Hugel bench?

Hi everyone,

I was wondering whether any of you have ever tried making "natural benches" out of a pile of earth and then planting them? We are planning a food forest for my town and the question of benches was a tricky one. The town wants us to put in benches that will be up to safety standards and that won't get stolen, which means buying commercially-made park benches (about 350$ each) and anchoring them into concrete slabs (not exactly in line with our values or aesthetics, and also expensive).

So my partner came up with the idea of making banches out of mounds - both safe and hard to steal! Just wondering if anyone here has ever done such a thing and if so, if you have any advice regarding methods and materials (I was thinking a rocky base covered in sandy loam, maybe, as it should be pretty shapable without getting too water-logged, and planted with thyme or some other soft, low-growing ground cover - suggestions?).

Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Kate

How about just shaping massive logs on site, by chainsawing down the center making two huge benches. You could make a "deadman" anchor to bolt into it underneath. A buried log tho, will rot.. ie; a hugelkultur will rot.

I would look at cob benches. I also recommend the suggestion to use large logs carved into bench forms. Neither likely to be stolen. Both better aesthetic and likely lower cost.