Are you fortunate enough to have a large, south-facing garden that’s ideal for entertaining friends and family? Do you enjoy being the host and ensuring people are having a great time? Perhaps you love to be king or queen of the barbecue? Whatever your reason, getting your garden prepared for the next summer months can be a fun project with massive payoffs.
1. Decide on an entertaining area
You want to contain where you entertain so that it doesn’t take over all your garden. It also makes your garden seem more cohesive and well-planned rather than thrown together.
Your entertaining area can be in a variety of styles and be of all shapes and sizes. Typically, people will have decking or a patio area so that guests do not have to contend with grass. You should include comfortable garden furniture, such as chairs, sofas and a table. Adding a picnic style bench can also add a whimsy approach to your garden’s casual and chilled-out vibes.
Having the entertaining area by the back door is the most logical place as it allows you and your guests to dip in and out of the house. It can also help if you are cooking and are carrying food in and out of the kitchen, which is typically located at the back of the house, next to the garden.
2. Tend to the lawn
Feed, mow and care for your lawn so that it can grow properly and look lush and fresh for the summer months. If you do not have time or patience for a lawn, then think about replacing the grass with some other type of flooring. You can have decking and walkways around what is a mini meadow – sow wildflowers and let them take over parts of your garden so that it looks fantastical.
3. Plant flowers for evening socialising
While it may seem odd planting flowers for the evening, doing so can create a lovely aroma for you and your guests while the sun sets, and the evening arises. The best flowers for the evening are Jasmine and Honeysuckle.
4. Provide shade
Don’t forget about the heat of the summer and how you and your guests will still need protection from the sun. Rather than fight with an umbrella or parasol, have something more sturdy and solid in place, that’ll also add to the character of your garden.
An oak-framed dining shelter or gazebo is a great means of keeping your guests sheltered from harsh weather without having to leave the outdoors. Rookery Barns build beautiful dining shelters that’ll enhance your garden, whether you’re after a standalone dining shelter or one that is attached to your house.
5. Plant a herb wall
Love to season your food on the grill? If so, have a herb garden that’s built like a wall and planted near your cooking station. This makes seasoning your food and marinating the right flavours all that much easier.
6. Don’t underestimate the importance of lighting
Lighting plays a vital part in creating a wholesome and inviting area for people to relax in throughout the evening and night. Hang strings of lights around your gazebo or in your trees, and place lanterns around the garden.
Make your garden eco-friendly by opting for solar-powered lighting that’ll also automatically light up when the sunlight disappears.
