The Perfect Summer Garden

Summer is such a lovely time of the year isn’t it. Warm days, smiley faces, and lots of outdoor fun!

So it goes without saying that one thing I absolutely love about summer is spending time in the garden. I know it sounds corny, but it really does make me feel all happy and warm inside!

I love the times where it’s just my little family of four pottering around and tidying things up a little.

Mikey would be mowing the lawn or hacking back the branches of a tree and I’d probably be trying to control the girls as they get a little over enthusiastic about ‘helping out’ so end up swinging branches at one another and generally end up knocking each other over.

We’ll put the rugs out for the girls to have little picnics on, where they’ll sit and play with their dolls or sometimes just copy mummy and lie down and take in a few rays, whilst playing I-Spy!

I love it as the four of us sit together on the patio steps, with ice creams or lollies, or whilst trying to teach the girls that if they hold the pot of bubble solution upright – it won’t all spill out over the grass, and they’d still be able to blow some bubbles with it!

And I love watching the girls take an interest in the fruits, vegetables and flowers that we’ve planted, the birds that we feed and the insects which make it their home too.

It just makes me smile.

Another thing we love though is having friends and family over for social occasions.

Though more often than not, these ‘occasions’ are totally and utterly impromptu and unplanned! But sometimes though – these are the best ones too!

Sunny summers afternoons spent relaxing and chatting over a long drink or two, watching on as the kids play happily in a paddling pool; early balmy evening BBQs with bright and colourful salads, with a lovely minty pimms or an ice cold beer; and even later sunset ‘al fresco’ suppers with a bottle or two of good wine, a few lanterns and even the odd patio heater!

This to me is bliss!

We have a lovely group of friends, many of whom now have their own little families with young children.

Our children are all of a similar age, so they really do love nothing more than playing together and putting on shows or walking fancy dress catwalks for all their parents to clap and cheer at!!

Plus for us, staying in is pretty much the new going out!!

With small children it’s impossible to be out all the time, so to get around this little problem and to make the most of the summer – we just tend to spend time at each other’s houses instead. It’s just so easy, as this way, we know the kids are perfectly safe, they have a million and one toys to play with, there are drinks and snacks available on tap, there are perfect toilet facilities and even bedrooms if anyone needed a quiet rest or a snooze!

And, as we all well know, with happy and content little ones, comes happy and content mummies and daddies too!!

 

 

To be honest we’re pretty well equipped for parties too as in the bottom right hand corner of our garden is a decked gazebo area, just perfect for sitting out and enjoying the sunshine.

When we viewed the house a few years ago, this was one of the features which struck me most as I could just imagine living and entertaining in that house. It was lovely. The previous owners had a corner rattan sofa which looked so pretty against a backdrop of tall bamboo. It really was the perfect party setting so it was a winner for me!

Once we’d purchased the house, we sort of replicated the look once we’d moved in – though I think on a bit of a tighter budget! We also had to dig out all the bamboo and plant them in large containers instead due to it being the invasive variety which was unfortunately spreading into neighbouring gardens. It’s not grown as much as we’d hoped in these last couple of years, but we have our fingers crossed it matures back to how it was before – though obviously this time, a little more controlled.

I’ve also recently bought a large paddling pool and a slide to entertain the girls on those hot lazy summer afternoons, which is something they’ve already had a great deal of fun with.

But, one thing I’d really like which would almost complete our garden is a new patio table and chairs, and perhaps something else for the kids to enjoy too.

Our current garden table and chairs set is so old, it’s practically falling apart. So it’s most definitely time for a new one!

Thankfully, I was recently contacted by the lovely people at ASDA who have recently launched their summer #ASDAOutdoors campaign and therefore have a fabulous array of garden seating and dining furniture which has filled my little head with so many wonderful ideas, which would totally kit my garden out ready for even more fabulous ‘al fresco’ dinner parties and BBQs.

The items now on my ‘finish the garden Wish List’ are these little lot……

I’m a little undecided as to whether I like the classic table and chairs set or whether a bench and table would actually be rather fun. I also love the iron table and pair of chairs set, not exactly for entertaining the masses, but would be lovely to sit with Mikey under the tree in the dappled shade to watch the girls, rather than having to sit on a step.

I also love the pair of rattan round chairs as these would provide us with extra seating in addition to the corner sofa we already have.

And finally I have always wanted some sun loungers. Then at least this might deter the kids from jumping on me whilst just having to lie on a rug! Plus they look fab too!

And I have a feeling that Holly, Ella and all their little friends would rather fall in love with their own ‘dining and entertaining’ space too. Just how cute are these little products……

I think these items would make the garden the most perfect place to continue having lovely parties for our friends and family and make sure that both kiddies and adults alike will be perfectly happy and comfortable!

So, to us, our garden is full of happy memories and a place to enjoy and spend as much time in as possible, and once it’s all finished, they’ll be no reason not to sit out and enjoy it all the more!

What about you? What’s on your garden ‘Wish List’?

Written in collaboration with Asda and their #ASDAOutdoors campaign – but all words and opinions entirely my own