It doesn’t matter if summer is approaching or not, you can still think about creating the perfect entertaining area in your garden or yard. This is doubly true if you are thinking of making it an all-weather space, meaning you can hold your Super Bowl party in the same place that you have your summer cookout.
Regardless of whether you have the most ambitious vision ever or are just putting together a deck to put your barbeque on, you’ll need to plan the whole thing carefully. That way, you are more likely to get exactly what you want, with minimal stress, and without spending more than you need to.
Plan Your Space Carefully
Not everyone has a big garden or yard, and this can mean that planning your space is vital, especially if you want it to fit with your current planting scheme. To avoid any nasty shocks or uncomfortable conversations with those who live with you, you need to make everyone aware of what is going where and how, so you can respond to any feedback before you get started.
By using a top-of-the-range landscape planner, you will be able to show everybody in detail, and from various angles, what you have in mind. If you pick the right software, you can also move things around so you can also look at your overall garden layout at the same time. This can be whether you are planning on decking, a shingled area, or even having a pool as part of your plan.
Think About Planting
Once you have your plan, you will have a rough idea of what type of planting your will be surrounding your entertaining areas with. This will be shaped in part at least by what time of year you will be using the area the most, as you will want your garden to look the best for your guests.
A large splash of color is always welcome, but you also need to be aware of the type of insect life you will be attracting with these flowers, and the interest they will also show in any food and drink you have out. This isn’t an easy balance to achieve, so some experimentation might be in order before you find the perfect planting setup.
Choose Your Seating Arrangement
Now you have the overall area defined, you can start to fill it with seating, whether you go for items like couches, or a more formal seating arrangement with tables and chairs. You also need to decide if you are going to go with metal, plastic, or wood, depending on how those fit with the rest of the plan.
You also need to think about covers for them if you are leaving them out all year, especially if you live in an area with harsh winters or plenty of rainfall. If you want to take them inside during the winter, need to think about constructing a small store to keep them in, or at least clearing enough space in your garage to keep them sheltered from the elements.
Food and Drink
Regardless of what type of entertaining you do in your garden, it is likely to involve both food and drink. You should have some sort of bar or serving area in your plan, or some fridges to keep those ‘cold ones’ cold on summer days.
If you were thinking of going for more than just a conventional barbeque, you need to also think about an area for putting or building your pizza oven. While you probably don’t want an entire Guy Fieri-style ranch kitchen in your yard (or even have the space), you’ll still want to have areas to prep food so you are not running backwards and forward to the house all of the time.
A Few Final Thoughts
When you are planning a garden entertaining area, there is a lot more to consider than which brand of barbeque you are going to buy. You need to plan everything carefully, as you won’t be entertaining every day, and the garden gets used by other people too, as well as any pets you happen to have.
You’ll also need to consider the furniture you will have, as this needs to fit into the space and be in keeping with what is already there. Once these are in place, you can then choose your barbeque, pizza oven, or whatever you want to keep your guests supplied with food and drink.
