Garden & Outdoor

How to plan a garden

The garden is the room that doubles in size between April and September, and the only one where the British weather is the dominant design constraint. The decisions break down into four pieces: the surface (lawn, patio, deck, gravel), the seating, the storage and shelter, and the planting. Most British households spend most of their garden budget on the seating and the planting and forget that the surface and the storage decide whether the rest works.

Patio and deck surfaces are the foundation. Sandstone and porcelain paving are the long-term answers for a properly built patio, £40 to £100 per square metre laid. Composite decking (£80 to £150 per square metre) outlives timber decking and doesn't need annual treating. Gravel is the cheap, fast answer that suits cottage gardens but doesn't suit pushchairs and isn't great with garden furniture legs.

Garden furniture is the next decision. Sets in synthetic rattan over aluminium frames dominate the £200 to £1,500 bracket and resist UK weather well. Hardwood (teak, eucalyptus, acacia) sits at the upper end with a decade-plus lifespan if cared for. Aluminium with sling fabric is the lightest option. Pine and softwood are the budget tier and the shortest-lived. Read our garden furniture care guide for the half-hour-twice-a-year routine that doubles a set's lifespan.

Storage and shelter are where most gardens fall short. A shed for the lawnmower, garden tools, hose reel, BBQ accessories and bicycles isn't optional in a normal-sized British garden. Spec it bigger than you think you need; the rule that works is "imagine the garden ten years on, then add 25%." Log cabins (£1,500 to £4,000+) are the upgrade option, useful as garden offices, gym spaces or workshops with proper electrics. Pergolas, gazebos and parasols handle the shade-and-rain-when-you-need-it problem; permanent pergolas cost more upfront but earn back in years of use.

BBQs and outdoor cooking deserve a paragraph of their own. Charcoal kettle BBQs (£80 to £300) handle the once-a-month British summer use case; gas BBQs (£200 to £1,500) are the right answer if you cook outside more than fortnightly through the season; pizza ovens are the latest expansion of the category. Fire pits and chimineas extend the season into October. Look for a BBQ with a lid, a temperature gauge and a chimney exhaust; without those, you're cooking, not roasting.

Plants and pots finish the garden. Established potted shrubs and small trees (£40 to £200 each) build structure faster than seed-grown plants. Bedding plants and bulbs handle the seasonal colour. The rule that works in small gardens: pick three to five plant species and repeat them, rather than one of everything. Repetition reads more considered than variety.

Garden furniture

The biggest single spend in most gardens. Read our garden furniture sales calendar for when to buy.

Browse garden furniture, garden seating, garden dining sets, garden tables, sun loungers and parasols.

Sheds, log cabins and garden buildings

The British garden building market runs from £150 plastic toolboxes to £4,000+ insulated log-cabin offices. Cladding thickness is the spec that decides whether the building lasts: 12mm shiplap on the entry tier, 28mm tongue-and-groove on the mid-range, 34-44mm on the "Premium" log-cabin specs. Shire dominates the upper-build-quality end of this market.

Browse sheds, log cabins, summer houses and garden offices.

BBQs, fire pits and outdoor cooking

The summer-use category. Browse BBQs, fire pits, pizza ovens and chimineas.

Plants, planters and garden tools

Thompson & Morgan covers the plant and seed end with a 3,700-product catalogue from £2 seed packets to £200 mature shrubs. Browse plants, pots and planters and garden tools.

The brands and retailers we list

We pull around 33,600 garden products from across the UK retailer network.

The Range stocks around 13,000 garden products covering furniture, plants, pots, garden tools and seasonal accessories.

Robert Dyas covers around 12,000 garden listings, particularly strong on garden furniture, BBQs and garden buildings.

Cherry Lane Garden Centres is the dedicated specialist with around 1,500 plants, sheds and garden building listings.

Aosom UK stocks around 2,500 outdoor pieces, leaning into the value-tier rattan and sun lounger ranges.

Filter the grid above by category, colour, material or price to narrow things down. Prices update daily.