Incorporating Clever Camouflage

Figure A

Step One: Preparing the Site

The existing site is a small, narrow backyard with a telephone pole in a corner that slopes upward toward a fence. The design calls for a 7-foot bench built into the slope with the pole roughly in the center. The surrounding landscaping has grown wild and needs to be cleared.

First, using a shovel and pickaxe, clear the area for your bench. Remove any bushes, rocks, or debris. For a site with an upward slope, dig out a semicircular shape for the bench, making the dirt wall plumb.

Using the tip of the shovel, carve out the outline of the bench on the dirt floor that you have cleared. Chisel the wall to about 18 inches high, the standard height for seats, to support the bench base (figure A). Check that the wall is plumb.

Figure B

Step Two: Building the Base

Lenine-Cruz chooses river-washed rocks for the base because their contour is ideal for stacking and mortaring. River rocks cost about $300 per ton at rock supply stores.

Wet down the bench site so that the ground will not absorb water from the mortar. Then mix some quick-setting masonry mortar (about $3 per bag at home supply stores) and spread it in the semicircular outline, about 2 inches thick (figure B). Lightly score the mortar to delineate the front edge of the bench.

Figure C

Place the first course of rocks along the edge of the score line (figure C), and gently tap them into place with a mallet. Mortar a second row of rocks behind the front row.

Spread mortar on top of the first course of rocks and place the second layer of rocks. Vary the sizes and shapes as you proceed to stagger the seams. Make sure that the front edge of each course lines up and is plumb to maintain the bench's curved shape.

Figure D

Continue mortaring and arranging rocks until you have about five courses, or layers, of stacked rocks (figure D), reaching a height of about 18 inches. For the last course, mortar rocks only in the front row, leaving a gap behind them to hold the backrest.

Wipe away any excess mortar and clean the rocks using a large wet sponge. Let the base set overnight before starting on the backrest and seat.

Step Three: Completing the Bench

For the seat and backrest, Lenine-Cruz chooses Connecticut blue stone (about $400 per ton) because of its smooth texture, but any flagstone will work. The backrest is built using large slabs of flagstone, and the seat is composed of smaller flagstones pieced together like a puzzle.

First, set the backrest stones on edge in the gap behind the top row of base rocks, and mark the edges where they need to be cut to fit together. The edges don't have to fit together perfectly; small gaps are ideal for filling in with moss later. Use an angle grinder to cut the stone, finishing the edges with a chisel for a more natural look. The backrest stones should be about 20 to 24 inches high above the mortar line for a comfortable backrest.

Figure E

Add some mortar to the gap at the back of the base, and set the first flagstone on edge into the gap. Repeat with more flagstones, pushing their edges together and forming a curved backrest (Figure E).

Mortar smaller stones in front and behind the flagstone to provide support for the backrest.

Next, cut flagstone slabs into smaller pieces for the seat. Mortar the pieces on top of the rock base and up against the backrest (figure F). As you proceed, be sure that the seat is level, and allow a consistent amount of overhang to maintain the lines of the bench front. If you are building the bench around a telephone pole or other feature, leave a hole in front of it large enough to plant a vine later.

Finish the seat by filling in the joints between stones with mortar. Clean off any excess mortar with a sponge, and let it set for at least 24 hours.

Step Four: Building the Stone Steps

Stone steps up the slope beside the bench can create the illusion of a path leading to another part of the garden. First, dig out terraces for the steps. Use a string line to establish the height, or rise, of each step, about 9 inches.

Figure G

Spread a thick bed of mortar and stack the river rocks, similar to building the bench base. Build up the rocks until they reach the string line. Fill in the floor, or tread, of the step with more mortar and rocks, about 16 inches back from the front edge. Build up the rise of the next step and continue until all steps are complete (figure G).

Next, to tie in the new bench with an existing stone patio, mortar flagstone in the gap between the patio and the bench and steps.

Planting: A Stone Bench

Lenine-Cruz enhances the new seating area with tall vines to obscure the telephone pole and colorful, drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants. She fills in gaps in the stone backrest and around the base with mosses to soften the lines and augment the woodsy feeling of the garden. Her planting plan includes:

Princess flower (Tibouchina urvilleana), Zone 11 (not cold-hardy)
Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis 'Prostrata'), Zones 8-10
Santa Barbara daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus), Zones 5-7