As we head into the heart of summer, more and more people up and down the country will be taking advantage of the improving weather and spending time outside in the garden. For some, that means tackling the weeds, mowing the lawn or carefully curating the vegetable plot. There are plenty of benefits to be enjoyed from gardening, but not everyone is a keen horticulturalist.

For some, the garden is a space for socialising, relaxing, or reading a good book. You don’t have to be a keen gardener to enjoy your outdoor area, and here are just a few other activities you can try that don’t involve getting tangled up in the brambles or wrestling with the hose pipe.

Host a barbecue

If you want to have a group of friends and family over for a meal but don’t have room in the kitchen, then a barbecue is the perfect way to feed them all with a minimum of fuss. You might want to encourage everyone to contribute something to the occasion – rather than supply all the vegan meat, vegetables, buns, and salad yourself – and it might be wise to ask all the guests to bring their own chairs!

Meditate

If a large group gathering doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, then perhaps you’d rather use your garden for a period of quiet reflection. There might be a particularly sheltered corner where you can take yourself off for a short while, sit down and clear your head. The psychological benefits of meditation have been well publicised, and you may even want to try a spot of yoga to stretch the muscles out after a hard day at work.

Create an outdoor eating area

Does your garden get the evening sun? Perhaps it catches it first thing in the morning, just as it creeps above the horizon? Either way, you might want to think about creating an outdoor eating area where you can sit down, relax, and tuck into some of your favourite meals. The installation of a wooden deck or a stone patio will require you to spend a bit of money so you may need to assess your financial options before you start making plans to revamp your garden.

Invest in a hammock

When the sun’s beating down, there’s nothing quite like taking the weight off your feet and getting comfortable in a horizontal position. Most people will lay a blanket down on the grass and get settled, but why not take it one step further with a hammock? By suspending yourself in mid-air, perhaps with a good book or your favourite drink, you might even feel like you’re on holiday!