Maggie is a bit of a comlpletist. I was impressed enough with the slabs of marble laid crazy paving style but, for Maggie, they are not enough. She sees plants in pots and garden furniture. She can taste the summer drinks. She mentioned fountains. She's already decided what sort of garden furniture. Not the sort of stuff you get from B&Q or Homebase with wooden slats and nice green brushed cotton cushions. No, Maggie knows that the beating Spanish sun of summer and the 20ºC daily tmperature changes of winter destroy the stitching on nylon chair webbing and anything made of wood. Plastic goes hard and brittle whilst metal colours are doomed to fade except for the reworking of the colour scheme by various layers of rust. Stone, concrete and ceramics are the answer.
She didn't really mention this to me until we were in a local garden centre staring at the stone tables with matching benches. Some were shaped like toadstools. Some were covered in Andalucian style painted ceramic tiles.
"I think I'm turning Spanish," she said, "I think these look nice."
When we first arrived she thought the style of furniture was too hideous to contemplate.
When we first arrived she thought the style of furniture was too hideous to contemplate.
