Social space at home is where you relax, entertain friends, or hang out with the family. A garden is usually the perfect place for a social space and socialising. Is yours?

You can host garden parties in the summer, play games and have meals al fresco. To help encourage this, it could be worth making a few changes to your garden space. Here are a few ways that you can make your garden a more social space.

Tidy it up

If your garden is an unkempt jungle, people won’t want to congregate out there. Make tidying up your first priority. If you’ve got a lawn, keep this mowed to a manageable level. Pull out weeds and keep paths swept.

You don’t have to get involved in heavy gardening – simply keeping your garden trimmed back could be enough to entice people out there.

Consider a patio or decking area

A patio or a decking area is a great way of designating a section of your garden as a social space. It provides a flat surface on which you can put lounge chairs and a dining table.

There are companies such as Stylemaster Patios who can build a patio area for you. Alternatively, you may want to take it on as a personal project. Similarly, it’s possible to build your own decking, although many may find it much more convenient to hire professionals to do it.

Encourage sports and games

Outdoor sports and games can help encourage people to have fun in the garden. Garden apparatus such as trampolines and paddling pools can be especially beneficial for getting kids away from the TV screen.

Meanwhile, you may still be able to find a way of encouraging adults to play games such as setting up a ping pong table or table football.

Make sure that these games are weatherproof – it could be worth covering them up with a canopy when not in use or folding them up and putting them indoors somewhere.

Install solar lighting

In the evening, people may not want to stay out in the garden if it’s pitch black. Plug-in mains lighting isn’t worth buying into – instead opt for solar lighting that will prevent trailing cables in the garden and be cheaper to run.

Companies such as The Solar Centre have an array of solar lights to choose from. These can be placed all around the garden to help illuminate the space. You can even buy changing colour solar lights for something more fun.

Provide some heat

Evenings in the garden can get pretty chilly. It can be worth investing in some form of heating that will keep people warm and eager to stay outdoors. You can buy electric patio heaters that also provide light, but these will use up energy.

A more sustainable option could be to buy a chiminea. This works by adding logs or coal for fuel. Sites like Chiminea Shop offer lots of products to browse and choose from.

For an even more dramatic garden feature, you could even build a fire pit. You could build one yourself or get a patio company to construct you one.