With the Spring bulbs once again starting to poke through our garden’s previously frozen soil, we are now entering that time of year when many of us gardeners start getting very busy indeed. March is always the time of year when those garden chores like the pruning back certain varieties of roses and fruit trees, sowing grass seed and preparing raised beds for their summer and autumn harvests well and truly gets underway.

However, for many people, it’s also the time of year when they can again start considering their extra room to their house. Of digging tools names with picturesI am referring to their ‘outdoor living’ area where many a lovely warm sunny evening will be wiled away with a nice cool Gin and Tonic or inviting Barbecue.

The term ‘Inside/Outside Living’ began being used on televisions many home and garden shows. For some, the idea of Inside/Outside living really refers to a decked area and a table and chairs, and where opportunity (and weather!) permits, using this area to eat, drink and socialise.

Garden architecture design has definitely changed over recent years though, in so much as some people have taken the concept of Inside/Outside living a step further…literally. Instead of simply having an area of garden reserved for table and chairs, some have actually designed their garden so it actually meets the home. This is very often through the use of patio doors or large glass windows butting right up to the garden’s deck area without stepping up, or down. The advent of the increasingly popular ‘glass curtain’ has meant some lucky home owners can literally peel back the physical boundary between property and garden.

Whilst readers of this article may think that those likely to benefit from taking this more adventurous and planned approach are more likely to be owners of large country properties with acres of rolling grounds, you’d be very mistaken. Some of the best examples of real Indoor/outdoor Living can be seen in urban environments. The larger terrace houses which grace the South London suburbs for example, often have rear extensions bolted on. Simply changing the rear facing wall of the extension so it features more glass (we’ve seen examples of ‘all glass’ walls) can help bring the garden into the home, on even the gloomiest of British summer days. At best, the smells and joys of the garden can be encouraged to waft into the property when the weather feels warm enough to peel back the glass facade