Not everyone has the luxury of acres of land where they can entertain their friends and family. Most of us will have a small and more than adequate garden for which we need to make the most of the space. You don’t need a massive amount of space to have fun and entertain. So we have put together some simple ideas on how you can maximise that space with ease.

One of the ways that we can accomplish the use of our space the best is to look at creating smaller zones or areas that have a purpose. Sometimes we just try to cram everything in and nothing ends up with a role or a feeling that it belongs where it is.

As an example, below are some of the areas that you could look to create

• Seating area
• Cooking area
• Relaxing area
• Gardening area
• Kids area
• Storage area
• Playing area
• Pets area

You don’t need to create all of these in your garden, most people wouldn’t have the space, but let’s explore a few of these further.

Probably the most important of the above list is the seating area. When you have friends and family around you will want somewhere where you can relax and enjoy each other’s company. The last thing you want to do is invite everyone around and then expect them to stand up.

Your seating area doesn’t need to be big. As long as you can accommodate some chairs and small tables or a dining table if you are cooking, consider that area done.

If you have children, they will also want somewhere to come outside and play, especially if they are younger children. You may want to give them an area of the garden where they have permission to get any toys out that they want as long as they stay in that area. This helps to keep the garden looking cleaner and more organised. It also helps when people are coming around and not having to navigate their way across your garden hoping they don’t step on the toys, or worst case the children!

Do you like plants? It has been shown that plants are 1 of the most important parts of the garden. They not only add colour but attract wildlife too. Their vibrant colours are usually followed by fresh fragrances that alone can help relax and invigorate you. If you don’t have flower borders, set up some pots and small planters around your garden. If you have large bare walls or fences, how about hanging flowerpots or even vertical planters? There are always ways to introduce flowers and plants into your outdoor life.

Our final tip for this article is lighting. During the day this is very difficult to do as natural light will dictate to you what areas are lit and which ones aren’t. But in the evening when the sun has gone down but the temperatures are still perfect for being outdoors, this is your time to shine!

You can set up small areas of the garden that you want to show off. Control this with lighting. There are great options available for lights. For our garden, we have string lights around the outside on the fence. This defines the space that we want to have for our entertaining area. We have some normal copper overhead lights for our covered patio area but then we also have some freestanding downlighters for the uncovered areas. These are great as you don’t waste light by pointing up at the sky!

We hope the tips above have given you some ideas to help you layout your garden area. By creating zones you allow different aspects of garden life to have a home and therefore keep things simple and organised.