When summer comes around, people always rush out to the local shops or garden centres and start looking for ideas and items to enhance their gardens. Rattan furniture is now the most popular choice for UK households when it comes to furniture. Alot of people look to what they think will be durable metal ornaments and decorations. Others will look to play it cheap and go with plastic for everything.

But, have you ever thought about looking for items made from bamboo??

Its no secret that the UK summers seem to be getting shorter and shorter. This is not just down to the weather but also because people just don't seem to have the free time to spend outside like we used to. Work, families all contribute to what is now a very stressful and fast-paced society.

Winding down in your garden during a nice hot sunny day is a great idea. Sitting around, getting some important vitamin D from the suns natural rays is a dream come true for many. So how can we use bamboo to help make this enjoyable.

Create a party space for all

Having friends and family over to help you enjoy the summer weather is a great idea. But ensure you have the space to do this and that you set the atmosphere correctly. Everyone loves the natural looks when it comes to the outdoors so take this into consideration when you start setting up your area.

Do you have a bar area? This can bring a very focal point to any garden space. Instead of looking for a solid wooden bar, or even building one from bricks and concrete, why not look for a bamboo tiki bar? These look amazing and offer a great robust bar area as well as storage for your drinks and snacks.

One of the obvious choices for your garden is a parasol. I bet almost every household will have 1 for their garden. I would say that most are made from polyester and aluminium as well. Hmmmm, have you ever thought of a bamboo parasol? When you go to the Caribbean what do they have on the beaches? Exactly!

So why not have a shop around and bring some natural eco friendly materials into your garden while adding that amazing look and feeling! Your friends and family will be amazed!

Bamboo garden furniture

Garden furniture is always one of the biggest investments in your outdoor living areas. This can be a driving factor to start looking for some ofthe cheaper plastic alternatives. But this really shouldn't be the sole reason. The damage that we are doing to our planet with plastics and wooden products is a long term disaster that several generations will have to work for to repair. So lets start doing our bit by looking at these eco friendly alternatives now.

With bamboo being so versatile for design and strength, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding some beautiful garden furniture. With bamboo being stronger than most woods, and most metals, it makes a great choice to use it for garden furniture.

Enhance your garden landscape

Tidying up the garden area ready for summer is an important stage of getting the area ready to enjoy. Have you ever thought about bringing in some bamboo accents to your garden at the same time?

Do you have that messy corner of the garden where you keep your compost bin, or your old wheelbarrow just in case it comes in handy? me too, but in my garden that's no longer visible to my guests. Simply erecting a small bamboo screen around this area has hidden the mess that I don't ant people to see as well as giving it a smart attractive look. Adding in some subtle bamboo screening can really make a difference.

Do you enjoy sitting around in a peaceful garden and enjoying the sound of nature? This can be extremely soothing. Ever thought about adding some natural bamboo wind chimes into this? Wind chimes can be even more relaxing that the sounds of nature themselves.

Ambient lighting

Evening times in the garden can be some of the best times of all. Most people will look to put up some electrical lighting or maybe have some nice stainless steel torches around their garden. These are great, but have you ever considered bamboo torches, or tiki torches as they are sometimes known? These are far more eco friendly and will offer that continued natural look to your garden.