A garden doesn’t just have to be a pretty place for your wife to plant her rhododendrons. You can make the garden a place for you and the lads to hang out too. Stop avoiding that bit of green pasture outside the back of your house and take advantage of it by adding a few manly features. Here are some examples of things you can add.
A Lawnmower
If you don’t have a lawnmower for your garden, it probably looks a bit like a jungle right now. Shell out on a decent mower to get it looking neat again. Depending on the size and shape of your garden, certain mowers will be more appropriate. For a large garden, a large collection box means that you don’t stop every two metres to empty it. Depending on how much physical exertion you’re willing to put it, you can get a push mower or a self-propelled one. And if you want to get competitive with the neighbours and taking this mowing lark super-seriously, buy a model with a rear roller so that you can achieve that stripe-effect.
A Shed
Now you have lawn mower, you’ll need a shed to keep it in. A shed is the essential storage unit for all your garden tools. Once you have a shed, you can start collecting all the manly garden equipment to go with your lawnmower – a strimmer, a shovel, a wheelbarrow. You can even keep your DIY tools in here. Or you can just use it as a mancave.
For anyone who also wants to start growing their own food, wooden greenhouses may also be an option to consider.
A Barbeque
Now that your lawn has been tamed, you can start hosting garden parties. Food! Beer! But wait, first you need a barbecue. Traditionally being the man’s domain, you have to find the right barbecue for you to ensure that you can actually cook on it. If you want to cheat you can use an electric barbecue (personally, my go-to choice). These skip out that awfully long letting-the-coals-go-white phase that old-skool barbecues have to deal with. Automatic ignition means you won’t have to keep buying matches too.
A Fire-pit
If we’re honest, anything involving fire is exciting for guys. Now that you’ve mastered the barbie, why not further your caveman instincts and shell out on a fire-pit? These are especially handy in the winter for warming up the garden when you want to sit outside, basically acting as a controlled campfire. Not all neighbourhoods allow them, the same way many neighbourhoods don’t allow bonfires, so check your council rules first. Other variants of the fire-pit involve the chiminea and the wood burner.
Table Tennis Table
A final option for hosting the perfect garden party would be to have some form of entertainment. Table tennis is always a good option. Unlike a pool table, you can keep it outside. Unlike table football, there’s little that can break. And if your wife doesn’t like it being there when she has her female friends round, you can always put a sheet over it and disguise it as an extra table.
