As I'm heading off to Lewes to visit a friend tomorrow, it felt right to mention a local French garden furniture company called Parterre. Forget the wrought iron whitewashed look, they stock an incredible range of vibrant, colourful and creative furniture. Take this Rendez Vous laser cut set of chairs for £380 from the Designer Pascal Mourgue. It's rice grain perforations play with the light on the chairs and 70cm Dia. low table. The range also includes a 110cm Dia Round table and a 160cm x 90cm Rectangular table, both with plain tops. Buy this and get your friends talking.

Posted by Carole

Just ditch the flight and buy this wurly bird flier instead. It'll reduce your carbon footprint, lighten your conscience and give your kids several years of pleasure. Now you may feel a little easier at shelling out £249 for this active playride from Urchin It's a pretty neat fairground-style ride to have in your back garden and can be used for one or two riders, with an easy pull mechanism – so fast or slow I can see the kids queuing around the block now.

Posted by Carole

Heals have got a stunning range of outdoor furniture for summer, including this Paradis parasol for £125. It measures 180cm, has a steel frame and the cotton parasol also comes in brown. While you're there take a look at their galvanised love seats, very modern and it would make a fantastic wedding gift.

Posted by Carole

If you want to know what's in and out in the plant world, then visit online or if you're in Little Venice, the famous Clifton Nurseries. They'll design your garden, source the plants and give you specialist advice on their care and maintenance. Of course you can also get your containers to pop them into and the seat you can view their growth from. Not cheap, but truly inspirational and aspirational.

Posted by Carole

If you know the kids are going to be on a chocolate high over Easter, then maybe making this Urchin bird treat will be a necessary calmer. This 'award-winning' bird house is well designed in that the pieces do fit and everything you need is there. It may cost £14.99 but will bring everyone hours of tweeting pleasure.

Posted by Carole

If arches, pergolas, gazebos or obelisks are on your shopping list today, then head to Agriframes for an inspiring collection. This Gothic screen panel would add great drama and shape to a garden and costs £84 for a 1.2m (4ft) x 2.3m (7ft 6ins) section. I'm afraid our garden is too small for this, so I'm going to check out the kitchen garden products.

Posted by Carole

Garden Boutique is a great name for this website as it has a very individual and selective feel. Plus it's the first time I've seen such a great galvanised planter for such a reasonale price -£85 for all 75 x 20 x 20cm -there are other sizes available. They also have some stunning garden trellis which I'll have to put on the site, meanwhile enjoy a thoroughly delightful outdoor browse.

Posted by Carole

At last I've found a replacement apple house to show you. What's more it's from that honest looking man who greets you as you log onto the Baileys site. It's £12.50 and 100% recycled - this site makes me want to ditch the plastic and get wooden. Fantastic site.

Posted by Carole

I wonder if David Archer (as in the Archers) has checked out this tree house for inspiration? Mark Waterfield built his first outdoor house at the age of 11, so no surprise that his background in carpentry and design resulted in Waterfield Designs. He specialises in limited batch and bespoke small garden buildings. His designs are beautiful and functional, you can choose from their limited collection or have a designer create a unique garden building just for you. Plus every time they create a product they sponsor reforestation with the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. Now then only one small matter left and that's how much does this magical hide - away cost? Contact them to find out.

Posted by Carole

If you are completely stuck as to what to plant in your beds and borders - then log on now to crocus . They offer a design service which is simple and effective. You download their grid, fill in your garden details, answer a few questions and hey presto they, (or rather Helen) sends you a list of plant recommendations. It does cost £30 an hour, so I would want to know how the average cost works out - but this could save you a lot of heartache, anguish and dead plants.

Posted by Carole

So you've decided that you can afford a landscape gardener to turn your turf into a relaxation/play area, so where do you start? I found Scenic Blue an interesting site to begin with. They offer a level of entries to the gardening world - £25 buys you an interactive garden design pack, whereas for £295 you'll get their personal and professional opinion. Pay any more than that and they'll design and create it to Chelsea Festival standards.

Posted by Carole

We've recently had these fencing panels installed in our garden. They cost £29.99 each and are 1.8 metres by 1.18 metres from homebase . Initially I was a bit disappointed by the orange tinge to the wooden supports, but like a lot of new things, time has made the hue fade in my mind's eye.

If I hadn't been juggling a very small baby and had time to do some research, rather than leaving quite a few decisions to the very capable and and efficient Nathan at Theories Landscapes, then I might have chosen these 6ft by 6 ft boxed in windrush willow panels. They comes in 4 different sizes from windrush willow and are a pricier choice at £85 per panel.

If the budgets been blown on the plants, then you could always opt for a 5 x 1.5 metre roll of bamboo fencing for £49 at Greenfingers. This is perfect if your fence is not needed as a feature, but needs a quick fix and hide solution.