Over the past couple of years, our gardens and patio areas have become significant sources of comfort for those fortunate enough to have an outside space. As well as providing us with a place of relaxation, our gardens have effectively become the homely equivalent of our local pub’s beer garden, perfect for entertaining friends and family members or for enjoying alone. Alongside being the ideal place for hosting parties and taking care of our social needs. Our outside spaces also fuel our creative needs through the ability to prune and preen hedges and flower beds, grow fresh fruit and vegetables, and design an environment that reflects our personalities. Having said this, creating your ideal garden or patio area doesn’t have to be a stressful or expensive affair. Consider our suggestions below to help you beautify your outdoor space on a budget and create an environment that you’ll want to show off to friends and family.
Consider Light And Shady Areas
Unfortunately, time spent in our outside space is generally limited to when the weather is good and the sun is shining. When we are blessed with pleasant weather, it’s essential to make sure that our outside space has enough light and shady areas so that we have the option to sunbathe and our loved elderly ones can avoid the sun’s rays when needed. A cost-effective way of adding shaded areas to your garden is by purchasing umbrellas or pop-up gazebos, which you could buy brand-new or second-hand from online marketplaces such as Facebook. Or, if you’re open to investing a little more money into beautifying your outside area, you could consider purchasing garden awnings or verandas to prevent sun exposure on scorching days. Enlist the services of companies such as Nationwide Ltd bespoke garden awnings and verandas, who provide a custom service and will be able to give you further advice. This will give you the best chance possible to transform your garden with the right equipment and tools.
Clean Or Replace Garden Tiles
Cleaning or replacing your garden tiles is a simple, cost-effective way to make your outside area look good as new. If you’re willing, you could look at replacing any cracked, discoloured tiles with fresh new ones, which you can source online or from your local garden centre. Alternatively, if you’re looking to spend as little money as possible, you can make any tiles look fresh with a good clean. Use patio brushes and knives to get moss and debris from troublesome in-between cracks in garden paving, then give the area a final once over with a pressure washer to get rid of the mess. Or polish every-day dirt and grime off with old kitchen scourers, a time-effective (and free!) way to refresh tired-looking tiling without breaking the bank.
Add Lighting Elements
Especially useful if you intend to entertain family members and guests during the evening, adding lighting elements to your garden is a simple way to beautify your outside space and keep the good times going into the night. You can achieve this by adding solar-powered lights to your flower beds or solar-powered fairy lights to any awnings, fences, and hedges that you’re outside space might have. Alternatively, as a cheaper solution, you could source tea lights and citronella candles or garden-friendly burners and place these on tabletops or holders, which will help to illuminate and make your garden attractive at night. Plus, if your garden has a barbeque or any other food source, the smell of citronella candles acts as a natural deterrent for pesky mosquitoes and flies, which can be bothersome for dining guests.
Add A Catering Area
Suppose you consider yourself a social butterfly and enjoy hosting parties or events for family and friends. In that case, you could add a catering area or food preparation equipment to your outside space. Providing food at a social event is the perfect way to increase the party atmosphere, and nowadays, there are no shortages on the market to choose from. You could opt for a traditional barbeque or fire pit, create an outdoor kitchen complete with table tops, etc. or go for a slightly more modernised outdoor pizza oven. However, whichever option you choose is bound to impress guests and deliver quality food. If you found yourself lost for ideas, take a quick look at this list of the best outdoor kitchen appliances for hosting at home to get further inspiration and cost ideas.
However, if you’re garden lacks space, you could always try focusing on the drinks instead of food and implement mini-fridges full of alcoholic and soft beverages for those times when you’re hosting. At any point, if you’re worried about the cost of such equipment, you could always try sourcing second-hand, pass-me-down items from family or friends, or you could look at online marketplaces such as Facebook and eBay for pre-loved items.