Entertaining in the garden is one of summer's greatest pleasures. Blue skies, borders in full bloom, delicious food and drink and all of your favourite people around your table. Whether it's a formal lunch or an impromptu barbecue, here's how to entertain in style this season with timeless furniture and accessories that make every gathering, big or small, feel effortless. Designer Annie Blackledge shows you how to create a magical summer dining table for a memorable al fresco feast.
Choose your spot
While indoor dining often has a formal edge, dining al fresco is an altogether more relaxed affair and the chance to be whimsical with your location and decor. Whether it's a picnic on a favourite rug, you're gathered around the pool or you're making a makeshift trestle for a bigger-than-usual crowd, outdoor dining is your chance to have some fun.
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"Think about where you're going to host in your garden," says Annie. "While it's handy to be near the kitchen and your fridge, proximity isn't everything and guests are always happy to pitch in carrying dishes to the table. Rather, choose the best spot in your garden, whether that's on a proper patio or under the shade of a favourite tree. A magical spot wins over convenience any day."
Annie suggests creating seating areas around your table with cushions and throws, so guests can relax after they've eaten. Or create a garden bar for guests to gather round. From loungers to recliners, bars to garden armchairs, there's plenty of options in our garden seating collections.
Set the table
Feasting outdoors calls for a layered tablescape which celebrates the season. Think flowers from the garden – roses, peonies, dahlias and cosmos make a glorious display – stuffed into glass jars and ceramic jugs, mismatched china, vintage glasses, linen napkins and candles in hurricane lamps.
"Start by setting out your place settings," says Annie. "Dining outside is the one time you can celebrate a wooden table without worrying about spills or condensation rings. But if you are, dress it with an oversized linen tablecloth and set out vintage-style cutlery, plates and linen napkins tied with sprigs of woody herbs from the garden – all equally spaced.
"Add wine and coloured water glasses, fill glass jars of different heights with flowers and greenery and leave space for tall candles, making sure they're not in the way of guests' conversation. I love our LED dinner candles – they're incredibly realistic and won't blow out.
"If your table is under a pergola, hang a large linen runner above to create a cocooning feeling of an outdoor room, and hang wicker lamps from the struts. If you're having to draft in extra chairs around the table, think about adding cushions that team with your tablecloth and napkins, and that will help pull your scheme together to make it look like one cohesive, considered whole."
Find tableware, serving dishes, cutlery, tablecloths, napkins and candles in the Holloways Gift Shop and Neptune store-in-store to help you host in style this summer.
Food for the soul
Whether your method of choice is a gas barbecue, you're planning to cook over coals on the fire pit or you've created an enviable outdoor kitchen, food always tastes better outdoors. Seasonal ingredients, big, bold flavours and a dash of theatre combine to create a feast that's delicious, convivial and memorable.
Neptune's new Broadway outdoor kitchen collection, showcased at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is the ultimate garden preparation station, cocooned in a timeless oak-framed barn crafted by long-time Holloways client Oakwrights. But however modest your set-up, it's perfectly possible to grill, sear and sizzle in style.
"Outdoor feasting isn't about formality," says Annie. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have an element of occasion. Surprise and delight your guests with a homemade summer cocktail and exquisite canapés as they arrive; spoil them with a considered menu of marinated meat, fish and vegetarian dishes that are elevated well beyond standard burgers and sausages, and make salads and dressings that steal the show. And if you can grow some of it yourself, then your guests will love you for it. A little effort goes a long way."
Take inspiration from the summer menus in our Glasshouse café, from a robust Italian Panzanella to a classic Caesar salad, and minted pea and chickpea burgers served with homemade pickles and beetroot houmous.
Make our Panzanella
Style and shade
Shade is a must for summer entertaining. Whether you're navigating yet another heatwave or dodging showers in less clement weather, a large cantilever parasol or pergola will keep the party going, whatever the weather is doing. Choose a parasol with a wheeled base, so you can move it around the garden easily. Ours come with covers, in shades of graphite or stone to match your garden furniture.
"Our pergolas are incredible," says Annie. "However big or small your garden, they're totally customisable with a combination of louvres and screens. The louvred roof, complete with a guttering system, is quick and easy to close if the heavens open, so you can focus on the food and your guests, stress-free. Our clients tell us they love them because they extend the season in their garden, from early spring right through to late autumn. They're like an extension of your home, without the hassle of planning permission. And you can take them with you if you move.
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