8 TRICKS TO SPRUCE UP YOUR PATIO

Watch any makeover show and you can be sure that, at some point, the garden will be referred to as ‘an outdoor room’. Well, soon, our gardens won’t just be any old room, they are going to become our outdoor dining rooms. So here are some clever tricks to prepare yours for a garden gathering. 1 IF YOUR patio or decking has turned an unappealing shade of grey, now is the time to get out the jet washer. If you don’t have one, you can hire a machine by the day from companies such as HSS hire, hss.com/hire. Use it to carefully clean outdoor furniture and garden pots, too. 2 WITH little colour out in flower beds, combine miniature daffodils, hyacinths and grape hyacinths with heathers, pansies, primulas and heucheras (which have attractive leaves in shades of brown, russet, orange and lime green) to create stylish containers.

This will brighten up your garden on even the dullest day. When the bulbs have finished flowering, plant them out in your garden; they’ll bloom again next year. 3 GARDEN centres will soon be stocking pots of tulips in bud, which you can transplant into your own containers and wait for them to flower. Tulips look beautiful on their own, or in combination with bright blue forget-me-nots.

In late April and early May, look out for other container plants such as cineraria, nemesia, verbena, fuchsias and pelargoniums — though keep an eye on the night-time temperatures, as these plants could be vulnerable to a sharp frost.

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HERBS are great plants to have on the patio, or even in small pots on the table.

What could be nicer than inviting guests to pick their own mint leaves for a glass of Pimm’s, or letting everyone help themselves to fresh basil to garnish a tomato and mozzarella salad?

Pots of herbs are readily available in local supermarkets, at garden centres or online; pepperpot herbplants. co.uk has a great range.

No-fuss herbs include marjoram, sage, rosemary, chives and all kinds of mint, such as chocolate, peppermint, lemon, orange or apple. Do keep your mint confined to a pot as it spreads like wildfire if planted in the ground. 5 A NEATLY mown lawn will instantly make your garden look smarter. If you’re short of time, just trim the edges of the grass. Cordless shears (like ones from stihl.co.uk, £109) make the job much quicker. 6 MAKE the most of any sunshine by placing your table in the brightest spot in the garden. If your plot gets lots of morning sun, think about entertaining over breakfast or brunch. If your garden faces west and basks in afternoon sun, having friends over at teatime would work well.

As long as your table isn’t too heavy, move it around so it’s in the best position. If the weather turns cold? Have a stack of cosy blankets to hand to your guests. 7 FOR evening entertaining, soft lighting makes all the difference. If there’s no electricity supply in the garden, candles and tea lights give off a lovely mellow glow.

There are also many solar lights on the market, from retro lightbulbs to hanging lanterns (festive-lights.com has cute spiral ones, £19.99 for four). To make your garden look truly magical, twine fairy lights through shrubs or even round pots. There are pretty batterypowered firefly lights for £6.99, from amazon.co.uk.

And dress up trees with hanging paper lanterns (prices start at £1.20 each for the lanterns, and LED lantern lights are £19.92 for ten, from paper lanterncompany.co.uk)

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ONE CHEAP way to give your whole garden a lift is to give a fresh coat of paint to fences and sheds. Dark grey or black are the best colours for fences, as they give the illusion that a garden has no boundaries. If you have a wooden garden shed, why not paint it in alternating stripes of colour, such as green and yellow, or cream and blue for a fun beach-hut look.

CONSTANCE CRAIG SMITH