Summer has finally arrived in the UK with heatwaves predicted for June, July and August. If you’re looking forward to spending long, lazy days in your garden in the coming months, here’s how to inject a bit of personality and style into your garden and give it a fresh new look ready for the summer.

Add Lighting

Ambient lighting is a great way to set the mood in your garden as well as being a practical addition helping you navigate your garden after dusk. Garden lighting is excellent for socialising and entertaining and also allows you to utilise your garden or outdoor space to its full extent during the evenings and into the night. There are lots of different outdoor lighting options available. Depending on the overall look you’re going for, you might want to add subtle outdoor string lights or lanterns or for an eco-friendly option, you could choose solar lights that can charge during the day.

Utilise Any Trees

Trees can be a great way to offer shade and shelter over seating areas as well as a place to hang swings, bunting or other decorative ornaments without having to add support beams or extra structures to your garden. Trees also offer privacy in gardens that might otherwise be overlooked, providing a great spot for intimate al fresco dining. Alternatively, if you have children then a tree makes an excellent spot to create their own outdoor play area, den or treehouse.

Upcycle

Upcycling is a great way of turning old, unused or unwanted items into something new and useful or decorative. You can take old items such as wellingtons or boots and make them into planters for flowers, which you can then display on your decking or patio. In fact, when it comes to upcycled planters, the limit is your imagination. You can use anything from teacups and tyres to a broken bicycle or the old kitchen sink! Using old household items and furniture in this way is not only more eco-friendly than buying new pieces for your garden but it also creates a fun, quirky space that is totally unique to your family and will create a talking point for visitors.

Create Areas

Think of your garden as an extension of your living space and create specific areas for different uses. Having set areas of your garden for displaying beautiful flowers or growing veggies, a designated children’s play area and a grown-up space for entertaining helps you make the most of the available space and ensures that your garden is useable and enjoyable for everyone in the family. Thinking about how each area will be kept separate or linked up will also help give your garden a clear flow and improve its overall look and feel. You can also match the colour schemes or themes of each area so that your garden still maintains a cohesive look overall.

Published by HOLR Magazine.