With the changing of the seasons, there comes a real opportunity to take stock of your garden and revisit your long-term plans for planting and landscaping.
The chance to introduce some new variants, freshen up your garden furnishings or even look at redesigning the layout to better suit your lifestyle is an exciting prospect for any garden-lover and now is a perfect time.
Where do you start? Well, we have some inspiration to get you thinking about what you need from your outdoor space now:
Install a ‘Living Fence’
If you need to section off an area or screen something unsightly that you can’t get rid of, considering softening things with a ‘living fence’.
This involves installing a framework of trellising or woven material like willow, and training climbing plants to grow up it. The variants best suited to this are super pretty and also happen to smell fantastic – wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, passionflower. They can add an ambience to a disused corner and make it the most beautiful spot to sit and have coffee.
If you plant wildflowers, you can also attract bees and butterflies, introducing more eco-diversity. Modern vertical irrigation systems can help in challenging corners – almost anything can be masked with a bit of careful planning.
Reconsider Your Dining Area
Are you using your outdoor space to its fullest potential? Think of your garden as not just ‘outside’ but as an extension of your living space. You could look to introduce a dining area with a [amazon_textlink asin=’B00CZCJ93K’ text=’pergola ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mygardening411-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’36e3b86f-bd7b-11e7-b88f-1b352a5b1293′]for additional shade, or a cosy seating area with a fire pit to enjoy the garden for more of the year and get more use from it.
Don’t feel restricted by traditional notions of what a garden ‘should’ be. Who says you need to have a lawn if it serves no purpose? Is that bulky shed really in use or has it just become a dumping ground? Use the winter season to re-evaluate how you want to enjoy the space around you in the coming year, and make plans to install areas that will serve the needs you have now.
There could be hidden possibilities if you take an honest look at how you are using it.
Refresh Hard Areas
Often it’s the hard surfaces – walls, block paving and patios, swimming pool tiles and garages, fencing – that can look the most well worn, so consider if these areas are dragging the general look of your garden down and use the colder months to do some maintenance.
A firm such as Miracle Maintenance can power wash and chemically treat surfaces to make them as good as new, while a link of paint or wood stain can do wonders to transform a dingy corner into a bright, airy space.
Add Some Curves
Most people tend to favour quite linear planting schemes, so why not think about mixing it up and introducing some curves? Curved designs soften the look of a space and can make it inviting, so try thinking outside of the box – literally – when it comes to the shape of pathways, patios and planting schemes.
Change Your Colour Scheme
If you’re replanting, it could be time to rethink your colour scheme, or even introduce one to your garden for the first time.
Grey and lavender is very much on trend at the moment, or try playing crisp white blooms off fiery oranges and red for a Mediterranean look. Fill in any gaps with low-growing evergreens for a polished and professional look.
