How do you make your outdoor space inviting for guests?

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

We have many discussions here in the Community Center about our gardens (including this lovely post by @Robin4) and it is obvious that many of you cherish your outdoor space. I do too!

Whether you have a pretty garden filled with flowers or a modern terrace like the one in the photo, these spaces are often one of the highlights of your home.

How do you make your outdoor space attractive to your guests? If you don't have a garden / balcony / terrace, what kind of outdoor space would you have if you could?

I am sure you have some great tips and ideas! 🙂

Thank you,

Lizzie

[Alexandra316]

@Robin4I actually specifically said it doesn't need to be pristine: it just shouldn't look unloved. No one wants to sit on a deck with a bunch of dead plants. 

[Robin4]

@Alexandra316 Absolutely, I am sorry about that. I should have said...."I agree with you the property does not need to be .....blah, blah, blah". That was what I meant to say Alexandra.

I am sure it is related to age, the fingers get way ahead of the brain at times.

Your pots look fantastic! How do you keep them looking so good?? Mine start to get 'doggy eared' in fairly short order. I have a couple of massive succulents up the back of the block. I propped a regular kitchen house broom on one to give an idea of its size. It is more than a metre around and about 1.3 metres high but it doesn't matter how much love and attention I give it, the leaves tend look like it's been dragged around the back yard pot first.

Your point about light at night is a really good one Alexandra. With the summer coming on in your part of the world night time outdoor use will become much more prevelant and good on you for considering this for guests.

I have around 3,000 solar bud lights that run all around the garden. Unfotunately I don't have a good low light camera now to show them at their best in action but, everything is draped with them, the trees, the flowers, the paths....even the metal Alpaca!

Hey, yesterday we had our first good rain for the year. We had 29mm (1 .20 inches) and you can just about hear the garden slurping it up. Another week and it will start to look nice again.

I would love to see yours when you have finished your reno,s.....Is that a 'smartlock' I detect on the entry door? What has been your experience with it?

Cheers......Rob

[Alexandra316]

@Robin4 I'll tell you if you promise not to tell whatever division of the police is responsible for investigating plant murders: I just replace them when they start looking dodgy. I do try and water the baskets every day, but last summer was really dry in July, August and September and I just couldn't always keep up. Also, the flowery planters are right around the doors and windows of the flat, so I don't really want to be skulking around with a watering can if guests are in: it might give the wrong impression.

We do have a smart lock, one of the ones from Schlage because it's a brand I trust. It's paired with the Wink home hub, and it seems to work very well. We've had it in service for a year now, and it's still on its original batteries. I had also investigated the August system, but there were too many glitches reported for my comfort, especially if you use an Android phone rather than an iPhone. The thing I like most about the lock is that it allows us to accept last-minute bookings even if we're not there: as long as the flat is clean and ready to go, I can set up the code with my phone and they can check in right away. 

[Ashley197]

This is what our walk-up to the daylight basement apartment looks like, lit by strung lights at night. I think that when I am prepping for a guest, I should take pictures, because I quickly notice things I have accustomed to overlooking, like the empty pots on the left of this picture! 😉  Our neighbors used an old fence in their yard to create a recycled fence 5 feet from our AirBnB entrance (yeah.... ), which is why we have the reed covering up against it. I don't love it, but it was the best solution at the time (I'm all ears if anyone else has a solution that has worked well for you). 

The picture below is the front walk-up/around to the apartment is below. This was taken in summer, so it definitely isn't this colorful year-round, but I like to add bright ornamental cabbages in the winter and we have some glazed pottery that serves as "yard art" color. I would like to aim for a little more year-round color, though.  

[Robin4]

@Ashley197

You can blame @Lizzie for all these garden shots, she kicked this thread off with a reference to my garden!

What you are doing there is my sort of garden Ashley, nothing too structured, you are doing a great job there. We just go for lots of colour and there are great winter flowerers, just as there are summer...Pansies, Violas, Anterinums, various coloured bulb lillies, even good old Dianthus gets a winter gurnesey!

Summer is for Roses,  Daisies, mainly 'seaside daisies' around the rock areas, Salvias, we like lots of petunas and of course that blue collar flower the Geranium which you can see a bit of here....

The main thing Ashley is to make it random and interesting. Someone once said to me ..."I could sit here for an hour and not see the same thing twice" I got a real thrill out of that!

Here there is old concrete, brick, old railway sleepers, rocks, Lillies, Agapanthus, Native Hiubiscus, Roses and a bit of climber which is hard to keep under control. Nothing fights with anything else, it's a bit like a fruit salad, it all just goes together without looking too structured, apart from that bloody fence which is just about hidden now!

Cheers......Rob

[An-Maré0]

My garden is my let down. The drought in Cape Town caused that most of my lovely flower bed are gone. Currently trying to get enough succelents going, but it never give that cozy special feel - and worse if all - we got new neighbours that cut of all trees on their side leaving my space open and bare. Any instant plans/guidance will be welcome!

[Carin1]

I am so glad to have read this page . I have had a big project going up next door and my little yard needs a lot of doing. The grass is gone and I have looked into replacing it with artificial grass because there will be very little sun with this big wall next door and the big crabapple tree . It is very expensive and a big job to get the grass installed but it will look so nice and I will put plants around the borders . My guests have never stayed in the yard , they walk to the park or to the lake which is are close by. I am located in a big city and on a busy street with the lots of restaurants and my guests usually don’t stay longer than five days but I like to spruce up the yard for myself as well it’s nice to have a little bit of Mother Nature when you step out.