Any idea for this garden seating area?

[MariaDingbat]

We can't do much to our house this year (on mat leave) so for now the only place in the garden that a table and chair fits is in this corner. It feels a bit exposed and not very pleasant to sit in. Any idea how we can make it somewhere nicer to be? The compost bin will be moved very soon but otherwise I'm now sure. Cane screening along the inside of the fence? Pot plants? Outdoor rug?

And yes, it is where the bins used to be so that's why it's completely neglected.

Maybe a plant container that has trellis attached (I've just bought one to break up the expanse of an outbuilding I have). Then plant it with quick-growing climbing plants. I'd then have lot of pretty hanging baskets and pots of summer flowers, ensuring that some of them are highly scented (star jasmine? Nemesia?).

Also, perhaps a large outdoor mirror to give the impression of more space. The brickwork is nice.

Lots of pots and baskets on the walls and fence. An outdoor sofa instead of the table and chairs might be nice too. Strings of lights if you like sitting outside in the evening.

What about some hanging planting bags for the fence with training flowers. Like this …

Oh I love the idea of climbing and hanging plants on the fence, especially scented ones too! That's a great idea. We were hoping to plant climbers along the wall later in the year so might be abke to get some for here too. A trellis would give us a little more privacy and be nicer than the cane screens. Thanks everyone!

An outdoor sofa is definitely part of the plan, we just can't stretch to it this year unfortunately.

A mirror would be great but only if the wall does not get direct sunlight. relections from the mirror can cause fire (first hand experience of this) however i have one that is north facing under a tree so always in shade with no issues.
hanging and climbing plants would make it lovely I also like your idea of a outdoor rug

I'd also paint the chairs and table in a dark grey chalk paint and give you fence a coat of the same paint, just to bring some harmony of colours. Then just dress with lovely bright cushions, throws and a plant, which will pop against the dark paint. I think it will look lovely.

Morrisons had loads of climbers for about £5 last time I went in, so that might be a good idea. Also if you feel overlooked from the top too, maybe a sun sail for shade might add a bit of privacy and shade for sitting in. We have a lovely cream triangle sun sail and it looks great. We put rings on the wall of the house and garage to suspend it from.

My friend has done this, it's a shower curtain but looks great

The brickwork is nice is just needs softening up with loads of planting, get the biggest containers you can afford, small ones dry out in a flash in this hot weather and it's hard to keep on top of watering often enough.

Festoon lights or you can get some nice subtle solar downlighters for the walls which will look nice amongst climbers. Paint the gate, poss the table if it's wooden, can't tell. Nice wooden and canvas parasol.

Jobs a goodun.

I've never installed one, but vertical planters look very nice. I don't know how practical they are though?

@JeminaPudd that looks lovely!

I'd paint the fence. Put a planter at the bottom ad grow something up it.

Some general greenery would go a long way to making it look/feel nicer. Maybe some solar lights too for the night.

It feels a bit exposed and not very pleasant to sit in. Any idea how we can make it somewhere nicer to be?
Do you know what effect you want, what the purpose of the area is? Do you want Mediterranean sun spot; shady green corner; grown-up or family; eating or relaxing; etc. Once you decide that then you know what to put into internet searches the rest will probably flow. Obviously, you want it to chime with the rest of the garden.

I think that changing the colour of the fence would make a huge difference. Also the table-and-chairs colour may be a bit too similar to the paving - either change that colour, too, or put a contrasting rug down.

Everything is very 'hard' at the moment - brick, paving, monocolour table - get some softness in there.

I think that I'd also change the position of the table; it's a bit shoved-in-the-corner. Rotate it by 90 degrees so that nobody is facing the fence any more and both sides see brickwork (with climbers, hanging baskets, lights, etc).

That's good advice @senua. I think i would like it to be a shady, green place to sit and have dinner with a toddler and baby, then somewhere to relax once they're in bed. We tried turning the table 90 degrees but the wall is at an angle and it blocked the gate access unfortunately.

We definitely need a different table, we bought it years before we moved to the current house, but we'll have to make do for this year. I'm looking for outdoor rugs in IKEA 😀

A long solid wood bench with cushions parallel with but just away form the wall
Rotate the table 90 degrees in front of new bench
Trellis up the wall with climbing plants going up it from pots behind bench
I would screw in some mdf over the fence and gate to block the gaps for privacy

There are always lots of pots and outdoor furniture for sale on our local Facebook group. Plants as well in the local plant swap group.

I’ve got some lovely big pots with established plants in very reasonably that way.

climbers need deep root runs , you’ll need pots with at least 60 cm depth of soil for anything of reasonable size to be comfortable long term. You could buy some climbing nasturtiums seeds and plant in a largish pot and they’d be scrambling all over that fence in 4 weeks while something else gets established. Climbing nasturtium

the bigger the pots the less watering. The little pots you can hang on fences and walls dry out very quickly.

Some good suggestions already. Pull the table out from against the wall, add a tablecloth , add a triangle shaped ''sail" or awning for a bit of shade and atmosphere. A few big potted plants rather than many tiny ones. Try to unify your wall colors and add more green climbers.

I agree, either move the table along the wall or sell it and buy a bench/ sofa and coffee table. Then you basically just need to get some plants and watch them grow! If you can’t get festoon lights solar lights in pots would be a good idea. If you want it shady then I’d also consider some sort of pergola either free standing or built out from the wall if you can. You could also get some shelves to add to the wall. You could also consider stencilling the paving but personally I wouldn’t bother.

You can get decent garden furniture on Facebook/ ebay second hand and you could probably sell yours for a good price. You can also get good second hand planters. For plants I’ve found some good stuff at B&M and Wilko as well as the local market so it won’t cost a fortune.