One of the most evocative symbols of summer is the garden tent. In the late eighteenth century, Europeans considered tents the most characteristic of Oriental structures and erected them prolifically in their gardens. As picturesque as they were inexpensive, tents became a staple of Anglo-Chinese folly gardens and a number of them, such as the Tartar Tent at the Parc Monceau in Paris (above) were even constructed of permanent materials. Built circa 1775, it was also the first of its kind, inspiring similar tole-work tents at the Désert de Retz and at Haga and Drottningholm in Sweden.

(Source: architecturalwatercolors.blogspot.com)