A bench and a slightly wobbly table used to be adequate for sitting and eating outside on warm days. Now the vogue is to turn your garden into a sophisticated outdoor living room, with rugs, cushions, scented candles and fire pits.
Lockdown has forced people to use every inch of their homes to accommodate work, education, exercise and leisure. Since the “stay at home” order was issued on 23 March, retailer John Lewis has seen a 63% rise in sales of its outdoor range, with barbecue sales more than doubling compared with a year ago. Some homeowners are going further and building outdoor kitchens, with fridges, ovens and sinks.
“Outdoor living rooms are not a new idea, but it’s definitely a huge thing for 2020,” said Ann-Marie Powell, a garden designer. “People are desperate to utilise whatever space they have at the moment, from a big garden to a tiny urban balcony, to help them stay sane in lockdown.”
Lockdown, the closure of garden centres and the sunny weather have also combined to create a record demand for seeds, up more than 250% – and a surge in online requests for advice to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). But garden enthusiasts will be denied an important fixture of the horticultural calendar this week as the Chelsea Flower Show moves online.
For the first time since 1913, apart from during the two world wars, the show will not take place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital this year. Instead, its website will host experts and designers showing off their own gardens, offering advice and demonstrations, and answering questions from the public.
Nikki Tibbles of florists Wild At Heart started working on her first garden for this year’s show more than a year ago. “Everything is ready to go, all the plants are perfect. It’s incredibly disappointing that it won’t see the light of day,” she said.
