Fengh-shui bench?

Nice and peaceful Kat :-)

I like the shape of the bench, but sitting there wasn´t very comfortable, although it was refreshing shade in a hot day.
Slad, you are experienced gardener. Do you think, that common ivy on tree trunks is harmful?

It does damage the bark Kat I've seen the weight of ivy make a tree lose branches, I had a pear tree that was covered with ivy the little tendrils holding the ivy was deep in every crack of the bark. The tree died eventually. Some say its ok but I personally think its not good for the tree.

Ok. If I cut main stems of ivy at the ground, is it enough?

Yes that'll kill the ivy but it will re sprout at ground level so you may have to keep pulling it out, the tree should be ok but don't pull the ivy off the tree or it'll rip the bark off withit .

the main problem with garden benches is that they always seem to have their backs to the garden, or at least the nearest bit of it.

I've heard that masses of ivy can be a problem with trees because of the extra weight that the tree wasn't built to take.

Hi Fran, this bench was facing a slope on which there were small azaleas and stones and the acer, which is the only one visible on my photo. So it was facing garden ;-), just my photo was focusing on bench and not on the rest of garden.
Thank you for advices regarding ivy. I have to do something with it.