A party garden is an amazing addition to the modern home. Even if you’ve got a small yard and a tiny lawn, you can fit a lot of amenities into the space with a few arranging tips. And as we move into the summer, hosting BBQs and garden parties and sipping cocktails under the stars will very much be activities of the season.
So, you’re going to need a hosting space capable of keeping you comfortable and dry as the weather moves around you! And to get you started with making the perfect party garden for your needs, we’ve constructed a complete guide for you down below. Use these tips as some general rules for drawing up a layout, so you can then make sure you’re happy with the final result.
Create a Weather Safe Area
This is your first priority. When you want to spend more time in the garden, you need to make sure it’s always safe to be out there. To manage that, you’ll want to set up a permanent covered space, rather than just a fabric gazebo or awning you can take down when the season is done with.
This is going to take a bit of DIY expertise, but it can be easily done when you’ve got the right materials! Start with checking out a range of plastic roof sheets; you want the roof of your weather safe area to be waterproof, fireproof, and able to keep you safe from lightning during thunder storms.
Then think about the space you need to take up, how you can safely fit people under it alongside bulky furniture and electrical lights, and if it’s going to be easy to move around carrying food plates and smashable glasses. Double check your measurements and be very happy with your layout before you get the toolbox out!
Vary the Sitting Area with Different Levels
Once the weather safe area is all set up and ready to go, it’s time to vary the sitting area and add a bit of style to it. To do that, it’s best to set up different levels to sit, lay, and lounge on. Don’t worry, this is much easier than it sounds – you don’t need to construct different decking here!
After all, you just need some chairs for people who just want to take a seat, a sofa for those who love to be close and comfy, and then some floor cushions and blankets for those who like to just lay around, especially after a few drinks. It might take a little more time to clean up after you’ve hosted something, but you’ll be satisfied at just how good a time your guests had.
Remember, the easier it is to sit down, the more you’re going to enjoy the party space you make outside. Not only will it be super cosy to spend time in, but you can literally just collapse and there’ll be something soft nearby to put your head on!
Small Kitchen Hubs Work Wonders
Just like you fitted a wardrobe into the awkwardly shaped wall next to the window, you can fit a small kitchen hub into your backyard setting. You just need to think in smaller terms, and try to double up on the use of certain areas.
And once it’s set up, you’ll have an outdoor cooking space you can use whenever you feel like it. That makes hosting any kind of event outside a lot more convenient, and it’s just fun to slide a pizza into a real clay oven every now and then! What could be a better scene for the first garden party of the summer in your friend circle?
Remember, you’re going to want a place to prepare the food, so that means you’ll need a ‘counter’, usually made out of brick or plasterboard, and then you’ll want to move across to the actual BBQ itself, with the pizza oven standing next to it.
Doing so makes it a lot easier to use both at the same time, as the heat can be shared well here. And then think about setting up a little sink station – it doesn’t have to be plumbed in, but you will need somewhere to put the dirty dishes and any rubbish you want to throw out.
Brace Your Patio with Tall Plants
Tall plants are great for adding a sense of levels to your garden without the need for digging up or down. They’re also great for bracing pathways and making sure your lawn isn’t touched by people who’ve had a bit too much to drink!
And they go above and beyond when it comes to giving your garden a bit more privacy; that’s always a bonus when you’ve got a lot of delicate furniture out there. So if you want to give your hosting space a more intimate vibe, make sure you plant plenty of taller, grassy plants that block the view and help to curate the sections you’re going for.
This way you’ll always have somewhere to retreat to when the party gets a bit loud, or you need a breather from dancing and singing karaoke. Parties are great, but they can get a bit much from time to time, and you’ll thank yourself for having foresight during the layout stage!
Hang Lighting Strategically
You need to light up your party garden very clearly, of course. However, you also want to preserve that sense of intimacy we talked about earlier on. This means you’ll want to keep the light a bit spotty in places, and easy to dim down or turn up when you need it. This might sound hard to do, but it’s actually quite easy with modern garden tech.
After all, it means you can quickly and simply hang up string lights anywhere you need to move, and then use solar powered lights for the edges of pathways or the lawn itself. You can even get smaller lights that are perfect for fitting into borders around plant boxes or strip gardens you’ve planted. This way you can always keep them lit up without ever needing to fully illuminate the space, meaning people are far less likely to trip over them!
Craft a Natural Soundscape
A natural soundscape sounds hard to put together, doesn’t it? But remember the kinds of sounds you want to incorporate here: birdsong, the gentle babbling of water, etc., both of these things are easy to feature in your garden!
The latter is easy to get going; you just need to set up a water feature, and you don’t even need to make this yourself either. You can buy one from a store, fill it with water, and then leave it to get going. Be sure to check in with the feature once a week to make sure it hasn’t gotten dirty.
However, the first is going to take a little while to set up, as you need to make your space wildlife friendly. But don’t be discouraged – getting birds and other animals to call your garden home is the name of the game anyway. You’re going to naturally plant some flowers that they’ll find friendly, as well as put down little homes for critters to move into.
Don’t just focus on frogs or hedgehogs here; you’ll want to put down a ‘hotel’ for solitary bees, and any other insect that wants to move in. None of them are particularly bad, and if you give them a place of their own, they’re going to be far less likely to make their way into your home!
Make Some Space in the Shed
If you’ve got enough room for a shed in your garden, now’s the time to give it a clear out. After all, you’re going to want to use it as a storage space more than anything else; a lot of the furniture you use in your party garden is going to need to be kept safe in the autumn and winter months.
And no proper party garden is without good storage space, so don’t forget to include it in your plan. You’ll want to move things in and out over the year anyway, as you’re going to fall out of love with certain items and swap things in when they’ve gotten worse for wear. Do yourself a favour as early on as you can and make it easy to move the garden and use it like a normal room.
Got Some Garden Space Going to Waste?
The perfect party garden shouldn’t be too hard to design. After all, you’ve already got a host of ideas about what you want to do with the space, and now you’ve got the practical tips to make it all happen!
Whether you want to light up an awning and make it the best place to be at night, or you’ve got a big family you need to seat on a weekly basis, now’s your chance to draw up the best layout for your purposes.
