Al Fresco Dining Tips for Spring from the Dallas Arboretum
Spring is full and the garden is lush with color, making it an amazing time to spend some time enjoying a meal or snack outside, where you might even find some inspiration to follow a popular trend in garden design this year, rethinking alfresco dining.
We’re especially excited to take a look at this trend, because we love when guests visit our new vegetable & herb garden, A Tasteful Place, and decide to sit down outside for a bite. People come to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden for all kinds of reasons, and they often walk away having gotten something from the experience that they weren’t even expecting. Outdoor dining in A Tasteful Place and sitting down for a picnic on one of our many lawns can be like that. Guests might leave energized to create more opportunities to enjoy food and drinks in their yards with friends and family.
To quote Garden Design Magazine, “outdoor dining spaces have been conveniently located just off the house” for years. Although you won’t see this element featured prominently at the Arboretum – we have guest seating for relaxation and dining spread throughout the garden, and in the case of A Tasteful Place, the best seats are not particularly close to where we offer food – it makes sense. Dining closer to the home makes serving much more convenient.
New outdoor dining spaces have begun to migrate further from the home, delving deeper into the garden, something we’re all for! We’re always looking for ways to draw our guests to explore parts of the garden they haven’t seen, and to give them new ways to experience the garden. The Three Sisters Lagoon Overlook, for example, offers guests a shaded place to relax and enjoy a snack if they want, connecting them to the edible gardens of A Tasteful Place, the view of downtown Dallas over White Rock Lake, the Margaret and Jay Simmons Lagoon and the greenery beyond.
Garden designers and home owners who want to turn their alfresco dining space into an immersive, natural destination within the yard can keep in mind these tips from Garden Design Magazine:
- “Surround the dining area with in-ground and container plants for a lush feeling.
- “Turn your dining area into a sanctuary with special flooring, lighting and furniture.
- “Include pre- and post-dinner entertainment spaces nearby, such as a fire pit or pool.”
Dallas is blessed with warm weather that begin with an early spring, and a climate that is friendly to hundreds of beautiful flowering plants and lush greenery. Maybe it’s time to take a tour of the gardens to see what inspires you for your alfresco dining oasis at home.
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