The Fire Pit Garden – @ The Paddock

the paddock

The Patio Garden

The Firepit Garden.

Like many others, we invested in a fire pit as the Covid-19 restrictions continued into the autumn of 2020. Fire pits can be smoky, they warm your front, but without any shelter cold breezes chill your back.

I decided to create an enclosure that would provide some shelter from the autumnal winds while we huddled around our pit.

The walls

Looking North West on a summer evening from the patio garden

I wanted the enclosure to be like an embrace, but not a symmetrical circle. I wanted the walls to have reflective quality, but not be too shiny, I did not want mirrors. I found an online supplier who would send by courier 2.4 x 1.2 m galvanized steel sheets, 2mm thick. They are strong, yet flexible to bend into the curved shape that I wanted.

They relect light and bright colours, providing shelter for plants and humans alike. During the day, the area is a suntrap, a favourite place of mine for breakfast during the summer.

The Plants

The plants in The Fire Pit garden benefit from the shelter. I chose plants with a hot colour theme; red, orange and yellow flowers, foliage with dark colours as if scorched by fire, and soft textures to conjure an illusion of smokiness.

Brugmansia sanguinea
Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex
Abutilon hybrid
Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’
Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’
Stipa tenuissima
Tulipa ‘Paul Scherer’
Tulpia ‘Paul Scherer’
Geum ‘Scarlet Tempest’ and Tulipa ‘Paul Scherer’
Geum seedling
Geum ‘Fiery Tempest’
Nandina domestica ‘Obsessed’
The big leaves of Tetrapanax ‘Rex’ dominate
Penstemon ‘King George’ (I think)
Flowers of Phormium ‘Platt’s Black’
Corocsmia ‘Lucifer’ and bronze fennel
Helenium ‘Short ‘n’ Sassy’
Flowers of Heuchera ‘Lime Marmalade’
Fatsia polycarpa ‘Green Fingers’
Penstemon (unnamed from seed)
Verbena bonariensis outside the wall
Hot colours and Tetrapanax ‘Rex’ foliage
Helwingiia chinesis
Flowers of Helwingia chinensis
Breakfast in The Firepit garden
Plants casting shadows from the firepit light
Stipa tenuissima at the entrance

The Seat

The Firepit Garden, had transformed itself in the three years since I first constructed the enclosure. Originally I had a timber seat made from old pallets, it did the job, but it was not visually pleasing.

I wanted a piece of garden furniture that would look like was a part of the area, that had similar materials and would have curves and not be abgular. I had been looking around, in shops and online, but to no avail. So I decided to make on myself.

I measured a sofa chair in the house and set about constructing the frame. I uses on piece of the same galvanised steel as the wall materials. The result was, for me, a visually pleasing seat, which is comfortable to sit on. The intention was that it be used with cushions. Due to the nature of the material, there is a certain amount of flex, so when you sit down it has a bit of spring.

Here is a look at how The Firepit Garden has developed between September 2020 and August 2023.