Reinventing garden design

Whether simply rearranging the furniture or buying new lights, summer fun can last longer with these clever tips

As the trend for outdoor living contiues to grow, remember that there is no need to retreat indoors as soon as the nights begin to draw in.

The bright, light nights of June and July may be fading into memory, but that’s no reason to abandon your outdoor space just yet.

Scottish September evenings can be just as warm as summer and a few finishing touches to your outdoor space will ensure that you can experience al fresco living right into autumn.

If you enjoy dining outside and like to chat into the wee small hours, think about investing in a fire pit or heater that will allow you to sit out when the nights get chillier – you could even make your seating area cosier with the addition of a few cushions or blankets or sheepskins in the style of a Scandanivian terrace.

Add some subtle lighting to hone the welcoming atmosphere.

There are great ranges of outdoor lighting available from cheap and cheerful solar powered fairy-style lights to high end lighting that could be built into your patio or decking to stunning effect.

If the autumn air really is too chilly to bear you could retreat into a summer house or garden room.

These structures are becoming ever more popular and can serve as anything from an extra outdoor room to space for guests or a home office.

Style the room right and you will have the perfect place to unwind after a day in the fresh air.

For young families, the secret to a relaxing grown-up space may well lie in offering well thought out play spaces for the children. Offer them interesting and stimulating places to explore the garden and they are less likely to interrupt your well-earned rest.

Why not consider a den, tucked away from the adults, preferably in a shady part of the garden that will not suffer from high use with little ones coming in and out all the time.

To do it quickly, establish some shelter and fast-growing cover using plants such as willows.

For an improvised hideaway, create a simple teepee from willow canes pushed into the ground in a circle and tied together at the top.

If you want something prettier for next year, plant climbers such as clematis to climb up the canes in spring to provide flower cover.

A treehouse may be the ultimate den, but it can be costly and complicated to erect if you’re not a natural DIY-er, so you may be better off letting kids make their own den.

Leave a wild area for them to roam around in, preferably towards the back of the garden, but where you can keep an eye on them, providing a variety of twiggy sticks, plants and wood and let their imagination run wild. They can make their own camps using old curtains, old sheets, blankets and pegs.

Sandpits provide young children with hours of fun, whether you buy a plastic one with a lid on it or a more permanent fixture made from a circle of logs set vertically into the ground or perhaps from a cleaned-up tractor or lorry tyre.

Use sand that is sold specifically for playpits, as it is non-toxic and won’t harm children, animals, lawns or borders if accidentally spilt.

Public play areas and sandpits with high use tend to replace the sand annually, but it is not always necessary to do this if you keep the pit covered when not in use.