HANNAH STEPHENSON
Acclaimed stylist Selina Lake shares her expert tips on bringing some show garden style into your own plot at home, with
LIKE many garden experts, homes and gardens stylist Selina Lake (selinalake.co.uk), who had been due to help style a show garden for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, has turned her attention to stay-at-home projects.
Ramping up floral themes to display seasonal flowers, perking up alfresco dining and complementing wild flower gardens with matching accessories is a good way to get the show garden look, she says.
“For me, making a garden beautiful and flower show ready is not only about the plants, hard landscaping and great design layouts. It’s the styling details that add the final touch of magic,” says Selina.
“In fact, even the dullest of gardens can be jazzed up super quickly with some easy styling ideas.”
Here, she offers seven suggestions on how to make your outside space a show garden showstopper...
CHOOSE A STYLE THEME “BOTANICALS play a big role in my work, and my personal style at home and in the garden. Most spaces benefit from a soft, natural, colourful touch, which fresh cut flowers, lush house plants, or even a simple branch in a vase, can achieve effortlessly.
“The fun thing about a small space is it can be easily changed – great news if you’re like me and can’t fix on one look. Some of the key, classic trends and style themes that are good bases are: vintage, rustic, industrial, bohemian and recycled, as these styles can be intermixed and all work nicely with botanicals.
“If you fancy a botanical cocktail in summer, create a botanical bar on a flat surface such as a tabletop, bench or shelf and gather some fragrant herbs such as rosemary, lemon balm, mint and thyme, or whatever you grow, along with your favourite tipple – and it can look stylish.”
SOURCE PROPS
“WHEN it comes to sourcing decorative pieces, work with what you already have. Re-purpose bed sheets as tablecloths, old jugs as vases, or recycle glass bottles to use as bud vases.
“Borrow cushions and throws from
A shedload of blooms make a tool store a cosy retreat
your sofa to comfy up and add style to garden furniture, and dig out bunting normally reserved for parties to add a scene of occasion to your alfresco dining space.”
COLOUR UP WITH FLOWERS “ANYTHING botanical is my go-to styling prop. Pick flowers
We’re all drinking botanicals... spritz up the bar with a few actual cuttings