I am writing this in my garden with a glass of prosecco by my side. Mr Wonders is firing up the barbecue and all is right with the world. I know we don’t always have the weather but when we do I like to get outside and make the most of it. My first house was a little Victorian terrace and I loved it. There was just a small concrete back yard, but I filled the walls with baskets of geraniums and trailing lobelia. On the floor I had half oak barrels similarly filled with colourful annuals.
In the large square patch at the bottom of the garden just before the ginnel, I laid some artificial grass. It transformed the concrete greyness into a bright, cosy place to sit amongst my flowers to read a book, or like now, enjoy a warm evening with a glass of prosecco.
I also think some pretty furniture is essential for the garden. Pretty but comfortable. In my terrace I had a bistro set for chatting with friends and one of those huge beanbags for lazing around when no-one could see me. If it was now, I would add some jolly bunting and lots and lots of fairy lights too. Perfect!
If you do have a small garden the planting up some pretty pots and containers is definitely the way to go. You can then buy some relatively cheap annuals to add a pop of colour. Geraniums always work well, as do marigolds, petunias, pansies and lobelia. Containers do require a lot of watering though but a good irrigation system could help you with this. You attach the main hose pipe to your outdoor tap and then take little spurs off it to water each pot individually. You also need to attach a timer so that it waters for a length of time at certain times of the day. Morning and early evening are best for this as you should not water your plants when it is very sunny.