How to turn your garden into a social success

This is a guest post by Rattan Direct who believe the garden is a versatile space, a place of calm and tranquillity but also the perfect venue for welcoming family, friends and neighbours. And they have the furniture to make it a successful socialising spot.

What does ‘social success’ mean? Does it mean a party den, a place to dine and entertain or does it mean turning over your flower beds to grow vegetables and fruits for the community? It means all of these…

Your garden is an extension of your home, a space that in its own right, offers you so much. A place for the kids to play, a space to enjoy the sun when it does finally shine whilst crops grow and seed in the borders.

But how can you turn your garden into a ‘social success’?

Make it an entertaining space

Just like the interior of your home, your garden can be the perfect location for a garden party or even a formal dinner party.

However lush and green your lawn may be, the human mind needs a little more encouragement to be able to understand the familiar sight of it being a place to eat.

And that means creating a ‘dining zone’. You can do this in many ways, but many people create a patio, decked or flat area of the garden and mark it out as a ‘zone’.

A pergola with fragrant blooms climbing up it make for a pleasantly scented backdrop for any dining experience, including the must-have annual neighbourhood BBQ.

Invest in high-quality furniture, such as Rattan Direct’s garden dining sets, a few accessories and lights to create a pleasant dining area.

Make it a play zone

Modern life is stressful. And thus, we need to be practical, pragmatic and organised with a solid routine and schedule to keep life ticking over with no drama or fuss.

But we need to kick back. We need to fight our way out of the shackles of routine and play. We associate play, however, with children but there is research to suggest ‘play’ is an integral part of being an adult too.

Release your inner child by seeing the garden as the place to play. From enjoying a splash about in one of the large family swimming pools on offer from time to time to picnicking on the lawn and just generally enjoying the space.

Of course, the best way to play, kick back and relax is to invite others to enjoy it as well. Extend the invitation to family and friends to enjoy an afternoon and evening of ‘play’ in the garden.

Social gardening

Not a new concept, social gardening has been something that has ebbed and flowed over the years, usually in relation to the price of food. When prices are high, people turn to growing their own but the 21st–century concept is not fuelled by money alone.

Whole communities are turning to social gardening as a means of connecting with one another but also as a statement.

Intensive farming methods and modifying crops to make them more resistant and hardy are all well and good when it comes to feeding the world but we are realising that this is no longer sustainable.

We can’t keep gorging on food and then throw it away. This, coupled with concerns about rising obesity in Britain, is the backing of social gardening that means it looks like it is here to stay.

From leafy cul-de-sacs to suburban avenues, gardeners and families, neighbours and friends are sharing their garden space, growing different crops across a spectrum of green spaces. Included in some social gardening projects are chickens for free range eggs for the neighbourhood too.

Is sharing gardens with others a concept your local community would enjoy?

A neighbourhood tea party

But to socially share your garden in such a way, you need to know your neighbours. A recent report suggested that 50% of neighbours don’t speak to those that live next door to them.

Social media, said the report, has allowed people to withdraw and live in a bubble with people that they know. Thus, to be a social gardener, you need to get to know your neighbours.

And what better way than a garden party? Genteel affairs, the garden party can be held on a sunny afternoon, with plenty of cake, tea and coffee, and plenty of chit-chat at you get to know those people who live around you.

The garden is a truly delightful place. Full of wildlife that we rarely notice or see, it could also be the place we get to know people, relax, play and grow our food too.