Dear LPG readers,

I am not your natural gardener, and it is getting harder and harder to keep the green stuff under control as I get older. When the sun does make an odd appearance, however, I do like to sit out there at my old garden table and chair ensemble, with a cup of tea and the matching parasol or umbrella over my head, depending on the weather on the day. And if you want to do that surrounded by a relatively pleasant view, you do have to get down and a bit dirty.

I treat my garden as another room in my house, and when I say that, what I mean is that I see maintaining it as making sure it is reasonably tidy, and I don't spend endless days out there trying to cultivate all manner of plants. For one thing, I have always had a severe aversion to little creeping things, so I try to do my gardening while poised as far away from the soil as I can get. I read elsewhere on your pages that one of your authors treats their lawnmower rather like a Hoover, and I have a similar relationship with mine. 

It makes an appearance a couple of times a month during a good summer, so that the grass is safe enough that my garden table does not overbalance when I decide to entertain and offer the occasional al fresco meal or barbecue.  

This comes in especially handy when those grandchildren that I dearly love, but who also have the gift of making anything look really untidy, no matter how pristine the space looked less than half an hour before they arrived, decide to visit grandma.  

Indeed, we older UK garden-owning grandparents of a certain age cannot plan for such occasions too far in advance because our weather is so changeable, and one of the amenities that is missing out there is a ceiling. Still, the gardens of those oldies who actually have one often get forgotten on those occasions when our children descend on us with their children.  

Remember the advantages: 

There are usually fewer things that can be accidentally broken out there (Vases, ornaments, etc., although there are your neighbours' windows, not to mention yours…)  

Spillages are so much easier to deal with (as long as you have some plastic drinking glasses)

Noise pollution can be minimised (sound-absorbing walls do not contain any shouting)

Your personal memories (if you have lived in the same house for a while, you might well have lots of memories of the little ones' parents when they were of a similar age)

Natural sounds might be easier to hear (there is not much that can be done about what goes directly into their ears from their mobile phones, but at least they might find themselves taking note of the birds and other wildlife for a bit) 

They might temporarily forget their mobile phones and tablets (the electronic screen is often much harder to see properly in natural light) 

We also have to remember the extra fresh air and exercise that any outdoor childhood activity might promote, all be it just running around for a bit.  

Perhaps you can get them working a bit too (if you have a gardening implement in hand, it is sometimes possible to solicit a bit of juvenile help; they are usually more willing to get nearer to the ground than you are, saving your back a bit of pain and minimising your contact with those crawling things I mentioned earlier).  

And I am sure there are more advantages that I have missed. I am writing this message two weeks into the school holidays, and my family has visited twice on days when I have been able to enjoy entertaining them in the external room at the back of my house.   

While it does not happen too often, I am writing this note to remind you to take full advantage of this often-overlooked often forgotten reception area … 

YP, Bellingham