10 Great Garden Styling Tricks
Giving your outdoor space the chic factor doesn't need to be complicated
Increasingly, we’re regarding our gardens and backyards as ‘outdoor rooms’, rather than simply places to rake, plant and sow (and have the odd cold beer in, of course). Which means we’re borrowing more styling tricks from inside, whether that’s hanging up pictures, adding cushions or laying rugs. Here are 10 ways to give your garden extra attitude that (mainly) don’t involve manure, compost or garden centres.
Go wall-mounted
Plant holders are an easy win in gardens, big or small. Whether you go for a couple artfully hanging off a fence or a multitude on a brick wall, they add a lush, decorative feel with minimum effort. If you’re not the green-fingered type, hardy geraniums or annual bedding plants add bracing colour and foliage without too much effort.
Plant holders are an easy win in gardens, big or small. Whether you go for a couple artfully hanging off a fence or a multitude on a brick wall, they add a lush, decorative feel with minimum effort. If you’re not the green-fingered type, hardy geraniums or annual bedding plants add bracing colour and foliage without too much effort.
Be bold and bright
Teak and black metal have their place. But why not go bold with your garden furniture? A set of painted chairs in a bright yellow (or pink or blue), and you need little else to add cheer and attitude on sunny afternoons. Though a vase of freshly cut flowers always helps, of course.
Teak and black metal have their place. But why not go bold with your garden furniture? A set of painted chairs in a bright yellow (or pink or blue), and you need little else to add cheer and attitude on sunny afternoons. Though a vase of freshly cut flowers always helps, of course.
Be ultra-green
Don’t have the time, patience or knowhow to plan a complex gardening scheme featuring multiple blooms paced through the seasons? Me neither. This urban tropical garden proves that a simple palette – green and green alone – can sometimes be the chicest way to go. Opt for ferns, cheese plants, bamboo, lots of structure and pattern – think the greenhouses at Kew Gardens as your style reference – and take it from there.
Don’t have the time, patience or knowhow to plan a complex gardening scheme featuring multiple blooms paced through the seasons? Me neither. This urban tropical garden proves that a simple palette – green and green alone – can sometimes be the chicest way to go. Opt for ferns, cheese plants, bamboo, lots of structure and pattern – think the greenhouses at Kew Gardens as your style reference – and take it from there.
Paint it white
Think about what you display against, as well as the display itself. A white-painted exterior wall or fence makes a stylish backdrop for a vertical collection of planters, as seen here, but really it will work with anything. White also has a Mediterranean feel that shows off greenery and blooms to full effect.
See how how to cultivate a container garden
Think about what you display against, as well as the display itself. A white-painted exterior wall or fence makes a stylish backdrop for a vertical collection of planters, as seen here, but really it will work with anything. White also has a Mediterranean feel that shows off greenery and blooms to full effect.
See how how to cultivate a container garden
Hang a hammock
Hammocks are the ultimate in easy, instant cool. And they don’t have to be yet another rashly purchased holiday souvenir you never actually use (along with the too-small Moroccan slippers). Simply add cushions, a good book and cold drinks aplenty.
If you don’t have suitable trees from which to suspend one, look out for an all-in-one design like this one.
Why hanging chairs rule
Hammocks are the ultimate in easy, instant cool. And they don’t have to be yet another rashly purchased holiday souvenir you never actually use (along with the too-small Moroccan slippers). Simply add cushions, a good book and cold drinks aplenty.
If you don’t have suitable trees from which to suspend one, look out for an all-in-one design like this one.
Why hanging chairs rule
Put up a shelf
A shelf might not seem like an obvious must-have in the garden. But actually, if you have a sturdy wall to bracket them too, they’re a rather ingenious styling solution. Somewhere to display potted plants and accessories, without crowding out your patio space. Choose something suitably rustic and characterful for a relaxed, weathered look.
A shelf might not seem like an obvious must-have in the garden. But actually, if you have a sturdy wall to bracket them too, they’re a rather ingenious styling solution. Somewhere to display potted plants and accessories, without crowding out your patio space. Choose something suitably rustic and characterful for a relaxed, weathered look.
Get decked out
Can’t commit to a permanent garden furniture set on show, or want to boost an existing table and chairs combo when extra guests rock up? Deckchairs are a classic transitional option; colourful, relaxed, versatile, nostaglic and easy to unfold at a moment’s notice. In general, it’s a good idea to have at least a couple in reserve.
Can’t commit to a permanent garden furniture set on show, or want to boost an existing table and chairs combo when extra guests rock up? Deckchairs are a classic transitional option; colourful, relaxed, versatile, nostaglic and easy to unfold at a moment’s notice. In general, it’s a good idea to have at least a couple in reserve.
Decorate fences and walls
You probably wouldn’t leave a wall blank inside your house, without hanging a picture or a mirror, or painting it a cute colour. So take the same creative attitude outside. Even the humblest wooden fence will look more stylish and interesting with a display – whether it’s some quirky metal artworks, an old mirror or your collection of colourful glass tealight holders. The choice is yours.
You probably wouldn’t leave a wall blank inside your house, without hanging a picture or a mirror, or painting it a cute colour. So take the same creative attitude outside. Even the humblest wooden fence will look more stylish and interesting with a display – whether it’s some quirky metal artworks, an old mirror or your collection of colourful glass tealight holders. The choice is yours.
Repeat and line up
As with inside the house, sometimes the simplest styling tricks outdoors are also the easiest. A neat line of matching planters, as seen here, looks deliberate, ordered, chic and architectural, but it’s a mega-easy look to achieve. Ticks all round.
As with inside the house, sometimes the simplest styling tricks outdoors are also the easiest. A neat line of matching planters, as seen here, looks deliberate, ordered, chic and architectural, but it’s a mega-easy look to achieve. Ticks all round.
Use what’s to hand
Lusting after that crackle-glazed artisan pot that costs half your month’s rent? Stop. An amazing range of things can be recycled as planters and pots if you put your mind to it. Here, a colander has been reinvented as a quirky pot. Equally, repurpose old cans, crates, buckets, even sinks and baths as planters with a twist.
Lusting after that crackle-glazed artisan pot that costs half your month’s rent? Stop. An amazing range of things can be recycled as planters and pots if you put your mind to it. Here, a colander has been reinvented as a quirky pot. Equally, repurpose old cans, crates, buckets, even sinks and baths as planters with a twist.
Pile up the cushions
Aah cushions. The saviour of many a lacklustre interior, from living room to bedroom, and equally now the saviour in the garden. They add pattern, texture, support backs and bottoms and generally make the world a bit squidgier. Choose special outdoor cushions made of hardy materials if you want them to last, and store them carefully (especially in winter when sharp-toothed rodents tend to invade sheds, and prolonged dampness spawns mould). Mix up colours and designs for a relaxed, modern look.
TELL US…
How have you styled your garden? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.
Aah cushions. The saviour of many a lacklustre interior, from living room to bedroom, and equally now the saviour in the garden. They add pattern, texture, support backs and bottoms and generally make the world a bit squidgier. Choose special outdoor cushions made of hardy materials if you want them to last, and store them carefully (especially in winter when sharp-toothed rodents tend to invade sheds, and prolonged dampness spawns mould). Mix up colours and designs for a relaxed, modern look.
TELL US…
How have you styled your garden? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.
Having an alfesco dinner party? Outdoor rugs are a great way to create a cosy garden-room vibe, and hide less than lovely surfaces. Keep one stashed and ready to unroll in your garden store or shed, or transfer one from indoors. They add colour, style and comfort to boot. Just watch out for muddy feet… so maybe don’t use your 100 percent wool heirloom number.