry warehouse and accessories shop, or to fencing and other contractors. A nationwide fence erection service is operated, backed by the company’s supply depots in Bath and Chester.

Furniture range

If fencing was for many years and bread and butter of the business, it is now strongly supplemented by a wide range of garden furniture covering both the traditional and ultra-modern. Heading the choice of arbours – all of Jakcured softwood – is the luxury six-seater Villandry, inspired by the recreated Renaissance garden in the French town of that name. Its trellis infill panels make strong supports for climbing plants and, with the addition of a table, there is a shady setting for al fresco meals. The arched Bath and Chester mini-arbours, though portable, provide seating for two adults, and the larger Chelsea and Kew designs seat three.

New this year is the Colonnade arch designed to span a driveway or frame a walkway. Available in widths from 1070mm to 3700mm, it has two side-support options: a four-sided column of trellis or a two-sided open support. The arch is 2.3m high at its centre, with side supports 2.07m high.

For pergolas, all components are supplied – with detailed instructions for creating your own system – and heavy trellis infill panels can be added for climbing plants. There is a large choice of trellis panels, and planters for placing at will, plus the Civic octagonal planter designed for pedestrianised public areas and moved by forklift.

Decking is another speciality that has occupied much time and research. Jacksons’ latest catalogue devotes five pages to the subject, with suggested designs combined with balustrading, and full instructions on planning and construction. It is emphasised that a tested method of fixing the deck allows any number of designs to be achieved.

Mass market

In the mass market for garden furniture of reliable quality, one of the best examples is Wyevale Garden Centres plc which, with 120 centres and four shops throughout England and Wales, is by far the largest garden centre group in the UK. It has its origins in what, in 1932, was a five-acre rose field established at Kings Acre on the outskirts of Hereford by Harry Williamson, late father-in-law of Wyevale’s present chairman Brian Evans. This site is now home to the com-pany’s head office and a 44,000ft² garden centre which opened in 1961.

By 1987 the group had opened 14 centres and it became a public company. Subsequent takeovers have increased its geographic spread and purchasing power. Employing teams of specialist buyers who scour the world for the best value in furniture and accessories from established and innovative new manufacturers, the group is able to offer goods which are judged to have the most immediate appeal to customers. Representative collections are on display at Wyevale centres but, as a stock of manufacturers’ literature is held at customer information desks, the choice of products is greatly extended.

Normally available from stock is the Alexander Rose range of furniture made from iroko. The range is made in Ghana to English designs and includes an alcove set of two armchairs with companion table, single and double recliners, foot rests and stools, a swing seat with canopy and the St George suite of four dining chairs, two carvers and a 1.6×1.1m table allowing seating for eight.

Decking is represented by two examples, a good-looking arrangement being a spacious area with rope and post surround kit which lends itself to positioning in a fenced corner of the garden. It measures 4.05×2.85m and is guaranteed against rot for 10 years.

Unfazed by the marketing strength of his giant competitors, former Army radar operator Steve Briant worked for a year in the building trade before starting his business at Herne Bay in 1991 as a maker of rustic garden furniture in chestnut. ‘The idea came to me when browsing through a glossy magazine,’ he says.

Then, a year ago, came the opportunity to rent one of a small line of workshops on a country estate at Wickhambreaux where the owner plans to create an area for craft workers in landscaped surroundings designed to attract an increasing flow of visitors.

Steve and a wrought iron specialist in an adjoining workshop co-operate on projects for garden furnishing and both are setting up eye-catching forecourt displays. Working long hours, Steve supplies barn shops in Challock and Preston, both close to Canterbury, and one of these provides a special area for his products to be displayed.

Design simplicity

Using mainly roundwood, simplicity is the keynote of his designs which have their own appeal and the individuality of being hand-made – very different from the sophisticated productions described earlier. A large octagonal dining table takes eight of his carver chairs, a his ‘n’ hers seat has a central built-in table, and a static wheelbarrow makes an attractive planter.

New this year is an arbour with a two-seater bench. Rose arches, trellis and gazebos are made to customers’ specifications which call mainly for open structures to give the garden a feeling of extra space. Steve is flexible about delivery arrangements and likes, whenever possible, to build on site where he supplies trellis panels, arches and arbours for a complete scheme.

With virtually no advertising, he sells mainly through customers’ recommendation and a keen pricing policy – when sold direct to the public, a two seater bench costs £75.