There is a revolution happening in pub gardens as operators become aware of the sales opportunities of outdoor space. Phil Mellows investigates
Six out of 10 pubs have gardens - but are they making the most of them? The results of an NOP survey commissioned recently by Interbrew stout brand Murphy's would suggest not.
Most pub-goers were unhappy with the state of the garden down at their local. There were regional variations, but nothing you could blame on the weather. Customers in the North East were the happiest.
Yet consumer trends plus moves to relax licensing laws should mean that pubs with gardens - most of them in hard-pressed rural areas - should be exploiting a natural advantage.
Four in 10 pubs surveyed in the Publican's Market Report last summer identified family trade as a future growth area, more than in previous years, and the success of a pub garden is, for obvious reasons, very much tied up with the family trade.
As well as expecting pubs to cater for children, people are also acquiring continental habits and will choose to eat and drink outside when the weather permits. That need not be as small a window of opportunity as you think. Publicans can now fend off all but the worst excesses of the British climate and extend the summer into the spring, the autumn and even the winter.
Trevor Ruddle at Indigo, who has supplied many independent licensees, as well as leading pub companies with the giant parasols, awnings and heaters that make that possible, perceives a growing café society in Britain in spite of the weather.
"There is a revolution going on in pub gardens," he said. "The major operators have been made aware of the sales opportunities of their outdoor space.
"Seven or eight years ago this meant putting bench tables out. Then along came patio heaters and now we have giant umbrellas and quartz lamps which make much more possible.
"Getting a return on any investment they make is obviously a huge issue for licensees, but at the moment I don't believe there is any better way of putting money to use."
Gardens are certainly what you make them. If you make them somewhere people want to be, they are valuable trading space, an extra room on your pub. If you struggle to fill your indoor space, think of it another way.
A garden can also be an attraction in itself and build the reputation of your pub - especially if you've little or no competition nearby - and even the smallest yard can be put to use with a bit of imagination.
You don't have to be a keen gardener - most publicans have got enough to do. Paving over part of the garden, or even the whole of it, is perfectly acceptable. For one thing it dramatically cuts down on the weeding. It also opens up the opportunity of doing a barbecue and you can put out some planters or maybe window boxes and hanging baskets to provide some greenery.
If you really want to attract families, you must take the play area seriously. In any family group it is the children who make the decisions about where to go. This means investing in eye-catching, strong and, above all, safe equipment that is good enough to make your pub stand out from the rest of the local competition.
As Simon Fearnehough, managing director of play equipment manufacturer Timberline, points out: "If you are the only pub in the area with a garden, you already have a unique selling proposition so you don't really need to do that much. Our standard tower and slide, for instance, costs £2,000 and will be enough of an attraction.
"We have moved on from the rusty swing, though, and we have seen a growing demand from pubs for better quality equipment. Buying it is only the first step, however. It is also important to advertise what you've got, to let people know what's there."
Quality is a theme that runs right through a pub business these days, of course - and it doesn't stop at the garden door.
Bench tables have an attractively rustic feel about them, but they can be unkind to the bottom. If the name of the game is not only about getting people into your pub but encouraging them to stay for that extra drink it's worth considering whether your next set of garden furniture should be comfortable as well as practical.
This can be particularly important if you are selling, or hope to sell, a lot of food outdoors. Where you sit and the table you eat it off should somehow match the kind of dishes you serve. A ploughman's lunch may be happy enough on a bench table, but what about a three-course gourmet meal?
Garden furniture designs are continually being upgraded, many making use of different hardwoods and metal. Proper, well-styled chairs and tables may not only be more comfortable, they also tend to lift the image of a pub.
If you want to go up-market, bring in more women or perhaps attract a younger, trendier element, your garden plays its part along with everything else about your pub.
Maybe it isn't families you should be targeting at all. In urban areas there are signs that the outdoors has a big role in the new bar culture, especially pavement and patio drinking.
Every city has its continental café-style pavement streets and squares, of course, but outside the centres it is also possible to use outside space to a better advantage in order to take a place on the circuit.
For instance, Osborne Street is in the Newcastle suburb of Jesmond, yet over the past year it has developed an al fresco drinking culture of its own.
Large umbrellas draw initial attention to the bars and by using heaters, operators have proved that gardens aren't just for summer but the whole year round.
For more information from Indigo, please click here to go to their website, or ring 0151 630 1262.
More articles on gardens and play equipment:
Going under cover- By installing umbrellas and heating pubs can increase their trading space and bring in more customers. Find out more.
City pub gets TV treatment - TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin gives licensees some advice as he puts the bush back in Shepherd's Bush-->
Child's play for pubs- Kid's safety and fun are the main considerations when the pub garden is updated - we take a look.