How to upgrade your garden / yard / balcony for the summer

Turns out I have a balcony. Also turns out that my balcony is freaking huge. This always comes as a mild surprise to me since most of the year, I spend little to no time there. Last summer was too hot. Winters are too cold. Autumns and springs - well, still too cold, and also I have stuff to do elsewhere.

Still, all winter and beginning of spring 2019, I've been making promises regularly (imagine with fist in the air, thunder on the background) that this summer, all I'll do is sit in the balcony and drink pink champagne with blackberries and work from there while enjoying life. And this sounds enjoyable as hell - as long as I don't quit alcohol by then. There's just one problem.

At the moment, my balcony isn't exactly living up to the "pink champagne with blackberries enjoying life" standard.

Something has to be done. Luckily, I imagine I have a knack for these kinds of things. (Emphasis on the word imagine). So here's what you have to do to upgrade your yard or balcony or garden for the summer:

Clean out all the trash. (This needs to be said.)
Get pen and paper, and draw the borders of your target.
Using an eraser if needed, sketch a layout for outdoor furniture, plants, lighting, and other larger items you want to have on your target. Continue until you're convinced that the layout works and makes you feel good and right.
Figure out a color/material palette. Personally, I like dark mahogany, white, and beige; wood as a material in general, concrete, and glass. You can use Google or Pinterest to help you figure out which colors and materials go well together in your eyes.
Get all the furniture/fabrics/cushions/blankets/sheepskins/pots/lighting you've imagined; get seeds and soil and plants and other green stuff and plant them. Place everything on your yard/balcony the way you designed.

And it's done! You can design your garden as minimalistic or as grandiose as you like, using every possible color or just one - it's only up to you. All that matters is that you're happy with the result. (And that you can sip pink beverages with blackberries there while enjoying life.)