A PRIME FEATURE IN ANY GARDEN
The marketplace is well served by folks making what I deem to be uninspiring bird tables, which is a market I do not want to oblige. Early in my working life, I was asked to make a bird table as a presentation gift for a gentleman who was retiring. The gentleman was a proud gardener and avid bird feeder, so a bird table was an obvious choice as a gift from his colleagues. My brief was to make a bird table that reflected the esteem in which this man was held. The bird table I made back then was the forerunner to our Ascot bird table.
Currently we offer two bird tables, The Ascot and the Lingfield, both have hexagonal bodies and roofs. The Ascot bird table is the more architectural of the two having a lantern style house with a second platter under the house. The Ascot bird table is not only a functional bird feeding station but ‘architectural’ so well able to ‘centre stage’ as a prominent feature in both a natural and a formal garden setting.
The Lingfield is our more traditional bird table with an open platter set under its coned roof. My wife instigated the Lingfield bird table, Cindy likes to observe the birds, and felt the Ascot bird table was too enclosed. Which incidentally is why I added a second feed platter to the Ascot bird table.
Both bird tables are made of pressure treated pine. The posts are 90 x 90mm made up by laminating four sections of 45 x 45mm, making the posts particularly strong. In addition, the multiple layers of treatment throughout the post’s cross section, it significantly prolongs the life of the bird table posts.
We do not make our bird tables freestanding, both the Ascot and the Lingfield are sizeable bird tables and need ‘planting’. We supply a pair of under turf braces that joint cross the post, stabilising the bird tables in the same manner as a root system. (This system also works well with our far more substantial dovecotes).
The bird table roofs are made with our own distinctive tile effect which is 20mm thick shiplap with a hand dressed, real lead capping, topped off with an in-house turned, purpose fashioned, finial to suit the bird table.
The platters are 45mm thick which is well over spec, but adds another feature to the bird tables which hopefully conveys the quality and workmanship of our bird tables
To paint or not to paint your bird table has to be a personal choice. A painted bird table set in a formal garden, especially against an evergreen backdrop, literally looks outstanding. However, a natural bird table in a less formal setting blends in well with its surroundings. Normally we would paint the bird table white. However, if you wish, for a small charge (POR) and a colour match code we will paint your bird table a colour of your own choosing.