3 Ways To Liven Up Your Garden

3 Ways To Liven Up Your Garden

Even though winter is now here, for many of you the garden still represents a place of relaxation. It is your own little patch of nature, and over the summer there is plenty of pottering about to be done. It’s tempting right now to sit back and watch the occasional bird flutter in and out from your back window, but winter means it’s time to think how it can be improved to look even better next year.

Image credit: Pixabay

Throw In A Lick Of Colour

It seems like the most obvious suggestion, but you will be amazed at how much a simple dash of colour can add to your garden. It provides a vibrancy that will hold your interest. If you are so inclined, you can combine a rainbow of colours, or if you are a little less bold in your tastes, consider creating a colour scheme. Purple-blue and warm red-orange mixtures are quite common.

And the colour doesn’t just have to be reserved for the plants. Adding a fresh coat of paint to a fence or plant frame can clean up the fine points of your garden, and it’s a job that you could do now if you are happy to brave the cold! And outdoor fairy lights are great for creating atmosphere.

Add Different Textures

A garden is not just about the plants. A great way to create an interesting scene is to introduce different textures to your garden, such as experimenting with different plant pots. Ceramics are an old classic, but there is a diversity to wooden containers that can create beautiful contrasts. Consider blending carved oak pots with something like bamboo to pull this off.

Metal containers are also a nice addition, as they can add a polished sheen to your garden. Just be careful with these, as they can blemish in the weather, and will get very hot when summer comes around again.

Gravel paths, wooden walkways and natural stone tiles are fantastic additions to the foundation of your garden for providing a textural change. The key to these looking fantastic is in maintaining a neat border to your lawn and keeping a close eye on weeds.

Create A Focal Point

Your eye will be naturally drawn to the most dominant feature in your garden, so think what that will be and how you can best guide yourself around your garden from there. Curves are a nice way to keep the eye moving and avoid your garden looking square and manufactured.

Consider shaping your lawn or adding a water feature like a pond. This will not only be a focal point for you, but for wildlife. Water features have the added bonus of adding a sense of tranquillity to your garden.

Or perhaps you want more than one focal point. Trees can be a great way of going about this. A line of trees can easily let the eye wander along, better helping you or your visitors navigate all the wonderful colours and textures in your garden.