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5 ways to get your garden ready for spring and summer parties
With three bank holidays in May and the weather finally starting to warm up, it's time to start socialising outdoors.
A garden party is the perfect way to enjoy time with friends and family but with the long winter only just behind us, your garden's probably not in tip-top shape.
From the best bunting and top BBQs, to pop-up gazebos in case the rain decides to scupper plans, we've put together some quick and easy upgrades to make your next garden party unforgettable.
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1. A little decoration can go a long way
Adding simple decorations such as bunting, lanterns, fairy lights, tablecloths, or candles is a quick way to give some festive flair to your garden parties.
Put up bunting
One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to spruce up your outdoor space is to add bunting. Costing as little as £10 for 100 metres, it comes in several different colours and patterns so you're sure to find one that matches your theme.
While you can purchase it at lots of party stores, we've picked some popular online retailers below.
Hang fairy lights
If you're looking to lower your electricity bill but still want a garden that dazzles guests, try shopping for solar-powered garden lights.
In our testing on the best solar garden lights, three products earned a Best Buy: PowerBee Endurance solar string lights, Lumify USB Solar vintage bulbs and Lumify USB fairy lights.
Each earned our highest recommendation due to their year-round durability and ability to work in low-light conditions.
You can buy the Powerbee Endurance solar lights directly from PowerBee for £69.99; the Lumify USB Solar vintage bulbs from the Solar Centre for £69.99; and the Lumify USB fairy lights from the Solar Centre for £64.99.
Otherwise, you can check the pricing and availability for each model from other retailers below:
Fancy yourself as a master griller? Beware of the 7 things you're doing wrong when you barbecue.
2. Plan for all weathers
Britain isn't known for its sunny weather, so regardless of the season, it's always worth preparing for a sudden downpour.
Pop-up gazebos
Gazebos are perfect for mitigating any adverse weather conditions and you can pick one up for less than £100 in some stores. We've listed a few of the most popular online retailers:
If you're after something a bit sturdier or to suit a larger group of people, it might be worth renting a marquee from a local company instead.
Unsure of which gazebo to choose? Read our review on the best pop-up gazebos.
Provide shade with outdoor parasols
It's not only rain that can spoil a good outdoor party; too much sun can be uncomfortable, too. Parasols provide shade on hot days, and can help to prevent you and your guests from overheating.
When choosing a parasol for your patio, it's important to consider the size and shape of your space, the amount of shading you require – and whether you need to buy an umbrella stand separately.
Below are some popular retailers you can purchase garden parasols from:
Read our guide on how to buy the best sun loungers and outdoor seating to make the most of every sunny day.
3. Turn your garden into an outdoor kitchen
Being able to cook outdoors, before serving the food on a patio table, is a lovely way to create a social garden hub. But picking the right product is essential.
Choose the best barbecue
The most popular barbecue with Which? members over the past 12 months was the Aldi kamado barbecue, but it sold out quickly.
If you're after a kamado-style barbecue, we'd recommend taking a look at our reviews for the Big Green Egg barbecue, or Kamado Joe barbecues instead.
Otherwise, you could pick up one of our newest eco-buy barbecues: the Weber Pulse 1000, or the Cadac Safari Chef 2. Both of these electric barbecues were labelled as an Eco Buy, based on their energy efficiency and durability. They're also both quite portable, which is great if you like to go camping or for summer picnics.
How well does an electric barbecue cook, though? See our Weber Pulse 1000 and Cadac Safari Chef 2 reviews to find out.
Below, you can view the pricing and availability of our two newest eco-buy barbecues alongside the kamado-style barbecues we've tested:
See our round-up of the best barbecues to see which models we recommend, plus lots of useful buying advice.
Pick up a pizza oven
A pizza oven can be a fun way for guests to prepare their own food while hopefully taking a bit of the pressure off the host.
And you can use it to cook other things besides pizza: think of it as a wood-fired outdoor oven. You can bake fish and flatbreads, and even roast vegetables. Just remember that a pizza oven will generally cook at high temperatures, around 300-400°C, so you may have to use less wood or shorten the cooking times.
The Vonhaus Outdoor Pizza Oven was the most popular pizza oven with Which? members during the first three months of 2023. It has a built-in pizza stone, which gives it a better crust than if you baked it in the oven or on a grill, plus foldable legs and a removable chimney for easy storage.
Read our round-up of the best pizza ovens to find out how the Vonhaus fared in our tests.
You can buy it directly from Vonhaus for £160, or check pricing and availability from other retailers below:
Invest in durable garden furniture
You'll also need to think about having an area for your guests to sit and relax.
Tables and couches make an excellent addition to a garden or patio if you have the space. Outdoor pillows, blankets and foldable chairs are all good options, too.
Hardwood furniture such as teak and eucalyptus will last a long time. If treated with oil and stained annually, they should weather naturally. They can be expensive, though.
A rust-resistant metal set could be more cost-effective, but you'll need to store away the cushions during the colder, wetter months.
These popular retailers have a wide selection of garden furniture to choose from:
If you're still struggling to pick, see our guide on how to buy the best garden furniture.
4. Keep your guests entertained
Lawn games and outdoor activities are a surefire way for guests to have fun, while background music can set the tone.
Garden games
Games like croquet, boules, badminton, cornhole, or giant Jenga are all fun activities, as well as trampolines, water guns, or Nerf guns – all of which should help to keep your younger guests from getting bored.
If you need some inspiration, read our reviews on the most fun garden games to play with friends and family.
You can purchase a variety of garden games from these popular online retailers too:
Add ambience with music
One of the best ways to get portable, reliable sound in your garden is to use a Bluetooth speaker. Most portable speakers are built to be used outdoors, easily pair with your phone, and our best Bluetooth speakers don't scrimp on sound quality.
For your garden party, consider the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom wireless speaker – one of our top 50 products of 2022. It has an astonishing 22.5-hour battery life, so you won't need to interrupt the music to charge it halfway through your party.
Below, you can check pricing and availability from Amazon:
If that's not your style, you can read our expert wireless, smart, and Bluetooth speaker reviews instead.
Make refreshing drinks
Including a decent selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is vital at a summer party.
If you need help picking a bottle, read our guide on the best gin for G&Ts, or our review on the best English wines.
For low-alcohol alternatives, we asked our panel of experts to blind-taste and give their verdict on a selection of non-alcoholic botanical spirits.
Check which beers, spirits, wines, and zero-alcohol alternatives are on offer from these popular retailers:
5. Give your garden a spruce-up
No one wants to have a garden party while wading through overgrown weeds and tackling prickly foliage, so its probably worth investing in some gardening tools before you invite your guests over.
Which? member's most popular garden tools since the beginning of 2023 included the Spear & Jackson S2434 CR lawn mower, the Black & Decker BCSTA5362L1 grass trimmer, and the Stihl HLA 56 Long-Reach hedge trimmer.
These budget-friendly electric, cordless garden tools are definitly popular but our testing often shows that doesn't always equate to quality.
Read our reviews on each product to find out whether they're worth buying:
- Spear & Jackson S2434 CR lawn mower review
- Black & Decker BCSTA5362L1 grass trimmer review
- Stihl HLA 56 Long-Reach hedge trimmer review
You can buy the Spear & Jackson S2434 CR lawn mower from Argos as part of a bundle with a Spear & Jackson hedge trimmer for £250.
The Stihl HLA 56 long-reach hedge trimmer can be bought directly from Stihl without batteries from £225, along with any additional AK 20 batteries from £115.
You can check the pricing and availability of each tool and the batteries they need below:
If you're just after a mower, see the seven most popular lawn mowers on Which?