It may be a little chilly to indulge in an outdoor party on the Queen's actual 90th birthday on April 21, but come June - the month of her official birthday - the garden should be ready for a right royal knees-up.

So, aside from Union Jack bunting and red, white and blue balloons, what else can you do to perk up your patio for your own celebratory garden party?

Flower power

Indulge in some red, white and blue themes - bedding plants are ideal and there are many options. Blue and white lobelia with red verbena or geraniums provide a patriotic theme. Get started indoors now, sowing seeds of summer bedding, or buy plug plants and by the time of the Queen's official birthday, the flowers should be in bloom.

Pom pom patio

If red, white and blue aren't your bag, indulge in some pink frivolity with these gorgeous pink honeycomb paper party balls to hang off trees, parasols or plants around the patio. Available from Ella James (£2.50 each, www.ellajames.co.uk)

Have your cake

No birthday celebration would be complete without a delicious Victoria sponge or a few traditional scones served al fresco on a stylish cake stand. This floral glass stand should keep things sweet (£14.99, Dobbies Garden Centres, only available in store. For nearest branch, visit www.dobbies.com).

In the shade

If it's a sizzling party, your guests may need some down time in the shade. Invest in a stylish parasol to match your garden and keep your cool. The Shanghai parasol range from Wyevale Garden Centres comes in a choice of colours - terracotta, latte or lime (£99.99, www.wyevalegardencentres.co.uk)

Lighten up

This quirky Fork and Spade Tea Light Holder Set made from durable steel (£12.99, www.homebase.co.uk) should raise a smile from guests at the dinner table, while a Cole & Bright Solar Filigree Table Light, with a white and colour-changing solar-powered LED inside, makes for the perfect outdoor centrepiece (£9.99, for stockists go to www.gardmanstockists.co.uk). If you have a problem with insects, choose the new Heyland & Whittle Citronella Outdoor Candle in a stylish cream and black holder (£6, www.heylandandwhittle.co.uk)

Get fruity

Impress your guests by growing a glut of strawberries for a June party in these handy clip-on towers from Elho which you can add to as you go. Elho's Corsica range features this vertical garden, ideal for growing strawberries or trailing flowers, creating a tower effect by stacking them. They come in medium or small and in a choice of colours, including white, terra, taupe, anthracite, cherry, lime green, grainy sand, vintage blue, mint or lovely blush. There's also a choice of an additional stand (only in anthracite) or saucers in the same colours. (Small vertical garden £6.99, m edium vertical garden £10.49, www.elho.com, available from UK garden centres.)

Pot luck

Give your patio the wow factor with some traditional, stylish new pots to impress your guests. Woodlodge has created a range of National Trust frost-proof glazed pots to complement and enhance the plants and colours of your garden. The designs and colours reflect the National Trust's ethos that everyone needs beautiful views and green spaces to be inspired, feel nourished and to grow. The Inspire range of terracotta pots comes in charcoal, blue, green and white, decorated with the National Trust oak leaf, and inscribed with the words: Beauty-Inspire-Nourish-Grow. Available in four sizes (from £5.99 up to £39.99. For stockists, visit www.woodlodge.co.uk)

Designer herbs

Invite your guests to pick your freshly grown herbs for their salads and barbecue meats, but don't just present them in a bog-standard pot. Splash out on an eye-catching trio of Orla Kiely Big Spot enamel herb pots from Wild & Wolf (£44.95, www.bloomsburystore.com) and it's sure to make the sprigs and leaves taste better.

Warm up

As the temperature cools down in the evening, you might want to snuggle round a fire with your guests. There are plenty of chimineas and firepits on the market, but if you really want to push the boat out, the Solus Firecube 16", a contemporary concrete firepit with eco-friendly ethanol burner, is launched at the end of this month and is among the finalists of the RHS Chelsea Garden Product of the Year 2016. At an eye-watering £2,000, you may want to stay in the garden all night! (Solus Decor UK Ltd, www.solusdecor.com)

BEST OF THE BUNCH - Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria)

These deliciously scented perennials will make a low-growing carpet of fresh green foliage in moist shade, bearing white flowers in April and May which are sometimes followed by small berries. The plants prefer humus-rich, moist soil to thrive and tolerate shade, especially under deciduous trees. They make good partners for shade-loving hostas or arums. But beware because they can become invasive and you may need to lift and divide the rhizomes to keep the flowers coming year on year. C. majalis is the native species, with named varieties including 'Fortin's Giant' and 'Rosea', which has mauve-pink flowers.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - catch crops

Don't leave space in your vegetable patch or on the allotment waiting for slow-growing edibles to progress. Instead, fill in the gaps with fast-growing catch crops such as lettuce, spinach which can be picked young and beetroot. Use quick crops of radishes and spring onions between slow-growing parsnips, or a quick crop of peas before it's time to put your runner beans out in June. Radishes and lettuce can also be grown between brassicas such as Brussels sprouts and sprouting broccoli, which take a long time to fill their space.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

:: Protect young vegetable plants with netting if you have a problem with birds.

:: Start to harden off bedding plants in a garden frame.

:: Transplant evergreens that need moving.

:: Sow Brussels sprouts, parsnips, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips outdoors.

:: Sow half-hardy and tender annuals in the greenhouse for summer bedding.

:: Start to mow the lawn weekly or more often if necessary.

:: Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as acidanthera and tigridia.

:: Weed patios, paths and drives.

:: Apply rose fertiliser, gently hoeing it in around the plants.

:: Ventilate cold frames and the greenhouse whenever possible to encourage sturdy plant growth.

:: Feed newly planted hedges.