Spending time outdoors is a national pastime during these warm months. Longer daylight hours and lazy evenings beckon us out into the great outdoors. Whatever the outdoor space you have available – from the gazebo to the wrap-around porch – here are some great ideas to entertain guests in style at your outdoor parties this summer.

Make it Civilized: If you don’t have patio furniture to accommodate everyone, you can use your indoor furniture to set the table. Using formal tables and chairs outside, decorated with colorful tableware and adorned with vibrant flowers, gives a rustic feel to any gathering.

Make it Comfortable: Adding large pillows and cushions in all of your seating areas will make relaxing outside even more enjoyable.

Make it Colorful: From napkins to pillows to the patio garden pots full of amazing garden blooms, color brings excitement to the sometimes dull color palette of a deck or patio. Take it up notch by painting a colorful “area rug” on a concrete floor, or adding weather-resistant outdoor drapes.

Make it Compartmentalized: By putting a drink station in one place, a dinner buffet in another, and a dessert table across the area – you’ll encourage mingling and mixing as guests choose their food and drink.

Make it Cohesive: Using containers of different sizes and shapes – and filling them with varied potted plants – allows you to place these arrangements throughout your party space, and tie together the entire outdoor space.

No matter what space you have available to you to entertain and relax outside, you can customize it to design a beautiful space with a floral backdrop sure to impress. This summer, don’t be stuck indoors – get creative to create an outdoor sanctuary you’ll be proud of – and fill it with flowers from Zeidler’s Flowers!