Where will you spend most of your time relaxing or entertaining at home this summer? If the weather’s nice, most of us would prefer to be outside on a stylish patio or deck or surrounded by an inviting backyard flower garden.

Making those outdoor spaces comfortable and easy to maintain is easier than ever, thanks to a combination of easy-care outdoor furnishings and easy-to-grow, low-maintenance trees, shrubs and flowers.

“The days of the hybrid tea roses are gone,” said Mark Smith, sales and marketing manager at Timber Pine Landscape and Nursery in Earlham. “The low-maintenance, plant-it-and-forget-it kinds of plants are what people want.”

One of the runaway favorites this year is sure to be the Knock Out rose, an easy shrub that comes in a dizzying variety of colors and varieties.

“They’re tremendously popular because they’ll bloom almost continuously through the summer,” Smith said.

Also, “some of the hydrangea and some of the lilac hybrids are getting more and more versatile with the blooming periods so you can get things later in the year,” Smith said. “Another thing: People are really starting to be interested in a multi-season aspect of plants, where they might have a fall color to them.”

Customers also want larger, instant-gratification shade trees, which are allowed to grow up to four inches in diameter before being spaded out, he said.

“Easy” and “instant” are the buzzwords for outdoor plants this year, said Eric Liskey, garden and outdoor living editor for Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

“If people see a container already put together, they’ll buy it because they can have it now and they don’t have to do the work,” he said. “Containers that can be set on a deck or a patio are very popular right now, and contribute to the overall atmosphere that people enjoy.”

Easy maintenance is one of the reasons that ornamental grasses have become Timber Pine’s biggest growth area, Smith said. “Those weren’t even in existence in traditional landscapes five to 10 years ago,” he said. “Now they’re a mainstay, because they’re very low-maintenance and can help obstruct eyesores like utility boxes. And typically, they’re not an invasive plant that’s going to spread wildly.”

Of course, having comfortable outdoor furnishings and stylish décor is essential.

“Where you have comforts, that’s where people will be,” said Liskey, who said the all-weather faux wicker made from plastic, combined with the newest all-weather, fade- and mildew-resistant cushions can be as comfortable to lie on as the family room couch.

High-quality outdoor rugs are also available in a variety of designs. Combine them with outdoor floor lamps that resemble teak and “you can literally have a living-room setup,” Liskey said.

To better define those outdoor spaces, Smith said, “We’ve seen a recent shift getting into the more natural stonework, using boulders rather than anchor block or retaining walls.”

Additionally, high-end households are also buying natural stone and having walls built to add some depth and dimension to flat lots, despite the fact that prices for natural stone have gone “astronomically high,” he said. “People want that natural outdoor setting with an outdoor room.”