Six Inspiring Ideas to Help You Enjoy Your Garden This Summer
With promises of a long hot summer, it makes sense to enjoy your garden as much as possible. With this in mind, be inspired by these great garden designs and ideas.
Extended seating areas
If there is one thing noticeable in the garden trends and designs coming through in the last few seasons, it has been the enormous changes in garden seating.
No longer is the only choice either a garden bench or an outdoor table and dining chairs. Sofas, as well as built-in seating, is making a big impact on gardens and it makes perfect sense to create a relaxed seating area, as well as a dining patio.
Rattan furniture is ideal for any garden because it is strong and robust. As well as dining sets, rattan loungers and garden sofas are common in many gardens, perfect for enjoying the promised heatwave.
Add shade with style with a sail or opt for a large parasol. Or create a pergola and train climbing plants to give fragrant shade in years to come.
Extended garden enjoyment
Another garden factor that has grown in recent years has been the use of lighting. Gentle lighting means you can enjoy the romance of dusk for longer and well into the inky blackness of night.
As well as a romantic, gentle feel, lighting in the garden is also a practical addition. Take a moment to comb online sharing sites such as Pinterest and you’ll see so many fantastic garden lighting solutions.
Better still, the majority are easy to fit and relatively inexpensive too. And so yes, those ‘complicated’ but oh-so-beautiful lit gardens could be emulated in your garden too.
A room IN the view
Photo credit My Landscapes
For too long, we have assumed that the British garden is only fit for use when the sun shines. When summer fails to materialise, this means the outdoor space gets little use.
No longer is it an excuse that the BBQ got rained off or the only shade from the rain is a gazebo.
If you are having the garden re-designed, then why not be inspired by those who have chosen to landscape and fashion their outdoor space into a room in a view.
From pizza ovens and BBQs that double as a fire, to the outdoors sofas that are slimline and suitable for use outdoors, to clever hard landscaping and accessories that really turn the space into a usable area all year round.
Garden rooms
Recently featured in the national press, garden rooms or ‘posh sheds’ are also becoming the norm.
And no wonder. Providing you don’t have anything too big that blocks light from neighbouring properties and so on, adding a garden room rarely requires planning permission (but always check with your local council).
As well as the shed, you would need the services of a qualified electrician to connect main electricity but you then have a garden room that can literally be anything, from a home gym, a second living room, a home office or a space for zoning out from busy everyday life. If you live in London make sure you look for commercial electricians in London to help with all your needs.
Simple but curated
Keeping the garden simple and minimal is also a key feature for the summer, with many garden designers stripping back the hard landscaping and detailing to reveal a simple garden design in all its beauty.
The dining area is perfection in this garden, as is the mix of materials for the pathway and the lawn area. The bamboo planting will give great shade and privacy in seasons to come and is a robust plant, meaning it can be pruned back hard to encourage bushy growth as well as height.
Repurpose furniture
This pretty balcony scene is easily emulated because the furniture used has been given a simple, yet effective update.
The range of garden paint colour choices has extended in recent years and that means more choice when it comes to creating a bright vibrant garden area.
Repurpose old, unwanted wooden furniture – visit a charity store, if there is one local – sand it down and paint a bright sunny colour. This hot pink is ideal but doesn’t overpower the space.
The peachy pink in the background is an ideal foil and of course, the lavender and mauve coloured flowers in the mismatched pots also help to give it a feel a delightful, homespun garden space.
From modern to streamlined, which of these ideas have inspired you to make a change?
Rattan Direct has a vast range of rattan garden furniture, suitable for every budget and every garden.
*This is a collaborative post*
