What Makes A Garden Space Comfortable?
When you think of a garden, what immediately pops to mind when you imagine spending time in one?
Maybe a load of bees and wasps buzzing around? It’s not exactly a comfortable image, but it’s something you have to deal with when spending time outside!
Maybe you imagine yourself laying back on a recliner and sunning yourself, and being able to move to the shade when it gets to the middle of the day?
And maybe you also think of yourself eating al fresco surrounded by your loved ones? It’s always nice to have friends and family over for a BBQ or a pizza night - especially if you can cook the pizza in an outdoor oven on the patio!
But no matter what you imagine, it’s clear you have a very good grasp of what makes a garden space comfortable for you. And that’s something we’re going to examine in further detail below.
After all, you can make all of these thoughts a reality, but you’re going to need to put some work into the garden in order to achieve them. So, without further ado, here’s what needs to happen to turn a garden space into a comfortable outdoor room.
Plants You Actually Enjoy
What kind of plants do you like to look at? Make sure you have a few types to choose from when you’re answering this, as these are the seeds you’re going to go out and buy right now!
Indeed, a comfortable garden has the plantlife you enjoy blooming all over the place. It doesn’t matter if there's ‘not enough’ of an aesthetic going on - if you like the look, that’s all that really matters.
So make sure you have petunias all over the window boxes, if that’s what you want to see growing. Make sure there’s some ivy creeping its way up the back wall of your home, if you really enjoy that kind of look. And if you love the sight of sunflower patches pushing their way out of the bushes, be sure to look for some sunflower seeds or starters whenever you get the chance!
Your garden is about your comfortable experience and no one else’s. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about what to grow this year, and be sure to cut back and pull out any plants that haven’t been hitting the mark for you thus far!
A Shaded Deck to Spend Time on
The summer sun is lovely. It’s what we wait for all year long after a long winter and a dreary autumn, as well as a mild and cold spring. By the time the sun gets round to showing its sunny rays, you’re going to be keen to soak up as much of the warmth as possible. It’s only natural to spend as much time as you can completely uncovered underneath the open blue sky!
However, there also comes a point when it’s not only too hot for this, but it can be dangerous for you as well. Preparing for this point ahead of time is key. After all, you don’t want to have to set up a shaded deck to spend time on during the middle of July when it’s too hot to try and work.
Get it done now, use it when you need to, and you’ll be much happier and comfortable out there in the garden. And if you haven’t the time or the skills to set up a properly shaded deck by yourself, you can rely on a veteran-owned deck construction company for a job like this.
Remember, experienced tradespeople in your local area will usually work best with the soil and space you have on offer. Plus, they tend to understand the average amount of sun exposure and how this moves throughout the day too.
Space for You and Wildlife Too
Your garden will have some wildlife crawling around, and there’s really nothing that can be done about that. Indeed, you shouldn’t look to remove this wildlife either, as their presence is a sign you’re doing a good job on your garden.
The more bugs there are flying around, and the more little critters you’ve got nuzzling under the fences and building nests in the sidelines, the more biologically supportive your garden space is.
You can do things to limit the contact you and the wildlife can have though, of course. Firstly, make sure there’s space for both sides of the equation. To begin with, if you’re going to be sitting out in the sun, don’t place your sunlounger right next to a suspected wild bee’s nest!
You can also make some areas of your garden more wildlife friendly than others, which makes it much more likely that wildlife will stick to that side of the garden. Encourage habitation in these areas, and provide materials for critters to use, and then strip these back on the other side where you want to spend your time.
A Flowing Layout
When garden design makes sense, we feel all the more pleasant for it. As such, try to think about the way your garden’s layout flows, and whether or not it’s good for the space as a whole.
After all, if it’s difficult to get up the pathway toward your shed, because there’s a lot of overhanging plants on either side of the slabs, something needs to be moved!
You can’t safely and quickly move from one spot to the other without being slapped by overgrown branches or being buzzed around by insects, and that can really ruin the experience you’re after here. It’ll probably be better for everyone to uproot these plants and move them elsewhere!
Lots of Color
Color is an absolute delight when it’s out in the garden. The more color you can see, in as many vibrant and strong tones as possible, the better you’re going to enjoy your garden.
Whether this means you go all out for shades of green, or you mix and match purples, pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows together, go for it! Once again, this is your garden you’re trying to make comfortable, and that means opting for the color palette that suits your tastes.
You’ll want to ensure you’re investing in plants that have the naturally occurring colors you’re after, but be sure to assess if they’re suitable for growing in your area too.
Some plants just aren’t right for the type of soil you have out there, and that’s a tragic thing to find out only when it’s too late. However, that can be a little nugget of information that’s easy to miss, so read seed packets and care instructions carefully before you actually buy!
Being Able to See Where You’re Going
Finally, let’s think about the lighting aspect of a garden. If you’re going to be spending long hours out there, and into the evening as the sun goes down, you’re going to need illumination all around. A comfortable garden lets you see where you’re going and what you’re stepping on along the way!
Even in the summer, when the daylight hours are longer and you’re likely to still have natural light until 9pm at night, you need outdoor lighting on your side. You can set up a motion light in the yard somewhere, if you’d like an extra layer of security on your garden, but be as diverse as possible here.
That could mean you put some solar lamps down along the pathways, to ensure there’s always a strong source of light around the actual walkable areas. These lights absorb the power they need to last during the day, and you don’t have to wire them in, find batteries, or keep them away from water in order to work.
It could also mean hanging lanterns from any posts in your garden. Fence posts are good for this, especially if you can string a few smaller lanterns together to fit their way around a few panels at once.
Outdoor string lights are also good if you like this idea, but you may need multiple sets depending on how far you want them to stretch and how many structures you want to hang them from. If you’re going to buy just the one box, be safe and invest in two!
Make Your Garden Space a Comfortable Place to Be
Do you want to spend more time in the garden this summer? Then let’s make the space a very comfortable place to be!
The more time you spend outside, enjoying the sun and getting some air into your lungs, the healthier you’re going to feel throughout the year. Of course, it’s not always appropriate to be outside considering the weather conditions, but on the good days, you should have a space that’s right for you!
So make sure you have plenty of room to enjoy, with a shaded deck to retreat to, a flowing layout that provides plenty of aesthetic pleasure, and pack the space with plants you actually want to see grow!
