10 ways to get a designer garden
without the price tag!
Canny updates
Give your space instant wow factor with our clever tips MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF
It’s tricky to grow things in dry shade, especially under trees, so instead of struggling with plants, add a classic stone bird bath on a plinth to create a corner loaded with atmosphere. Then all you need to do is plant some shade-loving ivy at the base, and it will look like it has been there for ever.
ADD BRIGHT ACCESSORIES
Use features, not just flowers, to lift lean, green borders: perhaps an old metal chair painted hot pink (try Hammerite’s fab Direct to Rust paint in Rhubarb Compote), a yellow seat (Fermob 1900 bench, £442, worm.co.uk, pictured left), or a handsome turquoise steel Haws watering can (£54.95, sarahraven.com).
CREATE A SCENE
Dress your patio with the same care as you would your living room, giving it a cosy conversation area complete with a sofa, armchair, coffee table and weatherproof rug. Decorate with cushions and add mood lighting with strings of outdoor bulbs, outsized lanterns or torch candles spiked into the compost of large, foliage-filled containers. Getting a gorgeous ‘room’ fragrance is easy: a trellised wall or fence decorated with perfumed climbers like honeysuckle or jasmine.
GIVE YOUR CONTAINERS A LIFT
Keeping all your pots at ground level means you look at them from above, which won’t always show them at their best. Instead, group containers together as you would plants in a border, and put some on bricks or upturned pots so they are at different heights. You could even raise smaller pots to eye level by displaying them on a stepladder, or a built-for-purpose tiered plant stand.
FIND THE TIME
A sundial makes the prettiest choice for a traditional garden, but for an edgier outdoor timepiece, pin a giant vintage-style garden clock to the side of the garden shed or patio wall.
PUT UP A PICTURE
Transform a dull wall or fence with a trompe l’oeil view of a sunflower field or flurry of butterflies – or even trick visitors into thinking there’s a green landscape beyond an enticing circular window!
Find a great selection of weather-resistant art for your garden at outdoorcanvas.co.uk.
CREATE A HAPPY ENDING
A well-designed garden looks good right down to the back wall. Instead of an apologetic dead end, create a final hurrah, even if the area is too dry or shady for plants to flourish. A real or fake door suggests there’s more to see beyond the garden, while a feature mirror will reflect the planting, making more of what’s already there (find a great range of both at primrose.co.uk).
REFRESH YOUR PAVING
Pressure washing a path or patio can make a huge difference, but if it’s still scruffy, transform it in an afternoon by covering it with creamy Cotswold stone chippings. Not only do they look great, reflecting light, they will provide an extra drainage layer for plants in containers.
ADD FLORAL FIREWORKS
Not for nothing are alliums the designers’ bulb of choice to grace gardens from late spring to late summer. Their pompom heads on tall drumsticks make playful vertical accents throughout the border. The most versatile is Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, which looks especially good contrasting with lime green euphorbia, or colourful aquilegias as shown left.
THINK BIG
If you want to create a big impact in a small space, go large! One showstopping tree fern will be more effective than a fussy assortment of 15 insignificant plants. Garden and interior designers alike always advise oversizing, whether it’s a pair of candlesticks on either side of a fireplace or two standard box trees flanking the front door.