Fall Doesn't Have To Mean Inside: Enjoying Your Outside Space This Season

It’s still Fall, and so you still have some part of the season ahead full of colorful leaves, cinnamon spice lattes (my personal fave), and cozy nights in watching movies (another personal fave). Like me, you’re probably just as tempted to get into your warm PJs every night and sit in front of the T.V (maybe next to a fire) and settle with staying inside and as warm as possible. 

However, this also means our outdoor spaces get neglected, and they’ll have seen better days by the time the better weather rolls around again. Therefore, it might be time to think about utilizing your outdoor space a bit more over autumn and embracing the cool crisp air with your family, pets (who are also family, right?), and friends, even if it’s just to send summer off in style and welcome Winter. The backyard is also a great place to enjoy hot coffee on a nice cool autumn morning, games that include diving into piles of leaves if you have that kind of space and tree, and enjoy reading the paper or a book in the fresh air.

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With so much wildlife and the beauty that comes with the change in seasons; and if you live in that sort of environment you won’t want to neglect and forget your garden aka outdoor space. Therefore, now is the perfect time to ensure you can maintain it through autumn and winter, and utilize the space all year round. Get your notepad and pen ready and start thinking about how our outdoor, front or backyard area will remain a great place to hang out during the upcoming months. Just because the weather is getting colder and the days aren’t as long; you don’t have to reject the outdoors and stay inside every night. 

Fall is actually the perfect chance to invite loved ones over for a BBQ in your beautiful cozy outdoor space. You can create some delicious food, and enjoy the crisp air as you chat the day and evening away with those who you love the most. The following are a few tips and ideas in making and getting the most of your outdoor space during these colder months so that you can get outside as much as possible.

A Social Environment

The best way to enjoy and utilize your garden more is to create an area that you can chill out and relax with friends, eat or enjoy a drink in the fresh air, and generally add another room to your home. Therefore, your patio and decking (that you totally cleaned up, right?) should become a place to focus your efforts. Look into garden furniture; a table and chairs, and maybe some comfy seating will ensure that you’re tempted to hang outside more. You can stock any storage space with warm throws, blankets and scatter cushions; perfect to bring out during a garden party or BBQ. Speaking of barbecues; keeping yours clean and maintained all year round will allow you to cook outside more often and will encourage you to throw that New Year’s fireworks display you’ve been thinking about. Invite your favorite people over, pop a patio heater on, and light up the BBQ.

Ask everyone to bring a bottle of something they want to drink, or perhaps a dish to snack on or accompany the barbecued treats. Whether it’s a plate of your aunt's Jamaican beef patty recipe, a selection of side salads, or a bottle of cider for you to mull; focus on the company and the environment so that you can make the most of all the delicious stuff too. Autumn and winter bring longer, dark, and colder nights; therefore, the lighting and any heat you can provide in your outdoor space will make a great addition to the space. Solar power lamps are an economical way to light up the space around your lawn, and festoon light or outdoor string lighting will give your garden the party vibes all year round, not to mention a Pinterest-worthy aesthetic. Patio heaters and fire pits will bring plenty of warmth to your shindigs or evenings outside; they’ll also provide another source of light, and perhaps a place to toast marshmallows too. 

Even if you’re not in the mood to throw a get-together; you can still invest in a bench or an outdoor seat (which we recently added to ours) that you can wrap yourself up in, and enjoy your morning coffee as you watch the sun come up. If there’s a particular area of your garden that you’re proud of; pop a seat in front of it or nearby and enjoy the view more often.

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An Organized Space

An easy job to do for your garden space is to get out there and tidy up! Sweep and rake-up any leaves that have fallen (these will make a great pile, perfect for jumping into), and get rid of any twigs, branches, and other garden litter that can make a mess. Even better; if you get a dry weekend, you could mow the grass and trim the edges of the lawn. All that garden equipment that’s been lying around, cluttering up your outdoor area will also need a home, so it’s worth investing in garden storage to keep the space neat and fresh.

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Depending on your budget; you could pop up a tiny shed, that will house all the items that only get utilized during the warm weather. Or, you could put up a structure that you can both store items in, and spend time inside, like a summer house, or garden office. If you don’t want to replace hedges and fences; it’s worth updating them with a trim, or a coat of paint or wood stain. Fix any gaps or hole in wooden or brick divides; this will instantly uplift your garden space, and you won’t be embarrassed to invite guests over to hang out and watch the new year fireworks or enjoy a winter BBQ. Pulling out dead plants, broken pots, and weeds, is another way to tidy your outdoor environment; sweep your patio or decking areas too, and you’ll ensure your garden looks shiny and new for any get-togethers, or when you just want to chill in the fresh air.