It sometimes feels as if our obsession with indoor-outdoor living could become one of the defining lifestyle trends of this decade. A few weeks back I stayed in a treehouse where the bath, kitchen, dining table and seating area were all exposed to the elements. It was magical … and impractical: my food got cold very quickly.
Still, my garden designer pals tell me they are awash with requests for outdoor kitchens. And who wouldn’t enjoy an alfresco pizza oven? It used to be typically British to endure a picnic by an A-road in a jumper. Now we wait for dough to char while lounging on an Ikea Skålboda armchair, wearing Uniqlo ultra light down.
But before you get to cooking outdoors, you need somewhere to sit. Garden furniture has long been one of my bugbears: the choices are so limited that I prefer to plump for vintage or use hard-wearing indoor furniture outside. Travertine tables, for instance, will put up with all weathers, so you don’t need to put them away at the end of summer. Check out Facebook Marketplace to look for a bargain.
Wooden furniture that has been pressure-treated is far more resistant to rot, so vintage finds will need to be weather-proofed with oil or paint at least every two years.
Plastic furniture – I’m thinking of all that fake rattan that has exploded into gardens in recent years – is hardier, but will benefit from a sponging down before the season starts. If you’ve been lured in by those Instagram photographs of cosy outdoor scenes dressed with rugs and blankets and cushions, know that you’ll need somewhere to stash those textiles at the end of the day: only the rugs made of recycled plastic will avoid mildew if left to face the dew and rain.
Any garden furniture will look stark without some good planting to nestle it into the garden. Big wafty things – whether in the ground, growing up trellises or in pots – will soften hard edges and play nicely with the light.
I chose a pressure-treated wooden arbour from Forest Garden for my garden, and have been training roses and jasmine over it. I’m also enjoying the interplay of Phlomis russeliana, Calamagrostis x acutiflora “Karl Foerster” and old-reliable fennel at the moment. All of these are pot-friendly and muddle along happily in my gravel-covered space.
For an easy budget solution, a mass of thyme and oregano in containers will smell heavenly as well as being right there when you need a cocktail garnish.
It’s worth remembering that even in the best years, the summer garden has to be packed away: solar lanterns, jumbo tongs and whatever is trending on TikTok all have to be stored in the colder months. Plants, meanwhile, have a convenient habit of dying back, going underground or staying politely where you put them.
Planting pictured includes erysimum ‘Bowles’ Mauve’ in Cor-Ten steel-edged border, rosemary ‘Miss Jessopps Upright’, Teucrium fruticans and stachys ‘byzantina’