Our Favourite Summer Garden Ideas
To get the most out of summer, you’ll want to make sure your garden is up to the task. We’ve put together some of our favourite garden ideas for summer that can revitalise your outdoor space.
Renovate the patio
One summer garden idea that can have a huge impact is to renovate your patio and create a seating area. While the weather is warm, you want to be able to spend as much time in your garden as possible, and a patio gives you a space to relax, eat, and entertain guests.
Even if you already have a patio, relaying it with new material such as sandstone, limestone, granite, or slate will give new life to your outdoor space. You may also consider installing decking or creating a second, smaller patio somewhere in the garden where you could put a bench to create a reading nook.
Start growing vegetables in planters
Growing your own vegetables is good for the environment and gives you a new outdoor hobby to get stuck into, making it one of the best ideas to implement in the summer. Vegetables, herbs and other plants give great visual variety to your garden, and you can emphasise this even more by making raised planters out of oak railway sleepers.
Even if you don’t want to grow your own vegetables, some raised planters with bee and butterfly friendly flowers or a wooden trellis with some creeping plants can be enough on their own to bring new life to your garden.
Upgrade your outdoor furniture
Changing your outdoor furniture is one of our favourite summer garden ideas. The space you have available may determine what kind of furniture you can have, but if you have the room, a nice dining set on the patio and a separate relaxation space at the other end of the garden can really add a touch of luxury.
If you like a DIY project, why not go one further and make your own outdoor furniture? Sturdy timber products such as oak railway sleepers are great for building benches, or even an outdoor corner sofa that can double up as extra storage.
Make your garden look bigger with small changes
If your garden is small, you may not be able to make some of the bigger renovations, but there is still plenty you can do to make the space look great and even make it look bigger, such as:
Paint your fences a light colour – lighter walls in your house make rooms look bigger, and the same principle applies to the fences in your garden. Lighter, pastel colours and light-coloured wood stains can make a big difference.
Have different zones – Another way to make your garden look bigger is to separate it into different zones, by using flagstone paths, aggregates or plants to create borders between the sections.
Use different levels – Just like having different zones, if you can create different levels, it can make your small garden seem bigger. Some easy ways to create levels are to use raised planters, make a small raised decking area, or create steps if your garden is on a slope.
Less is more – As a general rule, less is more with small gardens and if you try to fit too much in, it can quickly seem crowded. Focus on making a few choice improvements and give thought to the layout before you begin. For example, you can turn a small terrace garden into a charming al fresco dining area with some bistro furniture and potted plants.
Having a garden you love can make a huge difference, not just for entertaining guests but also for your own enjoyment and ability to relax. Even a few small, meaningful changes can be enough.
If you are looking to make some changes to your garden this summer, take a look at our range of products.
