Are you making the most of your garden? The summer months are the best time to enjoy any garden, providing you’ve planned for it. The last thing you want is to find you’ve got nowhere to sit and relax, or that the view you have is one filled with weeds and rubbish.

So let’s look at how you can create the ideal summer garden to enjoy from this year onwards.

The benefits of a beautiful summer garden

When you have a gorgeous garden that comes into bloom in the summer, you have a chance to enjoy it almost as an extra room. You can have breakfast outdoors, or enjoy an al fresco lunch or dinner. You will find it a very relaxing haven to be in as well, which helps destress and ensure you have somewhere to recharge your batteries.

With all that to look forward to, it does make sense to plan ahead to ensure you have that kind of garden, doesn’t it?

Working with whatever space you have

You don’t need a big garden to create something perfect. You just need to be able to work with what you have. Start by sketching out your space to scale on some paper, including all the things you cannot move, such as fences and walls. It’s easier to plan it on paper than to try and do it in reality. Once your design is complete, you can set about bringing it to life.

Grass and other surfaces

Hartwood Tiered Raised Bed

Any size lawn can look very nice, but you can use other things to create more interest. Think of paths made from bark, gravel, stones or slabs, for instance. There’s no reason you can’t include more than one type of ground surface either.

You can easily divide different areas in a number of ways, too. Raised beds are a great way to do this, as they break the garden up and give you a chance to build something to grow plants or flowers in. Some of them are high enough to allow you to use them as occasional seating as well. The Hartwood Tiered Raised Bed is an excellent example of this.

Garden structures

Hartwood Surrey Arbour Seat

There are plenty of structures that could easily be included in a summer garden. If you want somewhere cosy to escape to, you should consider an arbour seat. The Hartwood Surrey Arbour Seat provides seating for two and has a roof to provide some shade. It would sit nicely under some trees or near some bushes – in fact, in any area that has pleasant surroundings and perhaps offers a little privacy.

Garden arches are also ideal for use in many areas. They can mark out the start of a garden path, for example, as well as providing a break from one area to another. They’re also ideal if you love climbing plants, including roses and passion flowers.

Don’t forget an area for entertaining

This should ideally be close to the house, in order to provide you with easy access to the kitchen. Decking is a good choice, and it is possible to purchase a kit that gives you everything you could need to construct a generous-sized area to place a garden table and chairs on.

You can either get a standard decking kit or purchase one that comes with a pergola as well. This is a structure that sits over the top of the decking. It’s also ideal for growing plants and flowers up the sides and over the top to provide a bit of natural shade. The Hartwood supreme pergola decking kit is an excellent example of how appealing this can be.

Incidentally, if you add a barbecue into the mix, you should make sure you position it away from the decking for safety. It also means you have more room for entertaining!

Don’t forget the kids!

Rowlinson Sandpit

If you have kids to think about, you’ll need to keep them entertained as well. Why not allocate an area specifically to their needs? You can add a sandpit for them to use that provides them with lots of play possibilities and also blends into the rest of the garden.

The Rowlinson Sandpit with Lid features a natural timber finish and has a 200 litre capacity providing plenty of space to play. The sandpit is supplied with a lid, and the whole thing is pressure-treated for long-lasting fun.

What will YOU do?

We’ve given you plenty of ideas to get started with. Only you know the size and demands of your garden and your family, so you can start planning accordingly. Make sure you get the most from your plot – whatever you might have – by using the above suggestions to inspire something completely unique. What would you love to achieve with your summer garden?