I know I’ve reached a certain maturity because I had no invitations for Halloween, apart from taking my son to a stage show of Judith Kerr’s Mog, but two for Bonfire Night. I love Bonfire Night. I grew up in a village where people would start constructing a bonfire on the school playing fields in the last weeks of October. The baked potatoes would glisten in tinfoil in the big round barbecues dusted off from summer; the inevitable drizzle would mix with firework smoke, making everything smell pleasingly petrochemical.
It’s fitting that floral fireworks can be found at this time of year too. In my garden, a few bright orange nasturtiums usually hang on, flashing like embers among the murk of the soil. Salvias, dahlias and asters, too, their flashy colours bright stalwarts against dim mornings and a month that literally begins with “No”.
People go wild about putting their garden to bed, but leaving perennial herbaceous growth helps invertebrates and provides interest and texture
But what if you want to host a little Bonfire Night shindig in the garden this year? I have no idea about buying fireworks – go to your local shop for that. But making your garden party-ready in the depths of autumn? Let’s fire(work) away!
First, clear away the vestiges of summer. I’ve still got a couple of deckchairs lurking around. These may end up becoming your seating – more on that later. But algae-collecting water-play tables and mouldering trampolines – into the shed or on to Facebook Marketplace they go.
Around this time of year people go wild about putting their garden “to bed”, but leaving perennial herbaceous growth that isn’t likely to sprout too high on the stem (Verbena bonariensis and fennel are guilty of this, and I tend to cut back any that are getting vigorous) helps invertebrates and provides more interest and texture than tucked-in, bare beds.
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Bonfires are, obviously, far from good for the environment. But there are an increasing number of smokeless firepits on the market, offering all the glow with less of the carbon footprint.
If you’ve got permanent seating that stays out all year, get a brush and a damp cloth to clean it, then dig out your less precious blankets and cushions to cosy it up.
Lighting is crucial. Candles will fare better inside lanterns, but jam jars will do. You can string them up around the garden with thin wire. Solar-powered fairy lights are increasingly available in warm white; I’d recommend charging up the sensor for a few sunny days before use and taking them down afterwards, as squirrels and foxes will nibble through the wires.
If you have an outdoor kitchen, then you can have a full-blown Bonfire Night feast. Otherwise, baked potatoes and marshmallows can be done in the embers of a barbecue – or the oven, because who’s judging?
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