Oa warm weekend in the middle of spring is all I need to start creating evenings in the garden. Not the usual lone potter around with a drink in one hand and a pair of shears in the other (we’re on the brink of the season of the dead, when the best ornamentals will produce a new flush if the spent flowers are removed). That’s very nice, but I’m talking about those longer evenings that transition from glorious afternoons to cozy outdoors.
I like to have fun outside. For one thing, it’s more practical: when I lived in a chaotic shared house in London a decade ago, outdoor parties were always preferred because cleaning never involved washing up. But it’s also more magical: there’s something about candlelight against a dark garden that you just can’t get inside.
I have organized small dinner parties on balconies where the best place to put your feet is on the railings. I even got engaged on my balcony, over buckets of champagne, all the folding table could really hold. The spirit—and the essentials—remain the same: candles in jars, food that will stand up to being eaten lukewarm, and good conversation.
A good table and comfortable seating will help people relax. I sacrificed a sunny flower bed for a sitting arbor last year and I have no regrets; it seats half a dozen people around an old chimney with a marble slab on top. Trestle tables and folding benches can be packed away when you want your lawn back. Vintage tablecloths that aren’t precious can handle spilled candle wax and add ambiance to an occasion.
Don’t worry too much about the condition of the garden. This may sound antithetical, but if the food and chat are good, no one will be looking; and after dark no one can see whether you have trimmed the roses or not.
More important is good lighting – so people can see where they are stepping – and the scent. Lights can range from wired arrangements nestled in the flower bed or on the walls (I like Pooky’s scope) or simply solar powered ones that you can move. Paper lanterns are cost effective and look pretty hanging from trees.
Containers with summer plants that pump out fragrance at night – such as Nicotiana sylvestris, sweet arugula, night phlox or star jasmine – placed around the doors and seating area can turn an ordinary outdoor dinner into a transportive event. Finally, keep blankets handy: No one wants to be brought inside when it gets cold—and cleaning up the living room with a hangover is boring.
Alice Vincent’s latest book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood, and Survival (Canongate, £10.99), available at guardianbookshop.com
