As the weather gets warmer thoughts turn to cleaning the BBQ and tidying up the garden. It is time to invite friend round for impromptu lunches that turn into evening soirées sipping wine long after night has fallen. The children are bumbling around somewhere filling up on crisps and (hopefully) strawberries.

I try and make the garden an extension of my home and blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Furniture that can be left outdoors over winter is worth the investment. When I renovated my house I had a loggia built which means we can be sat outdoors in all weathers. Cushions and throws make it cosy for relaxing days reading the paper. Kirkby and Thibaut do a selection of fabrics of all colours that are suitable fo

Lighting is essential as dusk falls. I like to pick up odd lanterns on my travels and have them scattered around the garden- usually in twos or threes. There are from Costco and have little LED lights in them on timers. A bargain at £12 for the three. I wish I’d got another set! Cox and Cox is a great favourite of mine for welcoming accessories that make your garden feel as if you’ve been there for years.

As the weather gets warmer thoughts turn to cleaning the BBQ and tidying up the garden. It is time to invite friend round for impromptu lunches that turn into evening soirées sipping wine long after night has fallen. The children are bumbling around somewhere filling up on crisps and (hopefully) strawberries.

I try and make the garden an extension of my home and blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Furniture that can be left outdoors over winter is worth the investment. When I renovated my house I had a loggia built which means we can be sat outdoors in all weathers. Cushions and throws make it cosy for relaxing days reading the paper. Kirkby and Thibaut do a selection of fabrics of all colours that are suitable fo

Lighting is essential as dusk falls. I like to pick up odd lanterns on my travels and have them scattered around the garden- usually in twos or threes. There are from Costco and have little LED lights in them on timers. A bargain at £12 for the three. I wish I’d got another set! Cox and Cox is a great favourite of mine for welcoming accessories that make your garden feel as if you’ve been there for years.

I talk about scent a lot in the home and I extend this to the garden. Tea lights (Waitrose do a great selection) scented with jasmine, lavender or geranium create an ambient mood. I brought an incense burner back from Seville to really transport me to foreign lands a s I lie back after a days gardening with my g & t.   Vanessa