Planning the Perfect Barbecue Garden

The sun is peeking out from the clouds and we’ve been lucky with the weather recently; with the World Cup and Wimbledon enticing us to gather our friends around and chill out in the sunshine, thoughts naturally turn to barbecues and eating al fresco.

If your lawn is crying out for some garden maintenance, and you’re embarrassed to invite the neighbours round because of  the weed colonies, you need to get cracking on beautifying it before the summer holidays arrive and the smell of burning sausages fills the air.

Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in; to start the operation, if you haven’t got round to it yet, clear away all of the mess from the spring (and winter). If you have a proliferation of mulchy leaves, get shot of them, and any other bits of mess that have landed on your lawn. Once you’ve tidied up, if you left the garden furniture out and it’s looking worse for wear, move it out of the way or at least into the garage/shed so that you have a blank canvas. You can tart the old furniture up later. Spend some time removing any extra garden furniture, garden tools, and weeds so you have a clear, clutter-free space to host your parties.

Is your garden the perfect design for a barbecue? Some shapes and sizes work better than others. You need enough room to host your guests (obviously) and space for a barbecue that’s big enough to feed everyone. Try a practice run; set a table up in the garden, and put the barbecue near the house, then imagine if you have enough room for people to sit down, mill around and (if inviting kids) play and run around. Experiment with the layout until you feel comfortable.

If you haven’t got one already, the next thing you need is a decent barbecue. You’re looking for something that’s easy to use (even with a beer in your spare hand) , will last you a while and of course, cooks food thoroughly. At this time of year there are plenty to choose from and you can get a great deal if you shop around.

You need decent garden furniture too; if you banished your tired looking deckchairs to the shed with their mould, invest in something a bit more durable. Plastic is always a good option because it’s hardy and lasts a while, or for a more sophisticated soiree you could look into investing in some wooden furniture. If you do go with wood, you’ll have to be more careful about looking after it than plastic, it will cost more and probably not last as long, but hey, it will look fabulous!

All you need to do once you’ve got that sorted is fire up the barby, crack open a beer and enjoy the smell of charcoal…