By Guest Blogger, Annie Button
If your home has a garden, a patio or even just a balcony, you will appreciate the benefits of spending time outside. Alfresco living is all about making the most of the outdoor space for relaxing and entertaining. Which is all very lovely when the weather is warm and sunny. But what about during the colder season?
The good news is that winter alfresco dining and socialising can be atmospheric and magical. Here are some ideas and inspiration to help you transform your outdoor area into a cosy haven for eating, drinking and socialising.
Creating the right ambience
Let’s start by cosifying your garden. Think about what changes you would need to make to your terrace or garden to enable you to enjoy spending more time lounging alfresco during the colder months.
- Start with weatherproof furniture, such as outdoor sofas and armchairs made from robust powder-coated steel or polyresin wicker that are built to withstand the elements. Invest in a rainproof cover and side screens to your pergola for extra protection. Finally, add lots of comfy cushions, pillows and blankets to snuggle into and you’re good to go for inviting friends over for a glass of mulled wine.
- For extra snuggliness, outdoor heating is a must. If you have the space, a fire pit is an excellent addition, perfect for sitting around with friends and particularly excellent for toasting marshmallows in style. Outdoor fireplaces or chimineas are an alternative to provide the warm glow of a real fire outside. For smaller gardens, patios and balconies, a mess-free electric or gas-fired patio heater can be used to do the same job.
If you want to enjoy cool, dark evenings on the patio, installing additional lights can add a magical touch. From path markers and landscape lights to wall lights, lanterns, hanging and string lights in endless designs, there are options for all tastes and budgets. For the most successful overall result, use a layered lighting design consisting of ambient, task and accent lighting fixtures.
Embrace outdoor cooking
They say that food tastes better outside – there are scientific reasons for this – so why not invest in some outdoor cooking facilities to make the most of alfresco dining through the colder season?
- A traditional fire or firepit isn’t just a decorative garden feature, you can prepare meals on it too. It’s like going back to basics cooking on an old-school campfire, just more refined and with all mod cons to hand. Suspend a tripod over the flames for a warming soup, stew or casserole in a cast iron pot, bake potatoes in tin foil, grill sausages or seafood. Then huddle around and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
- Don’t put the BBQ away at the end of the summer – your outdoor kitchen can stay open all year round. If you have the space and the budget, think about integrating a BBQ into a bespoke, fully functioning outdoor kitchen under the pergola or on the terrace, customised to your exact needs, giving you all the cooking facilities you have inside, but outdoors.
- If you or your family love pizza (and who doesn’t?), making your own has never been easier, thanks to the proliferation of pizza ovens for homes and gardens that virtually guarantee a professional result and authentic taste. There are freestanding, portable, indoor and BBQ-top pizza ovens including gas and wood-fired ovens available at a wide range of price points.
Appreciate nature’s gifts
The joy we feel when spending time outdoors is derived from our direct connection with nature. Make sure your garden planting has plenty of year-round interest and colour, so you can sustain and strengthen that bond at every time of the year.
- Grow decorative plants including winter bloomers and evergreens that create an attractive natural backdrop to your alfresco living area. Whether you plant up beds and borders or grow your flowers and shrubs in pretty tubs and containers on the porch, deck or balcony, your overall scheme will be most successful if you choose lots of variety in terms of height, colour, texture and impact.
- Whether or not you like cooking alfresco, having access to fresh herbs from the garden is always a winner. The same goes for homegrown fruit and vegetables. You don’t need to have an entire orchard or kitchen garden at your disposal. Even a pot of parsley on the windowsill or some tomatoes in grow bags will encourage you to eat in tune with the seasons. What’s more, you’re choosing local produce with a minimum carbon footprint.
If gardening is your hobby and passion, you will understand the huge benefits of homemade compost. It acts as a soil improver, mulch and growing medium. If you have enough space in the garden, it’s easy to set up a compost bin in a sunny corner and feed it with organic waste including food waste from the kitchen, green waste from the garden, cardboard and paper, pet bedding and much more.
Celebrate seasonal events
Autumn and winter events include some very regular and traditional events that give friends and family the perfect opportunity to gather in greater numbers. These can easily be imbued with an outdoor element that makes them even more special and atmospheric.
- Christmas / Festive Events
The ever quick run-up to Christmas is one of the most magical times of the year, so why not invite friends and family over for an outdoor gathering? With a decorated Christmas tree on the patio, a pergola covered in fairy lights, a crackling fire providing cosiness and hot chocolate or mulled wine for festive cheer, it’s a great time to remind ourselves of the good things in life. New Year is similarly a good excuse to spill celebrations out into the garden ready for midnight to strike.
- Other Seasonal Events
Many rural communities still celebrate the annual apple harvest in September. It’s a great outdoor event for all the family, with apple picking & pressing and enjoying harvest produce and entertainment. Why not have an autumnal garden party and have your own Apple Day? From fresh apple juice to mulled cider, apple pies and crumbles, baked apples and toffee apples, Apfelstrudel and Tarte Tatin, there are countless ways to indulge your guests.
October says farewell in style with Halloween, and a suitably themed garden party prepped with spooky decorations and creepy surprises will delight your guests in the atmospheric night air. Traditional party games such as apple bobbing and pumpkin carving are a must, as are prizes for the scariest fancy dress costumes.
With British Bonfire Night and Amercian Thanksgiving topping and tailing the month of November pumpkins become an even further food staple of festivities. Try our Zero Waste Pumpkin Soup to warm everyone up from the inside and don’t forget to save your pumpkin seeds for planting in the spring.
About the writer
Annie Button, a freelance writer who has written for various online and print publications, specialising in lifestyle, business, branding and career development, anniebutton.co.uk.
Images sourced from Deposit Photos