Transform your garden into a space for entertaining

Now that the summer’s here, it’s great to spend lots of time outdoors and all those lovely balmy evenings and sunny weekend days can be an ideal time to spend with friends at home.

“Garden Party Hors d’œuvres 3” (CC BY 2.0) by  cheeseslave 

If you’re fortunate enough to have an outdoor space or garden, now’s the time to make sure it’s set up to work as an entertaining space as well as being somewhere you dry the laundry and the kids  kick a ball around.

You don’t need the services of a landscape gardener to transform even the most boring of back yards into a pleasant space. All you need to do is decide how you want to divide up the space you have and buy some new equipment for your garden.

For instance, if you often have friends over for a barbecue, then an outdoor dining table and chairs would be an essential purchase to make. While you might keep furnishing tones muted inside the house, outside you can take it bright and bold, choosing items that will withstand different sorts of weather. At Vivendo, you can buy Italian outdoor furniture like the Ripa stackable chairs. These are made of hard-wearing and sun-proofed plastic and come in a variety of primary colours that will add a sense of vibrancy to any garden.

It’s a good idea to invest in an outdoor crockery set as well – with unbreakable glasses to go with it. Stylish melamine crockery is now available from many different retailers and will save you the stress of worrying about items being dropped outside.

 
“Mini LED Light” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by  timo_w2s 

The range of solar garden lights that are available today is vast and you can turn your garden into a magical twilight environment with the help of some strategically placed solar lighting. Far easier than traditional wired lighting to install, solar garden lights can be scattered around your garden to add a bit of soft lighting to darker corners of the garden.

If you have kids – or kids that come to visit – make sure that you still leave some space for them to run around. Don’t make the outdoor space so structured that they can’t have any fun out there! If you’re limited on space, consider putting up a hammock so they have a spot to chill out. You never know, you might get a turn to relax on it every now and then, too.

Most people have a lawn in their back garden, but if you like the idea of keeping the maintenance to a minimum, you could always consider decking instead. Decking can be expensive, especially if you’ve got a large area to cover, but it’s certainly a great step towards stress-free outdoor living. There’s always the option to have a decked area or patio near the house and then a lawn section as well. If you don’t like the idea of weeding flowerbeds, you can add colour with some pot plants.

Of course, what you do to your garden depends on the budget and time you have available, as well as the space you have. But even on the smallest of budgets, a garden can be transformed into a great entertaining space quickly and easily. Don’t delay, and get the most out of your garden this summer.