Gardens need a focal point, a feature, a story. In recent years the pergola, the summerhouse and the rose arch
have all played their part in fulfilling this role. Perhaps now it is the time for something new, to take a leaf
from the garden design book of yesteryear: a gothic ruin, a temple, a pavilion, a folly!

The folly is an eccentric structure taking on many forms, set either in a prominent position or in a secret are of the garden, that need serve no specific function except to impress, amaze or delight. Is this romantic scene purely for
visual effect or does it screen the more functional compost heap, disguise a storage shed or simply
serve as a divider - a feature?

The myriad of follies that sprung up in the great English gardens of the 18th century included many in the melancholy mediaeval or Gothic mood fostered by the romantic movement. Although the rich men who built them did not need to give reasons, there are few follies without at least on story to justify their existence, rationalisations sometimes arrived at by the local community for its own satisfaction - is this a latter day tiny 'mini-me'?