How to prepare your outdoor area for entertaining this summer

Now that summer and its consistent brightness and warmth are here, you could understandably be eager to regularly invite friends and family around to your home, where they could catch up on various matters and be entertained.

However, since they are likely to want to properly embrace the summer by spending time in the garden, you need to think carefully about how you will prepare that garden for use as an entertainment space.

Make that garden look tidier

Of course, you want your garden to leave a good first impression on visitors as they enter it. Therefore, it’s worth dedicating time to tidying up that outdoor space – for example, through mowing and feeding its lawn and concealing weeds beneath mulch on the flower beds.

You should also, if you have sufficient time, mow the garden. However, if a lack of time leaves you without that option, you could still tidy up the edges by using a strimmer, indicates House Beautiful.

Add some enticing aromas to the garden

Pleasant smells can also feed into positive early impressions of an outdoor space – and, thankfully, there are various ways in which you can give your garden pleasant scents.

One of those ways is making a herb wall. If this grows near the barbecue, it’s conveniently placed to let you quickly add more flavouring to cooking and cocktails. Furthermore, the wall will produce wonderful smells – as would night-scented flowers like Honeysuckle, Phlox or Jasmine.

Create some shade for your guests

As some days could become unbearably hot for certain people who attend your outdoor gatherings, you shouldn’t neglect to provide adequate shade to which guests can quickly turn as necessary.

Awnings and parasols can provide temporary shade. If you would like something more permanent, a conservatory is an option. You might find that a local building firm can provide that conservatory and, if the structure later needs them, roof repairs in Newcastle upon Tyne or somewhere else.

Let your guests see the light… literally

Obviously, the summer will provide abundant natural lighting during daylight hours. However, if you plan to host evening get-togethers, then lighting is definitely a factor you need to consider carefully. Fortunately, Monty Don, the presenter of the BBC TV series Gardeners’ World, has recently outlined various palatable lighting options in an article for the Daily Mail website.

You could feel reassured to learn that the variety of electric lighting available for patios is immense. Nonetheless, you still need to be careful which of those lighting products you choose, as you shouldn’t overlook particular practical considerations. Ultimately, you need to make sure that walkways, pool edges and steps are lit well but not garishly.

Furthermore, it is crucial that a qualified electrician fits your chosen lights and verifies their safety. After all, the wiring will always be exposed to the elements; thus, the electrician must take special account of this. Solar panel lights are an eco-friendly alternative that can collect power from the sun during the day before using that energy at night.