Unique accommodation: camping in your backyard

Nothing beats sleeping on your own pillow and under your own bedding. If I move to a campsite, I obviously don't take my whole duvet with me, but if I only move myself to the backyard, I really don't leave my nice duvet inside.

The advantage of a sleeping bag is that it retains your body temperature. This is not the case with a blanket. So camp during a nice warm night or get an extra blanket or an insulating mat to lie on. This will keep camping fun at night too, without your teeth chattering.

You can also easily run an extension lead and have your cosiest fairy lights right next to your tent. Although candles or a campfire are, of course, even more atmospheric!

Did you know that you can make tea from many flowers and plants? They often contain many beneficial substances that many people define as weeds. It is very interesting to learn about the power of nature and besides, these teas are delicious. Apart from tea, you can also add these flowers and plants to your salad or soup. These are my favourites for this time of year:

• Nettle is my lifesaver for hay fever complaints. In fact, a cup of nettle tea works very well to reduce hay fever symptoms! Apart from tea, you can also use nettle in salads or make soup from it.

• Magnolia: Tea made from the magnolia flower is said to have a calming effect as well as a positive effect on digestion and respiratory infections. You can also make flowery lemonade syrup from it.

• Dandelion: Dandelion tea is good for your kidneys and liver. You can make tea from both the root and the flower.

• Daisies: The white flower of which you must have pulled off the petals one by one as a child while muttering 'he loves me, he loves me not'. If you love yourself, a cup of daisy tea is also nice for your metabolism.

• Bird's wall: This wild vegetable is delicious on a vegan cheese sandwich, through your salad or as a tea. In traditional folk medicine, bird's wallow is used to make a tea for lung, bladder and kidney diseases.

When picking wild plants, always pay attention to where you pick them: avoid dog-walking fields and preferably not close to a major road. This is because the plants absorb exhaust fumes from traffic. You can read all about these herbs and what to watch out for when picking and eating or drinking them on my personal blog We are the Earth.

When I think of camping, I also think of making a campfire. Maybe not ideal to do in your backyard, but of course there is something to be said for sitting around a brazier. Make sure you make a safe fire! Be mindful of wind and dryness, have something handy to put out the fire (sand works well for this) and make sure you are not wearing fire-sensitive clothing.

Getting together around a campfire is the perfect way to get closer to each other. Leave your mobile inside and spend the evening telling stories and reminiscing. Nothing like good conversations and the smell of burning wood in the open air. Oh yes, and the smell of freshly baked bread which you blacken over the fire, of course.

The last time I went camping was at a festival in Belgium. I was still wondering why nobody had a ground sheet under their tent. The weather forecast did not promise to be optimal now.

The next morning we woke up in a puddle of water (also on a leaky air mattress). The pages of my book were stuck together and my socks were no longer dry.

Slightly grumpy, we left our tent. Fortunately, the neighbours knew what to do. They told us that the groundsheet should be under your tent. Our groundsheet was sticking out quite a bit, so the rainwater collected on it and flowed under our tent. The rest of the campsite appeared to get it. They did have a groundsheet, but it was well hidden under their dry tent.

So you see, camping can be learned. I hope you pick a dry night to discover your backyard in a different way. Don't have a garden but do have camping itch? At Campspace, you will find all kinds of unique and small-scale places to spend the night in the middle of nature. Often in other people's backyards, with people who share their piece of nature with you. From rustic meadows to lush flower gardens, all are great getaways.