Having a garden is fantastic. It’s your own little slice of nature right on your back doorstep.

But sometimes it can feel like a constant chore. The grass needs cutting, shrubs could use a prune and weeds are popping up everywhere. Now, gardening jobs are important because they help you keep on top of the plants and stop them turning wild.

But gardens are meant to be fun too! So here’s 101 ideas for you to do in the garden during the year. Some are practical, some are fun and some are plain silly. All of them should get you outside and enjoying the garden.

  1. Cut flowerscut flowers for garden table and leafy stems to display indoors
  2. Reuse household items in the garden, like tins and ceramic pots as planters
  3. Grow nectar-rich flowers to feed bees and butterflies
  4. Put up a garden statue – even a small one makes a great focal point
  5. Feed the birds (and put out fresh water for drinking and bathing)
  6. Make an insect hotel with this guide
  7. Have a snowball fight
  8. Organise the shed and clear it out
  9. Host a BBQ party
  10. Grow veg in pots – radishes and chillies are ideal
  11. Get birdwatching! Join the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch
  12. Paint your front door
  13. Put in a new climbing plant to cover unsightly walls or fences
  14. Grow herbs
  15. Freeze fruit, herbs and edible flowers in ice cube trays for decorative drinks
  16. Play giant jenga on the lawn
  17. Plant spring bulbs
  18. Build an obstacle course
  19. Bake lavender biscuits with fresh or dried flowers
  20. Plant a treeplant a tree
  21. Play golf
  22. Sow wildflowers
  23. Pick herbs to make herbal tea – mint and chamomile are great
  24. Install a hedgehog highway by making a hole in the bottom of your fence (13cm x 13cm)
  25. Sharpen the blades on your tools
  26. Host a street party and invite your neighbours round for tea, cake and plant chat
  27. Put in some new solar lights
  28. Plant a stunning hanging basket
  29. Hang streamers, decorations and candle holders from tree branches
  30. Collect seeds from your favourite plants
  31. Put in a little sand pit (great for kids and adults!)
  32. Move any plants that aren’t growing well to a new home
  33. Add an arch and grow beautiful climbers over it
  34. Sit out by candlelight on a night
  35. Put up sun loungers or deck chairs
  36. Add a water feature – even a dish of water will do
  37. Build a scarecrow
  38. Grow fruitblank like apples and strawberries and eat them straight from the tree
  39. Plant a rose bush – guide here
  40. Make garden art using prints and stamps, and stick down foliage and flowers
  41. Play Frisbee
  42. Hold an Easter egg hunt
  43. Have a competition to see who can grow the tallest sunflower
  44. Customise terracotta pots with outdoor paint – make your own designs!
  45. Set up a scavenger hunt with the children
  46. Plant a seasonal container and change the plants every season
  47. Pick edible flowers to decorate cakes and drinks
  48. Have a water fight
  49. Make butterfly feeders with sugar water and scouring pads in a Tupperware box
  50. Clean the lawnmower blades and oil them
  51. Have a picnic on your lawn
  52. Start a new garden game like boules or croquet
  53. Paint your woodwork to refresh sheds, fences and gazebos
  54. Put window boxes up and grow flowers you can admire from inside the house
  55. Fill the paddling pool and splash about (or just dip your feet in)
  56. MulchMulch around flower beds to improve soil and suppress weeds
  57. Put up a teepee – stand bamboo canes in a pyramid and drape them with sheets
  58. Grow cress heads on the windowsill by sowing seeds in egg shells and drawing on faces
  59. Plant a fairy garden
  60. Grow a new type of vegetable
  61. Take cuttings to make more plants for free
  62. Start a compost heap – get the guide here
  63. Decorate in summer evenings with solar-powered fairy lights
  64. Make perfume by heating water with scented petals like roses
  65. Put up a bird table or bird bath where you can see it from indoors
  66. Host a seed swap party
  67. Light a bonfire to burn garden waste
  68. Press flowers
  69. Take bark rubbings
  70. Make fat balls for birds in winter and spring with this no-cook recipe
  71. Personalise your wellies
  72. strawberriesCollect interesting leaves
  73. Put up summery bunting around sheds, gazebos, arches or even your house windows
  74. Grow trailing strawberries in a hanging basket
  75. Build a den or fort
  76. Make jam jar candles with tea lights
  77. Force bulbs for growing indoors in winter
  78. Get kids involved in a nature trail looking for bugs, plants and wildlife
  79. Host a coffee morning and cake sale to raise money for charity (try MacMillan Cancer Care’s coffee morning)
  80. Make a wildlife corner with log piles, insect houses and hedgehog shelters
  81. Cook something different on the BBQ like sweet potatoes in foil
  82. Sit out by firelight on an evening with a fire pit
  83. Draw, paint or photograph your garden flowers
  84. Plant a cocktail window box with strawberries, mint and edible flowers
  85. Make candleholders out of recycled tin cans by drilling holes in a pattern
  86. Plant new winter colour with evergreens
  87. Grow scented flowers like lavender and sweet peas
  88. blank Build a sundial
  89. Make or buy new cushions for your patio furniture – look for weatherproof if you can
  90. Toast marshmallows over an open fire
  91. Throw a garden cocktail party with herbal-infused drinks
  92. Spend a sunny Sunday morning reading the paper on the patio
  93. Put in a second seating area like a bench or bistro set
  94. Host a garden treasure hunt, hiding objects around
  95. Make a seasonal wreath with leaves, twigs, pine cones and seed heads
  96. String fairy lights or bunting from the parasol
  97. Put down beer traps to catch pesky slugs
  98. Take cuttings and swap them with friends and neighbours to get new plants for free
  99. Grow something new and wacky! Red sunflowers are a great place to start
  100. Cut flowers and hang them to dry – lavender and hydrangea are ideal
  101. Sit out at night with the lights off and stargaze. You need a dark, clear night with no moon for the best viewing. Keep an eye out for the famous Perseid meteor shower around August 12 too

What do you think? Is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments below.

For more garden planting ideas, check out my blog:

Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas: