3 essential autumn garden party tips

As the summer draws to an end and autumn approaches, there’s still loads of potential for enjoying leisure time in the garden. A bit of light rain and a wee wind needn’t put you off. Here are some cool garden party tips to help your outdoor life go with a swing even when the weather’s a bit dodgy.

Garden party tips 1 – Garden shelter

You know when it’s warm but wet? It’s perfect for outdoor fun but you need to keep the rain off. A garden umbrella is the bunny, and the bigger it is, the better. Some of the models we sell are absolutely HUGE, great for entertaining because you can fit a load of people underneath, either standing up, seated or at a table.

A 4m x 3m garden parasol keeps everyone nice and dry, for example this stunning large cantilever design. There’s plenty of room underneath for garden seating, as you can see, and it’s just one of a whole department full of beautiful cantilever garden umbrellas and parasols.

If an umbrella doesn’t ding your bell, think shade sails. How about this one, the Pacific Lifestyle 5m square sail shade in a lovely natural creamy colour? 5m square of shade gives you a really generous space to have fun under. We also have the same design in grey, an on-trend colour everyone loves.

We also have triangular models. It depends on the shape and size of your garden, and the area you want to erect the sail. Perfect for reliable shade and shelter that’s generous enough for a load of people to stand or sit under.

Tip 2 – Water resistant garden furniture

Maybe you’ve been planning to get yourself a modern water resistant set of garden furniture for some time. In which case, now’s the time! The garden dining and garden lounge sets we sell are made from a very clever contemporary resin material that looks exactly like real rattan. It often looks better than the real thing and the performance is a great deal better, especially in a wet place like the UK.

While real rattan vine unravels, stains, goes mouldy, cracks, breaks and loses its looks in a couple of years unless you’re very, very careful, a resin model looks good year after year left outdoors. All you need to do is stash the seat cushions somewhere dry through winter and when you’re not using them. You can buy special fitted covers for many of our models to keep the furniture in good nick for even longer and make the cleaning side of things even easier. A quick wipe down should do the trick.

Here are three of our customers’ best-loved garden furniture designs, all crafted carefully, made from top class materials, and designed with style in mind.

Tip 3 – A patio fire

There’s nothing quite so good as gathering around a real fire in the garden. It adds to the atmosphere, draws people in, creates a focal point, throws out beautiful mood lighting, and if you go the BBQ, fire bowl or chimenea route, you can even cook on it.

Some garden fires run on gas, others on charcoal or wood. A fire table gives you a double-whammy: a table to eat and drink at complete with a fire in the middle. Here are some photos to inspire you.

Bring out a load of warm fleece blankets and woolly throws for your guests to wrap up in and you’re all set for an event to remember. Add mulled wine or hot toddy and you’l be warm from the inside as well 😉