Have you noticed that since you’ve taken up gardening that you are doing more and more activities in your yard? Have you gone so far as to set up your garden area so that you can use it in several different ways?

The latest trends are of course for gardeners to set up their gardens into areas. One area is often set aside as an outdoor room and is used for dining, entertaining and relaxing. Another area might be for more energetic activities – a pool, a hottub area, or a small play area for the kids. Then of course the garden itself can be divided into any number or areas depending upon how large your space is.

How many of you have an area in your garden that has a patio or deck with an outdoor table, perhaps extra seating in the form of chairs or even a couch, a barbecue or an outdoor brick oven, lighting for the evening, and perhaps even a speaker system so that you can pipe music into your outdoor room?

Our yard is broken up into areas. One part of the garden is mainly for vegetables, but I do grow them with some flowers. The rest is an assortment of perennials and annuals. The garden beds boarder the edges of the yard, but stop in an oval 30 feet or so from the house. That’s where our patio area begins. In mid summer the area is screened by 3 to 5 foot tall plants so it’s very much like a room. We have our barbecue nearby and often entertain outdoors.

Our house is quite small so it’s been a joy to create this extra space. We enjoy it, our guest enjoy it – we’re all happy.