How to Create Your Perfect Garden, Part Four - Outdoor Decor

In the final part of our series, we look at what you can do with outdoor decor to make your garden really stand out

There are many ways to brighten up your garden other than the traditional garden gnome (though if that’s what floats your boat, try www.gnomelands.com for an amazing assortment of little plaster people, from the traditional to footballing and surfing gnomes, baby gnomes, and even some very rude gnomes indeed).

The kids will enjoy building a fairy garden using miniature ceramic mushrooms, wishing wells and doorways, and will also like helping you in your vegetable garden if you make it in a neat vegetable ‘trug’, or trough planter.

For a garden decoration that’s a step up from the plaster gnome, the Leaf Spirit sculpture from Devon-based Simon Gudgeon will uplift your spirit and enhance your surroundings – Prince Charles is a fan. Find out more at www.simongudgeon.com.

See also: Choosing The Right Tools for Every Garden Job

A simpler decoration is the suncatcher, made of a bright neon-coloured acrylic plastic. Suncatchers do just that – catch even faint rays of blue and ultraviolet sunlight and emit them from their edges as fluorescence – so they work particularly well in flowerbeds, where they can enhance the colours of your blooms. Suncatchers don’t need any power and are available in a wide range of sizes, colours and designs. Look for them at www.suncatcher.scot.

Spinners

Wind-powered spinners fitted with coloured LED bulbs can provide both movement and colour in the garden, while for larger areas you can even get a replica windmill which serves as a weather vane.

See also: Government Puts an End to the Green Homes Grant

* Don’t throw out plastic drinks bottles – cut off the top third, fill the base with gravel for drainage and a topping of soil, and you can turn them into no-cost plant pots.

* Old picture frames can be converted into wall-hanging plant holders using a chicken-wire support, and if you have old indoor furniture that has outlived its usefulness, think about whether it could be upcycled for use in the garden. An old bookshelf suitably repainted with exterior paint could make a good herb garden, and unused chests-of-drawers can be turned into planting tables.

* A row of coat-hooks could be repurposed as lamp hangers, old kitchen fish kettles can make attractive planters, and broken wooden ladders can be cut into plant displays.

However you design and construct your garden, it’s your chance to stamp your personality on your property, enjoy your outdoor space and get some exercise.

So clear out that garden shed, make with the hedge-trimmers, and start creating your perfect garden now! ■

We hope you enjoyed our four-part feature on how to create your perfect garden. It was originally published in Property & Home with Martin Roberts, Winter 2020 issue – read more here.