Do I need garden furniture?

[NextDoorToAlice]

I am due to have some visitors come for a few weeks in the summer time. They like to have their child outside as much as possible. Even if it's to sit outside. That all depends on the weather.

I had a bunch of camping chairs last year but I live with an aging mother and I think she likely has dementia. She dumped them all.

Now I am thinking, do I need some garden furniture for the summer so that the family can spend some time outdoors if the weather allows is.

I don't know what to get. I know I don't think I want that plastic type of ratten stuff. I am not keen on wood due to a lot of rain most of the time. I saw some nice aluminium kind of stuff online. However I don't have a patio and it's just a lawn. I don't mind placing anything onto the lawn.

Then I saw a nice bench too.

I like the idea of fold up furniture because that will be more portable but that is out of the question because it will likely get dumped by the old one.

For me, I think I could live without garden furniture but I am thinking about when visitors come to stay they might want to have tea/coffee/breakfast/lunch/dinner outside and even if it's just for the child.

I would either buy more camping chairs as they are easy to store or look at facebook marketplace and pick up a table and chairs cheap. You can always sell them on after if you do not want to use them after the summer.

I have a little 'bistro' set of 2 chairs and a small table. It is nice to sit out in the garden with a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) on a nice day, and on a warm evening we sometimes eat our evening meal out there. The chairs are plastic wicker on a metal frame and are comfortable enough to sit in for quite a while. Do you think you might use something like that yourself?

If not, then don't buy something especially for your visitors. If you can provide them with an old blanket of something to sit on that should be fine - if not then they will just have to sit on the grass.

A little kid would probably be happy with blankets etc on the ground if it’s dry. You could look on Facebook marketplace for something cheap/temporary

As they are staying a few weeks, it would be kind.

Have a look on Olio, Freecycle or Facebook marketplace - there's a lot there. (Easier if you can drive, admittedly.)

Folding stuff you could lock with a bike chain to stop your mum disposing of it?

Do you have a lockable shed or anywhere you could store some foldable furniture and keep it safe from your mother? (And is she really likely to dump a second set of garden furniture). Or could you get something heavy that she couldn’t easily move to dump?

I have a bench in one area and a little table and chairs in another. I love going and sitting in the garden. Look on eBay perhaps?

Tesco usually do those fold up deckchair type chairs on offer (albeit in the summer). I'd grab a few of them. Or else see if there is anything for sale locally on FB?

Do you have other outside space locally they can be directed to? If they are that intent on lots of outside space your garden may not be "enough"

As an aside, is your mother being investigated re: possible dementia? It may well make your life easier from a caring perspective?

I'd get some camping chairs their comfy, fold up easily and hold a drink. Or maybe find out if anyone you know have spare ones you can borrow