A garden is a sensory experience but all too often, when we style our gardens we forget this. This is the only guide you need to add not only style to your outdoor space, but colour and texture, and all without compromising on practicality and function.
Pool Colours Together
It may strike a style-note that is too formal for you but, if you want to avoid the clashing of colours and styles, then you need you bring some order to the garden.
This doesn’t mean prim and proper privet hedges without a leaf out of place, but more creating order so that the eye can make sense of the garden.
The above garden isn’t over formal, but has used different plants but similar colours. As well as green foliage, there are lime green trumpet flowers, delicious oranges complimented with deep purple.
If you like rainbow colours, then use the same plant but in different colours and shades.
Choose Scented Plants
As we choose flowers, we tend to make our choice by colour but, for a stylish, sensory garden, opt for scented blooms.
Flowers give off their scents at different times, depending on the insects they are attempting to attract. The purple spikes of lavender are potent during the day to attract bees, and are perfect when planted at the edges of border because, as you sweep past, you will release even more of their pleasant, calming scent.
Night scented stock, as you would gather from the name, releases its scent in an evening and after dark, perfect for when you use your garden of an evening for relaxing or entertaining.
Timeless Garden Furniture
To get the best from you garden, you need to immerse yourself in it. And this means choosing stylish rattan garden furniture.
Rattan is robust, perfect for withstanding all kinds of weather and frequency of use. For an ultra-stylish and up-to-the-minute look, opt for relaxed seating for the garden.
There is a growing range of daybeds and other large, pod seating that simply invites you for a nap in the garden in the cool breeze and sunshine of summer.
If you enjoy al fresco dining, there are some exceptional ideas for dining tables and chairs.
Buy furniture with neutral coloured cushions – beige, cream or brown – and add colour and texture with a range of outdoor rugs and a rainbow of throws.
Accessories Speak Volumes
Accessories in general, are the perfect addition to any garden. They can be used to attract attention to a certain part of the garden, perfect for when you want to create a focal point.
There are any number of must-have accessories;
* Storm lanterns – glass storm lanterns with gently-flickering candles set a romantic mood in the garden. Choose from clear glass, or opt for coloured lanterns if you want to add colour. Bundle them together in groups of three or five for maximum impact.
* Lighting – adding lighting to your garden means you can enjoy it when the sun goes down, enjoying the night scented blooms mentioned earlier. Solar powered lights are so much better these days, and well-worth the investment. Choose soft glowing lighting that accents an area.
* Add warmth with a fire pit – a flickering flame of a fire pit is simply hypnotic, and perfect for the relaxed style of garden.
Consider Hard-Landscaping Additions
If you have the budget, there is no doubt that hard landscaped features add a certain flair to any garden;
* Patio and pergola – not the grey, concrete patios of the 1970s but the modern, concrete patio that can be made to look like any other material you can think. Concrete can be stamped and dyed in a variety of patterns and colours.
* Cabins and summerhouses – enjoying your garden can be something you do in all weathers. Enjoy the pitter-patter of rain drops in the summerhouse, and the warmth of the sunshine.
* Pathways – they can strike you are formal, but sometimes, a pathway is the perfect feature, leading the eye down into the depth of the garden.
* Sculptures – if there is one stylish addition that will really set your garden apart, it is the addition of a well-chosen piece of sculpture. Opt for the super-modern or the traditional, whichever sits well within your garden.
Styling your garden is not difficult. Set a realistic budget, draw up plans on paper but always bear in mind how you use your garden – for example, is it a private retreat or a place to entertain regularly?
What will you add to your garden to turn into a stylish outdoor space?
Rattan Direct understand that adding style to your garden is easy, with the right accessories and additions – which is why they have such a diverse range of garden products.
Love your idea -i usually spread my flowers out
Will try this and see
Lots of lovely ideas here! I want to add lots of scented plants to my garden this year so I'll definitely be looking for evening fragrant plants as well as daytime ones x