Thanks

~honeysuckle,lavender etc will provide scent on warm summer days~sweet peas even?~ it's lovely to sit outside with lovely full hanging baskets trailing everywhere~ you may be able to get someone to make them up for you but they will need watering~

good suggestions from Arlene.I would add bedding plants in summer.If using tubs,geraniums and pelargoniums are very low maintenance,as they like hot weather (if we get any),and don't need watering as much as some plants,so quite low maintenance.Just dead head old flowers,and they will last till first frosts..very colourful and welcoming by the pub entrance! The trailing ones are good in hanging baskets,with some trailing foliage plants.I'm sure you will get lots more ideas on here.Welcome to GoY,Elliot...

~ definitely tubs of bedding plants~I remember going to this pub near Cardington a few years ago and the baskets and tubs were outstanding~ beautiful and scented~you may need to allocate someone some watering time to make sure they don't dry out and shrivel in the sun. Welcome to GOY!

Maybe one or two flowering shrubs would fit the bill, such as potentilla (which flowers for ages), and hypericum 'hidcote'. Hebe's too. They are all low-maintainance and last for years and years.

as an ex licensee, I found that the more you put in to it determind the way your customers treated it, if it is half harted it will not be popular and will be abused, spend the money listen to the choises of people on this site ,because they will be thinking if they themself would want to viset your pub, and they know what would be good,for them and other people.

~ that is right Cliffo~ I will choose where to go for a meal by what it looks like outside on a nice day~ also you will be doing the environment a favour if you choose bee/butterfly friendly plants such as Buddleia,etc

I wonder if a site visit is in order? :-0)))

~well can't be that far away from me or maybe Sandra~shall we volunteer?

I agree with Cliffo too..Presentation,well maintained,and something to please the eye,is so important to attract customers..just like a shop window.The pub trade needs all the help it can get these days.Once they come through the
door,just like a shop,its a start. Bit too far for us to call in,but when in Wales,Elliot,you never know...could be lots of us :o)).Pics would be nice,when you decide what to do.good luck....

All great suggestions, but hanging baskets are hard work don't you think? They need to be changed every season and have to be watered twice a day. Can i suggest you get into hardy geraniums. these are very different from the bedding pelargoniums that we know as geraniums. They have a long flowering period and don't need any tidying and they are really beautiful. Some of them, Rozanne in particular, will clamber and crawl and cover ground for you. Also, how about getting some evergreen shrubs, not too big, but something that will give you colour in the winter and flowers in the summer and won't need to much work. You can't go wrong with the Viburnum family, they are easy and beautiful and there are lots to choose from. If you have acid soil, a few rhododendrons would also be an easy option - colour, evergreen and very low maintainance indeed. Definitely use a good deep mulch on the top it really helps cut down on watering and weeding and it makes the whole garden look really smart!

just a note on baskets there is a pub not far from me that you have to book a meal at least a week befor, that has hanging baskets all round the pub they are an attractive and lovley sight that you can see from two roads, he has a watering system that waters the baskets first thing in the morning and last thing at night, without any one haveing to do anything,.a customrer a plumer put it in for him.

~agree Cliffo~ I love large baskets with clouds of trailing flowers~ that would definitely make a difference to my choice!

Yes, there's nothing like the sight of a good country pub surrounded with colour, it just invites you in! I do agree...it's just that Elliot 18 made a clear request for minimum maintainance plants! The plumber would be the answer to the baskets, but Elliot is asking about a beer garden, which is presumably at the back of the building...... I do agree that investing well in the front is a great business idea and hope he goes for that as well!

~ but then again the visible evidence that you have taken the trouble to put on a good display may also indicate that your attention to detail shows in other areas like the quality of your food~ to a certain extent it is window dressing, but if that gives you an edge over your rival just down the road and you do have nice food and a friendly atmosphere it may just encourage you to call again when you are round that way~I have lots of mental notes of nice places to go to depending on where I am and I will probably go back there without bothering to check out the opposition~
If as is always being said on the news~ that pubs are closing at the rate of x per week I would try to make sure I had an edge to maximise my summer trade!
We stayed at Jamie Oliver's dad's place near Saffron Walden and the food was absolutely lovely~ but the pub was still nice outside so that those who didn't know and were just passing through would probably stop anyway~(probably fully booked for food inside though)

Oh I absolutely agree!