With Spring quickly approaching, how are you planning to spruce up your garden?!

Garden parties have become increasingly popular as families explore safer ways to get together, creating fun “stay-cation” opportunities by transforming their homes, gardens, and even residential greenhouses into great entertaining spaces! Whether you enjoy hosting regular garden parties or gardening with your kids and grandkids, we have identified a few tips to help transform any garden into an outdoor oasis that your guests won’t want to leave!

1 | Creating Indoor/Outdoor Spaces Using Residential Greenhouses and Conservatories

Residential greenhouses and conservatories are beautiful architectural features that add visual interest to your garden and help prolong your growing season, but many overlook the fact they can double as fun, gathering spaces too! Filled with natural light, they create an inviting and relaxing atmosphere, making you feel as though you are outside while safely indoors. We often hear from our clients, while they adore growing their beautiful plant collections, they frequently find themselves inviting friends and family to gather inside the gardens too! Hosting garden parties, smaller friend and family gatherings, book clubs, and tea parties, not only are the views inside beautiful, but with the right placement of your greenhouse or conservatory, you can capture stunning views of the property.

2 | Create Spaces Outside the Greenhouse or Conservatory for Additional Activities

Hosting outdoor gatherings in the garden are great because you can take advantage of mother nature’s beauty for your décor and you can offer a variety of different activities for guests without a ton of set-up! If you have a conservatory or greenhouse, take advantage of the seating you already have inside and keep the food and beverages there to protect from insects. While indoors, the large glass panes will provide a comfortable place for guests to sit and eat but still feel a part of the outdoor activities. Larger activities such as popular lawn games, volleyball, and swimming can be planned as part of the landscape for any time use. When guests are tired of playing games in the yard, they can retreat to the comfort of your greenhouse or conservatory and enjoy a cool drink!

3 | Making Residential Greenhouses and Conservatories Beautiful and Functional

Planning the perfect garden is not just about having the most beautiful plants and décor, it has to fit your style of living also. Consider some of these functional and beautiful ideas for your conservatory or greenhouse!

• Want to create a Game Day party space? Consider designing a feature wall in the conservatory and mount a large TV as the focal point to plan your furniture around and catch all your favorite games. To enhance your experience, consider bifold conservatory doors to really open the space and allow for larger gatherings!
• Do you like to host cookouts? Create a beautiful outdoor bar and grilling station near your conservatory or greenhouse. These are great additions for gatherings away from the main house to enjoy nature’s beauty while eating uninterrupted by bugs and insects inside the conservatory. You may even consider adding a stone or brick fireplace as another focal feature to center your seating around.
• Envisioning a more cozy and intimate gathering space? For larger gardens, consider a tucked-away garden room! Imagine… wandering through the brush of your garden, down a narrow pathway, to uncover a beautiful, quaint outdoor glass jewel for you to slip away to. Conservatories and greenhouses in these settings are fun for book clubs and tea parties!
• Looking to have more adult activities? While having popular yard games such as cornhole and horseshoes are great to have, consider a putting and chipping green as a more permanent fixture! Not only it is fun to compete with your friends, enjoy practicing in the comfort of your own backyard before going out onto the course!
• Want to showcase your plant and art collections? Think about a few interesting, conversational pieces that make your conservatory or greenhouse stand out! You could add a living plant wall, colorful chandeliers or light fixtures that will reflect off the glass to create beautiful light displays, or even a water feature such as a fountain or waterfall to cascade down the wall!

For more inspiring conservatory and greenhouse designs, click the button below to view our digital portfolio!