Make | A Garden Bar

Upcycle an old (or new) potting bench into a bar cart to get the garden party started.

You’ll need:

A wooden potting bench (with a removable bowl if possible); sandpaper; outdoor paint in a colour of your choice; a towel ring, a wall-mounted bottle opener; cutlery hooks; ice bucket if your bench has no bowl; drill or screwdriver. 

To make:

1 If you bought your potting bench new (we found good flatpack models in Ikea and B&Q), put it together first. Then give it all a good sand and wipe down. 

2 Paint the bar all over in an outdoor paint colour of your choice. The louder the better, we think. 

3 Once dry, sand lightly, wipe down and give it a second coat. 

4 When the second coat is fully dry, screw the towel rain (for your bar towel) and bottle opener to the outside of the bar. If your bar has drawers, you can change the handles to something more suited to a bar, too. 

5 Fill your ice bucket or bowl with ice and cold drinks, add cocktail shakers, spirits, mixers and small bowls to the shelves. Pop snacks and bar games of your choice into the drawers and invite your friends round. 

This project is taken from our Almanac pages, which feature seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do each month.

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Make | No-sew Outdoor Bunting

Whether you’re planning a midsummer outdoor supper, or a right Royal knees-up in the garden for the Jubilee, some bunting dangling from branches is sure to set the right atmosphere. Here’s how to make bunting – that won’t go soggy in the rain – without a sewing machine.

You’ll need a few off cuts of oil cloth – an old table cloth is ideal. Cut a paper template for the flags. They can be as big as you like but around 30cm tall is a decent size. Draw around the template with a pencil on the back of your oil cloth to make as many triangles as you need and cut out.

Cut some thick twine to the length you want. Lay it on the floor and space out your bunting triangles along its length to check where they should go. Leave a little length at either end.

Use a hot glue gun to squeeze glue along the base edge of your first triangle on the back of the cloth, about an inch from the top, then fold the edge over the twine, sticking it to the back of the oil cloth beneath. Repeat for other triangles. Once dry, hang at a jaunty angle and pour a Pimms.

This is just one of the ideas for things to note and notice, plan and do this month, from our Almanac pages. Find more seasonal ideas for June starting from page 26.

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Make | Rhubarb leaf stepping stones

Turn over a new leaf with this simple project for your garden

You will need:
One rhubarb leaf per stone
Chicken wire, cut to just under the size of each leaf
Plastic sheeting
Sunflower/olive oil spray
Ready-mix concrete Trowel

How to make
1 Put down your plastic sheeting and lay your leaves on top, with veins facing upwards. Spray on a layer of oil.
2 Prepare your concrete mix, and smooth on a layer of concrete, to around 3 cm. Tap carefully to get rid of air bubbles.
3 Lay a piece of chicken wire on top for strength, then cover with another concrete layer of about the same depth. Tap and smooth edges with your trowel.
4 Cover with plastic, and leave to dry out overnight.
5 Spray with water to remove the leaf. Over the next week, spray regularly until the concrete is hard enough to take a person’s weight.

You’ll find more ideas for intriguing things to make, do and just know in our regular Miscellany pages.
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