Shoparound: All you need are the right ingredients and a little bit of imagination to make your garden a comfortable extension of your home and with the arrival of a kind of summer last week, DIY stores, garden centres and furniture stores are brimming with bright garden ideas.

Selling very well at the Powerscourt Garden Pavilion in Enniskerrry, Co Wicklow, is a new range of ceramic and metal garden furniture. Pretty ceramic-topped tables are priced at €595, chairs cost €140 and cushions €40. A matching parasol is €1,100. Rustic teak garden furniture from the Bridgman Tecknique range costs around 1,700 for tables and €250 for chairs.

Atlantic Homecare has an extensive range of affordable garden furniture and outdoor accessories. For the small town garden or terrace, its pretty mosaic round table and matching chairs in funky black and white or terracotta and blue - €199 for a table and two chairs - are ideal.

Check out their cute range of outdoor lights - a string of 20 garden butterfly lights cost €24. Patio heaters cost from 349.

Brown Thomas has a smart range of summer furniture and accessories for the garden. Its New England-chic Hamptons range includes lovely whitewash deck chairs teamed with faded turquoise-and-chalk striped cushions. Price €225 for a double deck chair and €140 for a single. Large outdoor citronella and lemongrass candles in pretty pastel colours are €28.

If you're looking for something special, check out Bushy Park Ironworks in Tallaght which stocks a range of Georgian and Regency-style wrought iron and stainless steel garden furniture hand-made using traditional techniques. A handsome Georgian-style garden chair costs around €800.

Powerscourt Garden Centre: 01 2046014

Atlantic Homecare: 01 2952926

Brown Thomas: 01 6056666

Bushy Park Ironworks: 01 4622788