You don’t have to spend a fortune to turn your garden into a mini haven…
1. Think small
Hanging baskets and window boxes instantly brighten up any garden, patio, house or flat – brilliant if you don’t have much outdoor space. You can buy them ready-made at garden centres or make your own, they only require a few small plants and the container itself can be used year after year. You can even grow delicious tomatoes!
2. Mix and match garden furniture
Who says it all needs to match? Buying pieces whenever you find them can be much more pocket-friendly – try auction houses, vintage fairs and charity shops for hidden treasures. Collect a mixture of garden chairs, patio tables and vintage trinkets from hurricane lamps to wooden crates for an eclectic look. You can also recycle your old indoor cushions to give outdoor benches and seats a new lease of life.
3. Climbing the walls
Making the best of a small garden? Don’t forget the walls! Grow trailing plants such as honeysuckle, climbing roses and wisteria up walls and fences to give yourself more growing space, more privacy and brighten up the garden with extra colour. A lick of paint can instantly elevate any fence – especially in chic grey or black. Finally, achieve a boutique look on a budget by using walls to hang outdoor mirrors, pots and baskets – you can even put up outside shelves using recycled wood, perfect for displaying plants or keeping gardening tools handy.
4. Self-seeding plants
As long as you don’t mind a ‘wild’ look to your garden, it’s possible to let the plants do the work. Colourful plants like purple loosestrife, poppies, foxgloves and forget-me-nots will produce new plants year after year to fill gaps in the flowerbeds and keep your garden bursting with colour.