In my experience, a trouble shared might be a trouble dragged out until bedtime, but a garden shared is a garden enjoyed to the full. What is the point in putting in all that work if you can't share the fruits of your labours with friends and family? The garden especially in the summer months is a place to make happy memories, to eat, drink and laugh with our nearest and dearest, who will hopefully admire our efforts and give us a rosy glow.
Gardens that are created with company in mind are the ultimate shared pleasures. If a garden is designed from the outset to allow for al fresco dining, for having friends round for drinks of a summer's evening and family lunches on warm weekends, then that extra dimension makes it even more valuable as an outdoor room than it is from day to day as simply somewhere to grab a breath of fresh air before and after work.
Over the years I've found that three or four spots - large and small-scattered around our garden, allow us to enjoy each other's company and that of friends and neighbours, who can drop in for a coffee during the day or a glass in the early evening. Versatility is the key, and with a bit of planning you'll find that even the smallest of gardens can become a welcoming space in which to entertain.
Finding the right spot
Of course it's easier if your garden is large, but even in a tiny patch there's usually room for a single chair or a 'bistro set' of tiny table and a couple of chairs outside the back door for a morning coffee or an evening bevvy.
The tiny table between two all-weather wicker chairs outside our back door has upon it a bonsai hornbeam given to me as a present, but in very hot weather the miniature tree is moved to a shady spot and a potful of something seasonal replaces it - a scented-leaved pelargonium or a shallow half-pot filled with succulents.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Gardeners World.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Gardeners World.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
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