If you have decided you want to add some flowers and plants to your garden, the best way to start is by visiting your local garden centre. There will always be helpful staff on hand to give you the assistance you need, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Just let them know you are a beginner and you want something that is easy to maintain.

It is no secret that a veranda or other outdoor space can look sensational when various different plants are added to it. They certainly soften the overall look beautifully. Don’t aim for too much to begin with though; start with just two or three plants and see how you get on.

The best plants to try will vary depending on several things, including where you live, the type of soil you have in your garden and what type of weather you generally get. You also need to bear in mind which direction your garden is facing in, since this will affect how much sun it gets during the day in the summer months.

A good idea is to write down the answers to all these points and take them along with you when you go to buy some plants. That way the staff at the garden centre will know what to recommend.

Alternatively, you may want to liven up your patio with a number of pots instead of trying to fill an entire bed with plants. This is probably the easiest way for the beginner to get started. You can always move the pot if you need to in order to give your fledgling plant a better chance of finding the spot it really likes in your garden. In this case you can buy the type of soil your particular plant will like the most, instead of relying on what your garden can give you.

Think about choosing perennials if you can, because they will last longer and be more fulfilling for you initially. A good perennial may be a part of your garden for three years or more, whereas an annual will only be there for a few months. Perennials will give you the chance to tend to them and nurture them, improving your gardening skills and making your fingers a little greener than they would be otherwise!

Any garden is a learning experience, and you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself if your first few plants wither away and never really come to anything. Avoid going for the hardest tasks first and don’t try and grow anything from seed; there will be plenty of time later on for that!

We’ve all been out shopping and spotted something for the garden that we really like, and so we buy it on the spot. Unfortunately we haven’t taken the time to measure it or really think about where it will fit in! The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen to you is to plan your furniture carefully before you buy it.

The first consideration is how big your garden is. Do you have more than one area that you could use to place furniture in? Some people like to save their bigger pieces of furniture to use on their veranda or patio, as well as keeping another area of their garden free for something a little more intimate and peaceful.

In this case you might find that instead of going out and buying a brand new large garden table and chairs, what you actually need is a small bistro set for the bottom of the garden. By considering what your needs are you will find it much easier to organise your furniture in a way that will ensure it is used much more often.

The main rule is not to buy anything else until you know exactly what you have at the moment. If it helps, bring every single piece of outdoor furniture you have into the middle of your lawn – you might be surprised by how much you really do have! This is particularly the case if some items are kept in storage during the winter, or for most of the year. It isn’t uncommon to forget about some items altogether.

This exercise can also help you to see how various items fit in with the layout of your garden. For example, if you have fences all around the edges of your plot and you have stained them all green it might look a little odd if you have another shade of green furniture that clashes with it. Consider placing it elsewhere or re-staining the furniture if you can.

Don’t forget about other items of garden furniture as well, such as statues or bird tables. These all count towards the final look of your garden and you might find that the little oasis you are planning with that bistro set at the foot of your garden looks even better with a bird table placed nearby as well.

You should always consider all your options before arranging or buying new furniture for your garden, even if that means putting it in different places to see how it looks before making your final decision. This will take some time to do but the end results are well worth it, because you will end up with a garden that you love to be in.

But if you are fairly new to the idea of dining outside, how do you really make sure it goes with a swing?

Let’s assume first of all that you will be accepting your guests during the early evening. That means it may be light when they arrive, but dark by the time the meal is finished. Lighting is therefore a top concern, as you don’t want to be caught out running around trying to find some candles while the sun is going down!

Choose some elegant candles of a colour that matches any table linen you are using; white or cream always looks good if you are unsure. It also pays to choose ones that have a long burning life. Cheaper candles don’t tend to last as long and you don’t want to be up and down replacing them the whole evening.

If there are children present make sure the candles are well out of reach. The same applies with any patio heaters you might decide to use if it has a tendency to get a bit chilly as the evening wears on.

When it comes to the cutlery and crockery, some people have a separate set that they only use for outdoors. If you see this as a good excuse to treat yourself to a new set, then a simple white china design will always be a classic as far as style is concerned.

You also need to think about protecting any food from flies or midges, or any other flying insects that are about. If you are bringing the food to the table make sure you use covered dishes; glass lids are ideal so people can still see what’s inside. This will apply to both hot and cold food, and using a food warmer or hot plate to keep the hot food nice and warm during the meal is a great idea.

Obviously the best setting for a spot of outdoor dining is on a veranda or patio close to the house, since you will be able to bring food outside without having to walk too far to do so. Plan the practicalities of the meal in plenty of time so you can buy anything you need and set the table accordingly. There is nothing worse that having to rush round at the last minute trying to find what you need.

And of course once the table is laid and the guests have arrived, all that remains is to enjoy the good food you will be cooking. Make sure you plan your menu ahead of time and make anything that can be cooked and kept the day before if possible. It will give you less work to do on the day, and more time to enjoy the event itself.