the comfort of things
EVENINGS I N THE GARDEN
There are certain things in your home that are like old friends, they always cheer you up. This month we feel the love for sitting outdoors in the dusk
The extra hours of daylight you get at this time of year are not to be squandered. Remember winter when you got home in the dark and rose in the gloom, hankering for light-filled days that stretch lazily into the evening? Well, those days are here and they are a bonus that must be thoroughly enjoyed before they are snatched away. If you have a garden, you can use the extra time to catch up with a spot of deadheading before flopping on a sun lounger with a drink, waiting for the sun to set. A balcony offers a place to park a chair, a table and a convivial companion or two; even the back door step provides a perch to share a bowl of crisps and a bottle of wine as the day cools and night approaches. To boost your summer evening enjoyment, and to extend it further into the night, consider a few optional extras. Outdoor lighting is the most obvious. Even a candle stuck in a jam jar can add a little midsummer magic. Strings of festoon or garland LED bulbs strung from trees or looped over patios will add a twinkly, enchanted atmosphere. Hurricane lanterns housing tealights and positioned along a path will draw visitors further into the garden. Perhaps these lanterns will lead to a hot-tub, that most hedonistic of places to spend a summer evening, contentedly bobbing among the bubbles as as the stars come out. Or to a home cinema screen, lashed up between a couple of trees.
Light a fire, gather a few friends, and wait for the confidences, jokes – even ukelule playing – to be shared. To contain the flames, invest in a firepit or a brazier (see right) and keep it loaded with logs. These are, of course, not to be confused with barbecues (that’s a whole other story) but more somewhere to toast marshmallows, connect with those around you, or simply to stare into the flames. »
“Light a fire, gather a few friends and wait for the jokes to be shared”