Over the past few weeks, our gardens have been giving us life.

A little sanctuary away from the rest of the world, they've been the place to retreat to with a book or glass of wine in the evenings, and to enjoy a barbecue in on weekend days. As well as the lift we get from seeing colourful flowers, there's something very normal about being in the garden. It feel less like lockdown and more like, well, summer when you're sat in your own back garden or balcony. Where else would you want to be when the sun is shining anyway? Going by the amount of new garden furniture sets we've seen being unveiled on Instagram lately, the nation is fully embracing the idea of spending a long – hopefully hot – summer in the garden. Cocktails optional. While the weather has been little short of amazing recently, as the evenings draw in it still gets pretty cold outside. There's only so much that adding a sweater and a throw can do to keep you from turning blue – it is still Ireland after all. Which is why we predict that there will be (appropriately socially distanced) queues at Aldi on Thursday April 30 for the store's latest home and garden event. The store will have lots of things you need for kitting out your garden, from pots and planters to tool sheds and furniture sets. If you have €299 to invest, you'll definitely want to check out their wooden day beds, which have versatile seating that can be arranged in different ays. For us it's all about bringing the heat, so we'll be lining up to get our hands on a fire pit or log burner. The Fire Pit costs €59.99 and is made from dark grey faux stone, meaning that it's lightweight for moving with ease around the garden. The pit comes with a mesh lid for safe burning and also a cooking grate so that you can transform it into a barbecue. So clever! The Outdoor Log Burner, meanwhile, costs €79.99. It's made from black steel with a bronze effect finish and mesh surround, and measures 94 x 82 x 45cm. There's also room to store your logs underneath, which really adds to the effect. The fire pit and log burner will be available on Thursday, April 30, at Aldi stores nationwide.