Gardening tools, garden sofa cushions, paddling pools. The stuff that needs storing away in the garden is seemingly endless. Hurrah then for handy outdoor storage, which comes in all shapes and sizes to suit all outdoor spaces.
When it comes to choosing your garden storage, size is going to be a major factor, as it needs to fit in a space in your garden but also fit everything you need in it. Get that measuring tape out, folks - it's time to get serious. If you've got lots of bits and bobs, you might find a storage unit with shelves is going to work better so everything doesn't end up in a sigh-inducing pile in the bottom of a box.
Having spent time getting your garden neat and tidy, you're going to want garden storage that looks smart. As you might expect, garden storage comes in all kinds of designs and colours. Whether you're looking for something that provides a focal point, or something that blends in, think about what's going to work for your outdoor vibe.
Another deciding factor to find the best garden storage for you is what you're going to store in it. If you're going for wheelie bins, look for storage that has lids that connect to the lid of your wheelie bin - it's going to save you time, effort and frustration.
If you're storing away items you want to remain in good nick, like sun loungers, consider a weatherproof storage container so the rain doesn't get your sofa cushions soggy. And if you're storing valuable items - garden tools, bikes etc - then always look for garden storage that bolts down and comes with a lock.
We filled our outdoor space with almost every conceivable garden storage you can think of to find the best for this roundup. We looked at log stores, wheelie bin boxes, recycling boxes and everything in between.
During testing, we looked for aesthetics, as well as how practical the storage was. As you'd hope, we were looking at durability too - we wanted our garden storage to be robust and to look great even after weathering the British winters.
Lastly, price was a factor in testing. The cost of garden storage varies enormously, but value for money was always at the front of our minds.
Although this box is plastic, it looks smarter than some of the other plastic storage boxes we've seen. It has a wood-grain effect, plus a contrasting lid and case, which helps it look a bit more interesting in the garden. There's also a solid metal bracket that you can attach a padlock to if you want to make it secure.
This is a decent mid-sized box, with enough space for sofa cushions, scooters and other mid-sized items. We liked that it has hydraulic gas hinges to help hold the lid up while you find what you're looking for. There are also moulded hinges on either side to make lifting it easier.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon.co.uk
We were really impressed with this ingenious piece of garden storage. It's a cool box, table and stool all in one. The dark-grey table has a lid that lifts off to reveal hidden storage, which is intended to be filled with ice and used as an ice bucket. When the lid is kept on, the stool kept our drinks cool throughout an afternoon. We liked that we could use it as flexible seating too, or a side table.
It's made from weather-resistant rattan, and looked smart in our garden. It's not completely water tight, but is useful for storing away a few kids' toys when not in use as a cool box.
Buy now £32.00, Argos.co.uk
This rust-finish log store transformed a rather overlooked corner of our garden, taking it from shabby to stylish in one easy step. The metal log store comes in bits but took under an hour to construct and drill into the wall. You can then fill the compartment with logs, sorting kindling from bigger logs.
The reason we've marked it down slightly is that for a log store, it isn't going to guarantee your logs remain dry all through the winter. You'll need to invest in some sort of cover to guarantee your logs don't become soggy. That said, this log store feels durable, and we totally love the look of it in our garden space.
Buy now £449.99, Johnlewis.com
We found this the perfect box if you want to store away one medium-sized item - for us it was a paddling pool - or perhaps a bunch of small bits and bobs. It would work well for potting equipment, lanterns and so on. What we probably wouldn't store in it is sofa cushions or anything else that needs to be kept dry, as it won't do the job. Nor would we store valuable garden tools, as there's no way to lock this box to make it secure.
The lid is attached to the box, but we'd say the plastic hinge isn't as robust as a metal one. However, this is reflected in the budget-friendly price.
It took a matter of minutes to put this box together, and it's neat and discrete, meaning it's small enough to fit in almost any outdoor space - yards, balcony and front steps are all fair game with this compact option.
Buy now £23.00, Wickes.co.uk
On the smartness stakes, we really liked this solid-wooden box, which looked great in our garden, and is ideal if you're plastic adverse. It also has wheels on all four corners (with brakes), so you can easily shift it around your garden.
Despite being wooden, we found it only took us about 30 minutes to put it together. The lid has hydraulic hinges, taking the hard work out of hefting the lid open.
While it feels durable in the most part and is weather resistant, it isn't watertight. The bottom in't solid but slatted, so you won't be able to store small bits and pieces at the bottom of it, but the upside is that it won't fill with rainwater.
Buy now £139.99, Amazon.co.uk
We put this storage box in our front garden, and it worked brilliantly for storing large, bulky items like a double pram, scooters and kids' bikes. It also has chain attachments for the lid (on hydraulics), so you can attach wheelie bin lids to it, if you're using it as a bin store.
The front doors both open, and can be bolted shut (as can the roof), and have a padlock attached. You can also buy a kit to bolt it to the floor, so no one can lift it away wholesale.
With contrasting colours, this plastic storage box looks smart and it's weather resistant, too.
Buy now £164.99, Amazon.co.uk
If you struggle to always be home for deliveries, this metal parcel box is the answer to your prayers. Bolt it to the wall or floor outside your house, and it allows posties and courier drivers to leave parcels securely without you being home.
There's a hatch to slide parcels into, which then drop down into the bin below, which is inaccessible unless you have the key to the door. Delivery drivers can scan the barcode inside the box, which shows that parcels have been delivered securely.
This box won't accomodate large, bulky items like meal kit boxes, but it's great for day-to-day deliveries and has been a game changer for us. It comes in a wide range of colours, too, whether you're after a discrete box or something brighter.
Buy now £139.99, Smartparcelbox.co.uk
As it's heat treated, this wooden box store should last year after year in all elements. We liked the natural finish on this storage unit, making it more akin to a shed than a storage box.
There are adjustable shelves inside, so you can make the space work for you - we found this handy for our overflowing cardboard recycling box. The lid lifts too, so you can easily just drop items in if you want.
One thing worth noting is you can't lock it, so you're not going to want to store high-value items in it in a publicly accessible place. Other than that, it's a versatile and robust storage option.
Buy now £177.65, Amazon.co.uk
We reckon this is the best option if you're looking for something incredibly hardwearing and water tight. It's made from powder-coated aluminium, so it should look as good five years from now as it does new, while the waterproof zipper lining makes it ideal for storing away sofa cushions, outdoor rugs et al through the winter months.
We liked that there's a hydraulic hinge, meaning it didn't slam shut on our hands when we were lifting things in and out. There's also a lockable fastening on it, so you can padlock it shut. There are wheels on one side, so you can shift it about on the patio if you need to.
Buy now £529.00, Kettler.co.uk
We highly rate our best buy; the Charles Bentley 270l outdoor garden plastic storage box. It's durable, looks nice and is at a very reasonable price point. We were pleased we had the option to lock it shut, meaning we could stick it outside our front door if we wanted to.
The Smart medium front access black smart parcel box made a real difference to our everyday, meaning we didn't panic that we weren't in every time we got text from DPD.
Recline in comfort and style this summer with the best deck chairs
From news to politics, travel to sport, culture to climate - The Independent has a host of free newsletters to suit your interests. To find the stories you want to read, and more, in your inbox, click here.